Students read excerpts from Jim Toner's memoir Serendib which chronicles his experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sri Lanka. They work in small groups to analyze the excerpts and discuss how the author came to terms with Sri Lankan...

Young scholars read excerpts from Peter Hessler's River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze and discuss his difficulties in learning the language, cultural clashes and how cultural perceptions shape our understanding of the world.

Young scientists investigate the water cycle through a lettuce seed experiment. For this experiment, learners plant lettuce seeds inside of a ziplock bag in order to create a small greenhouse. They observe condensation and precipitation,...

What tools do archaeologists and anthropologist use to learned about what life was like in the past. After watching West of The West's documentary Once Upon a Time that details how scientists use artifacts to establish a...

Introduce learners to the debate format with an activity that uses the National Park Service's controversial Channel Islands restoration program as a topic. Class members learn how to generate provocative debate questions, how to prepare...

Young historians step into the shoes of immigrants coming to Ellis Island. A simulation creates an experience in which participants visit several rooms, go through an interview process, and receive a stamp in their passport—either making...

Captain Long John Silver himself would consider this anticipation guide a treasure. Full of rereading predictions for readers to consider, the anticipation guide makes the class excited to begin reading Robert Lois Stevenson's Treasure...

Why are Torrey pines only found in La Jolla, California and on Santa Rosa Island? Class members examine images of Torrey pines from these two locations, noting the similarities and differences, and then develop a demonstration model that...

An interactive tour permits young scholars to follow the path of immigrants as they arrive in the United States and are processed at Ellis Island Immigration Station. Packed with photos, videos, and charts, the resource gives texture to...

A poem carved on Angel Island's walls is the guiding text of a lesson that challenges scholars to put movement into a written piece of art. After warm up-activities, learners play a game of "Pass the Clap" and "Pass the Line," in which...

The Buttonhook by Mary Jo Salter is the focus of a unit that explores the immigration experience to Ellis Island. First, scholars bring in an artifact that represents their heritage. A group-exercise allows them to share and discuss...

What caused the collapse of the environment on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)? Who constructed the Moai? What was their purpose? Class members assume the role of investigators and use evidence drawn from field studies, ships' logs, and...

Introduce young explorers to the music and history of Jamaican culture through game songs and dances. As a bonus, class members get to play simple songs transcribed for the recorder.

Kirk Beckendorf, a middle school teacher, joined researchers at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica to help maintain automatic weather stations. The lesson encourages pupils to track his travels around the region. They connect with the...

It's hard to imagine that life on Alcatraz could be dull. A series of intriguing lessons take readers through the novel Al Capone Does my Shirts. Pre-reading questions introduce the text and a range of suggestions, from comic strips to...

What was it like to pass through Ellis Island? Learners move through the immigration process of the early 1900s in a simulation activity. A comprehensive activity includes role-playing profiles and other manipulative items such as...

Map this! Help your young mathematicians draw a circular island on a map. Given specifics of the location and size of an island on a map, pupils transform a circle to meet the given requirements. They then determine the location of the...

Animal reproduction in sheep and cattle is explored with the help of Punnet squares. Scholars employ tools using probability to conclude the color of wool a sheep's offspring will have. Acting as animal geneticists, pupils then take...

Where is the best place to work? Small groups map out a kitchen on a coordinate plane and find the centers of the work triangle to find the best place to install an island. The teams use algebraic methods to locate the center by finding...

“What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?” Ah, the central question of Lord of the Flies. As part of their study of William Golding's riveting novel, readers complete an anticipation guide and respond to a series of survey...

How would the story of the discovery of America be different if indigenous people told it through their eyes? Individuals compare the conventional account of this moment in history to an account given by one of the native peoples. After...

As part of a study of Angel Island Immigration Station, young historians examine the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first restriction on the United States immigration based on race and nationality. They complete a matrix identifying...

In this island research worksheet, students fill in a graphic organizer about the island of their choice. Students fill in two tables with advantages and disadvantages of living on the Rathlin Island and Hallig Oland. They write a...

As a practice writing test, fourth graders use the West of the West's documentary Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island and two print resources as source materials for an informative article that identifies information that is...