Dive into this problem that illustrates a real-world application of the quadratic formula. Learners are given an equation that represents the height of a diver above the water t seconds after leaving the springboard. The task is to...

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates saw two primary political candidates debating seven different times about one of the most important social movements in United States history. Middle and high schoolers read an article that describes the...

Quadratics and height application problems go hand in hand like teenagers and sleeping in. High schoolers must look at the equation of a diver's height and calculate such features as the height of dive board, time entering the water, and...

Scholars use the article "More College Learners Are Smoking, Study Says" as a springboard for discussion on the reasons why people smoke cigarettes. They investigate different methods of graphing statistics by using the data provided in...

Explore the inception and evolution of hip-hop music as a springboard for writing music reviews and researching other genres of music. Learners will read and discuss the Times' article, From Underground Music to Fashion Statement to then...

How did Colorado's Front Range arise when it's 1,000 miles from where the Pacific and North American plates meet? Learn about the theory behind this oddity and use this video to springboard into other topics, such as what types of rocks...

After Sam knocks a glass off the lunchroom table, he uses it as a springboard for explaining kinetic and potential energy. He mentions that sound is a type of kinetic energy and introduces the different forms of energy: thermal,...

5 Broken Cameras, the award-winning documentary nominated for a 2013 Academy Award and winner of the Sundance 2012 Directors Award is the focus of a resource packet that includes a lesson plan, discussion guide, reading lists, background...

If you knew that you were likely to develop Alzheimer's disease in your future, how would it affect your life in the meantime? This and other similar thought-provoking questions are discussed in a lesson plan about the availability of...

By having scholars tackle this interdisciplinary lesson, they'll see how social studies and environmental science are related as they explore the impact that the construction of a dam will have on the population and ecosystem of the Omo...

Springboard your fourth and fifth graders into the study geologic time. They will complete 7 activities to learn about geologic time and the topics most often associated with it: astronomy, creation, planet formation, volcanology,...

Young scholars research Truman Library website and gather ten trivia facts. They prepare a short oral presentation on one of their questions, scoring each other on speaking and listening skills. Then they create a Truman campaign button.

Connect a scene from a class play to events in your middle and high schoolers' own lives. First, they act out a scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream in pairs. They work to role play a scene as an extension of the one they have read,...

Examine persuasive writing using this informational excerpt about natural habitat conservation. Readers examine the headings of three paragraphs to determine their effect, then copy the first sentences of each. They use these topic...

How is your health? Intermediate Francophones read a two-paragraph text about healthy eating and the problems associated with those who do not make healthy choices. Two exercises follow the reading passage: the first is a short...

Use Tuck Everlasting as a springboard for a debate on big ideas about immortality and the death penalty. Take a week for research and debate by following the steps outlined in this plan. Tapping into technology for help, small groups...

With so indescribably many stars and planets in existence, certainly we aren't alone in the universe! Or are we? Strangely, we haven't discovered any hints of life beyond Earth. The contradiction, known as the Fermi paradox, is...

Once a topic for researching has been determined, the next step is to narrow down to a specific question within the topic. The second in a nine-part series on writing an informational text about Native Americans uses prior knowledge as a...

Future weather forecasters collect daily temperatures over a period of time. Afterward, they compare their data with monthly averages, as researched on national weather websites, in order to grasp the difference between weather and...

Eco-schools is a project of the National Wildlife Federation and empowers schools to manage their schools with a green focus. Scholars work to define environment and sustainability and springboard this into learning the eight pathways...

What the research says about learning styles may be different than you think. A quick video gives an overview of the research to show how teaching to a pupil's learning style isn't necessarily an effective strategy. Use the video as a...

While there are no photographs of actual battles during the Civil War, the pictures of Matthew Brady still paint a vivid image of what life was like as a solider. Using a series of photographs, including those of camp life and the...

Pupils describe properties of liquids and use descriptive language as a springboard to develop precise vocabulary for properties of liquids. They also use vocabulary as practiced with liquid-vocabulary card games. Finally, students...