Class members use the Internet to research the history of Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada, as well as the traditions surrounding the Thanksgiving-style celebrations of the Hebrews, the Chinese, and in Ancient Greece and Rome.

Move beyond buttons when designing user interfaces. In the fourth installment of a 21-part unit, young computer scientists learn to apply design mode, which gives users options for colors, fonts, etc. They learn to incorporate these...

Not all variables are created equal. Discover how variables in computer science are different from variables in math class. Scholars learn to work with variables in computer programming by developing a mental model for how variables...

A PowerPoint presents features of polymers and two of its categories (thermoplastics and thermosets). Instructors conduct demonstrations to illustrate the Weissenberg Effect and the Barus & Kaye Effects of polymers in the first...

Say cheese! Can your class take a great photo and size it to fit any need? A career and technology-centered lesson plan demonstrates the correct way to resize images in Adobe Photoshop. Scholars view a presentation and work individually...

What can we do to make our school community more aware of cyberbullying? From The Social Media Toolbox, instructional activity 10 of 16 takes on the tough topic of bullying. Learners research cyberbullying through online research, then...

Drop a perfect project into your lesson plans. Groups use different building materials to create models of parachutes for food drops. After testing out their prototypes, they make improvements to their designs.

Are some families down to their last generation? The final segment of a two-part climate change series investigates the vanishing Marshall Islands. Scholars divide into research teams to analyze three different individuals whose lives...

Give the class a leg up in their understanding of engineering. A STEM activity has learners design a prosthetic leg that can kick a ball. They build a prototype of the prosthetic, keeping track of the design costs associated with their...

Change may be slow in coming, but things do change. Oprah Winfrey and Black Entertainment Television CEO, Robert L. Johnson, discuss the opportunities available to them due to the efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil...

Teach your class how to get out of a cell — or break in. The third installment in a seven-part series introduces the class to cell membranes and their functions. The lesson plan includes information to present to the class,...

Do you want to use the resource? Absolutely. Scholars learn about absolute value and its relation to magnitude and distance on a number line. They compare numbers in context by applying absolute value. 

Students explore a variety of age-appropriate resources. They answer a teacher-selected question about a science or social studies topic. They locate and review age-appropriate resources and provide practice in using the resources...

Students explore ocean vessels that drill the ocean floor. In this ocean drilling instructional activity, students watch videos about drilling the ocean floor and discuss. Students get into groups, go outside and use string to...

Students discover what happens when people take advantage of shared resources. In this ecology lesson plan, students explore "The Tragedy of the Commons" by playing a role playing simulation game in small groups. Students soon discover...

Learners explore wind energy. In this wind power lesson plan, students create models of wind turbines and experiment with changes that will help efficiency. Learners watch a video on wind power and discuss. Students work in groups to...

Students brainstorm what they do that requires land use and use a worksheet to calculate their footprint (the total area of land and water required to produce all the resources they consume). They then compare their footprints to each...

Young scholars examine the lives of the Nisqually people and the resource consumption philosophy. In this Native American philosophy lesson, students use primary sources to understand the resource consumption philosophy and then evaluate...

Students examine the advantages and disadvantages of the different sources of energy.  In this energy lesson students complete an experiment and worksheet.

In this review of fourth grade resource usage worksheet students answer questions about guide words, library database, resources for specific information, parts of a book, and dictionary usage. Students answer 10 questions.

  Students explore the art of haiku's by listening to, modeling and creating them.  For this haiku poetry lesson, students choose an object to focus their haiku on.  After hearing a brief history of the haiku; students...

Second graders are asked: "What roles do people have in the community?" They view a large web on chart paper. Students discuss the roles that they play in their community. They are told that just as the principal or teacher has many...

Making the transition to a higher-tech school library or computer lab? This plan suggests 5th graders undertake a scavenger hunt and make a PowerPoint to educate younger schoolmates about how to use information resources in an...

Sixth graders are introduced to the purpose and design elements of the triumphal arch. They utilize digital media (camera and computer) to create a triumphal arch design that highlights their " triumphs" in life. Students save their...