Beginning a persuasive writing unit with your middle schoolers? Approach it through something that persuades us all: advertising! Through studying video and print advertisement, your class will practice Common Core skills for reading...

This problem is sure to get your young mathematicians thinking. The idea sounds simple: one equation, solve it as many ways as you can. This is meant to get at a deeper understanding of solving quadratic equations, including some more...

Watching is not the same as seeing. Transform viewers from passive watchers to active students of film with this 34-page packet, filled with lessons and activities that use Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to examine the technology, the...

Young scientists design a rocket to launch using Newton's Laws of Motion in order to discover for themselves the forces of motion. 

Statistically, practicing this packet completely helps young mathematicians do well on the test. The packet is adaptable to many grade levels as it includes basic probability and goes up to data analysis with mean, median, and...

A smorgasbord of functions, this packet has the basics required for your learners to be successful in the land of early algebra. The packet includes solving equations, graphing, evaluating, simplifying and basically everything else...

Scientists need to figure out how to measure interplanetary magnetic fields, but the magnetic field of the spacecraft is interfering with their readings. Scholars attempt to solve the problem that has perplexed NASA scientists for years.

How do poets convey emotion and represent their views of life? Pupils learn more about Whitman and Dickinson through the unit and analyze their bold reinvention of craft and style for poets to come. Looking at classic pieces such as...

Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...

Excite scholars to design their own planet in this first of five lessons. The instructional activity starts with a pre-activity assessment, a complete lesson plan that is easy to implement, and a post-activity assessment that would...

Mars used to have liquid water, can you make it come back? Use the instructional activity and simulation to understand why Mars lost its magnetic field, why atmosphere is important, and what gravity has to do with it. This is...

What does the atmosphere on Mars look like? This fourth lesson in the series of five is designed for high schoolers. Scholars apply previous knowledge to add atmosphere to Mars in an online simulation. This comprehensive lesson includes...

Here is a (great) lesson on using parentheses! The task requires the expression of ages using algebraic expressions, including the distributive property. Pupils use their expressions to determine the individual ages.

Scholars identify and continue the numerical pattern for the number of wheels on a train. Using the established pattern and its inverse, they determine whether a number of wheels is possible. Pupils finish...

Functions require an input in order to get an output, which explains why the answer always has at least two parts. After only three multi-part questions, the teacher can analyze pupils' strengths and weaknesses when it comes to...

Gustav Holst's The Planets provide young musicians an opportunity to examine how composers can create a suite: a collection of smaller pieces grouped to explore a single topic. After listening to "Jupiter," they examine "Mars" in...

Logical thinking is at the forefront of this jam-packed lesson, with young mathematicians not only investigating geometric concepts but also how they "know what they know". Through each activity and worksheet, learners wrestle with...

This assessment pair goes way beyond simple graphing, factoring and solving polynomial equations, really forcing learners to investigate the math ideas behind the calculations. Short and to-the-point questions build on one another,...

Prompt scholars to complete a magic square using only variables. Then they can attempt to solve a numerical magic square using algebra. 

Pupils analyze a pattern of conference tables to determine the number of tables needed and the number of people that can be seated for a given size. Individuals develop general formulas for the two growing number patterns and...

Many problems in life have more than one possible solution, and the same is true for advanced mathematics. Scholars solve seven problems that all have at least two solutions. Then three higher-level thinking questions challenge them to...

Using geoboards, computer programs, and hands-on manipulative materials, elementary schoolers engage in a study of two and three-dimensional geometric shapes. This lesson is chock full of good teaching ideas on the subject, and the...

Students research, brainstorm and analyze the events that lead up to the Revolutionary War. They critique a piece of artwork depicting a scene from the Revolutionary War. Each major battle is plotted on a map to show a visual...