Students examine how the unwritten rules of culture depend upon the context in which an event or behavior takes place. They explain cultural context and develop a poster, multimedia presentation, or radio spot that illustrates how...

Students research another country and its people.  In this diversity lesson, students work in groups to research an assigned country and develop a short oral report.  Students use diversity beans to represent the people of...

Young scholars analyze the results of a hypothetical cloning experiment using a restriction endonuclease map obtained from an on-line data source. They answer the question, "How can I tell if the DNA I have obtained from this...

Fourth graders discuss the roles and responsibilities of family members in their homes today. They decide what they do to help their families both inside and outside the home. They realize why it is important for each person to...

Third graders design and make clocks compiling a materials list, creating adesign portfolio, and recording progress in a daily log. After making a full-size drawing of their clocks and with the assistance of high school technology...

Third graders receive a small container of tapioca pudding, they are to pretend that it is frog eggs. The students pretend they are birds who see the eggs, and eat some of them. They discuss what would happen if these were really frog...

Students conduct inquiries and research-acquiring, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, evaluating, and communicating facts, themes, and general principles operating in American history. They use the Declaration of Independence to...

Twelfth graders at the Institute for Collaborative Education, a small 6-12th grade NYC public school go on internships during their final 2 cycles (February - June) in High School. The Senior Interns work four days a week in real world...

Students analyze what it is that constitutes culture. They describe how the concept of culture relates to their own experience and imagine that they are extraterrestrials-peaceful, intelligent creatures from another planet who have...

Students listen to a story about school in a one-room schoolhouse.  In this cause and effect lesson, students create a Venn diagram to find the similarities and differences in schools then and now. Students discuss how past events...

Students research about the process of composting. Students apply their research by creating a compost pile at school that will be maintained once or twice a month for the remainder of the school year.

The young scholars recall events from Dr. Seuss' story The Lorax and make connections to environmental issues affecting their lives. They are expected to reflect on the facts of the story and respond verbally stating the inferences they...

Learners identify the main food in the different cultures they have examined. In groups, they compare and contrast their expected table manners to the ones in Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia. Using this list of behaviors, they identify...

Students probe their own histories to record how they have had to expand their world views. They determine "Everyone has a culture. It influences how we see the world, ourselves, and others." The explain the concept of cultural...

Students study the impact and implications of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in South Africa and beyond. They explain how the AIDS pandemic is affecting multiple aspects of life in South Africa and why life expectancies differ dramatically among...

Seventh graders create a closed ecosystem and place it where is it visible to others in the school. They label it with posters describing the interdependence of living things in the ecosystem. They discuss what might happen to the...

Fifth graders complete a project for a Newberry Award winning book. This ambitious lesson plan outlines the expectations for students regarding their project. Included is a list of possible books and a variety of writing, art, music and...

Students are "Energy Detectives" working for an engineering firm that does energy evaluations at schools. In teams, they locate energy sources around the school, and record their findings on an Energy Detective Worksheet.

Students examine the pros and cons of 'embedded computing' in the field of medicine. They invent and describe a computer that would be embedded in an individual to improve their education or school and write essays critiquing their...

Students collect snow samples around their school. They explore the concepts of density and phase change as well as the math skills of measurement and statistics. Students explore the water cycle through an interactive, down loadable...

Seventh graders create plans for an energy efficient addition to the school. They work in small groups with each group having responsibility for examining one aspect of the problem. They create working diagrams and a model of their...

Eighth graders discover their own ecological footprint and create a plan for reducing this figure. They extend this to the school and community to see how they are doing on this scale. They discuss the concept of the ecological...

Students listen to the Magic School House Plants a Seed. In this locating information lesson, students discuss the various presentations of information in the book. Students complete a worksheet of information.

Students explore Vietnam and prepare a studenT book about Vietnam using the five themes of Geography. These books be used to teach a younger classroom about Vietnam, as part of a service-learning project in our school.