Grow vocabulary skills with an understanding of affixes and word roots. Included here are a few activities and plenty of materials you can use to support your learners as the focus on building vocabulary.

English learners practice basic weather terms from listening to two books. They keep a daily weather record for two weeks to record the type of weather, as well as the high and low temperatures for each day. Next, they complete a simple...

Students study techniques for conducting a local environmental assessment in an ecologically sensitive area. Identification of native plants and methodologies for sampling is taught in the classroom and then reinforced in the field. The...

Young scholars create a multimedia presentation. They will complete a verbal versus non-verbal communication chart to create a multimedia presentation which will include the different types of communication strategies. Then answer a...

Comparing and evaluating various media types is a great way to build critical analysis skills. Learners read about the Vietnam era presidency, specifically the foreign policy established by Johnson and Nixon. Then they compare several...

A large data table is given to your elementary earth scientists in which they record observations that they make while viewing pictures of Alaskan glaciers. They compare and contrast recent photos with older photos. Hold a discussion...

Here is an inventive, and educationally rich way to conduct a literature study of the book, The Midwife's Apprentice. After the book has been read, learners get into three groups. One group is assigned the task of being the writers....

Middle schoolers explore the primary purposes of a variety of types of insurance. They determine who benefits the most from insurance coverage, and examine the factors that lead to increases and decreases in insurance premiums. The...

Establish strong study habits from the beginning of the year with a contract that details good practices for completing homework. Parents and kids decide how many minutes a night should be devoted to study, and for how many weeks the...

The vast majority of hydrocarbons humans use help fuel cars, homes, and provide energy. A comprehensive lesson teaches pupils all about hydrocarbons. From alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes to benzene, classes study the preparation of these...

Thanks to Gary Paulsen's Hatchet, teen readers now know it's possible to survive in the wilderness. A study guide for the novel discusses common topics and vocabulary words found within the text. Additionally, readers get the chance...

Before a cell replicates, its DNA must replicate. Take advantage of a hands-on guided lesson to teach budding scientists how this happens. Using a set of nucleotide cards, learners become the DNA and work to create matching strands...

What is technical knowledge? The class explores what technical knowledge might mean to an Olympic athlete. They catalog the different types of information that athletes would need to compete in various Winter Olympic sports and develop...

As a class, scholars read the poems, Humpty Dumpty, Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater, and Jack and Jill, in order to identify words with the same ending sound. Using their rhyming skills, learners brainstorm additional words...

Young scholars explain the rationale behind the Fourth Amendment, and the types of activity regulated by the Constitution. They analyze situations, and explain a citizen's rights when an unlawful search or seizure is conducted.

By setting up an aquarium in the classroom, learners are able to describe some macroscopic and microscopic organisms that are found inside. This well-designed, and educationally rich lesson requires pupils to use microscopes to view...

This organic chemistry lab activity is appropriate for teaching polymerization, percent yield, melting point, or the types and uses of polymer materials. Chemistry pupils imagine that they are working for a company to develop a special...

Even though the student handouts are not included in the write-up, this lesson plan contains the instructions for terrific activities to use when teaching middle schoolers about metamorphic rocks. First, they compare granite to gneiss...

Students study wildlife management as it relates to ecological principles and whole systems. They role play professional ecologists working for the fish and wildlife service to develop a plan to manage a new wildlife refuge along the Rio...

Students examine various modes of transportation. They explore regional transportation options and discover options available in their area. Students survey types of transportation people use in their area. Using spreadsheet data,...

Students study DNA decoding and protein synthesis. They use the amino acid table to translate DNA, break DNA strands into three nucleotide codes, and translate nucleotides into amino acid protein codes. They research the importance of...

If you're teaching your class about the cycle of life and want to include a poetry element, consider this exercise. It provides a link to a Found Poem (a poem created from others' words, but an original idea) that includes words...

Compare various types of biological diversity in a coral reef and calculate a numeric indicator that describes the diversity found in coral communities. Your class can work in groups to look at the abundance and distribution data of...