Scientists study all sorts of things. For example, studies show that it feels good to feel grateful. Feeling grateful also contributes to physical health and strengthen relationships. In the second lesson about gratitude, class members...

Harness the power of rubber bands of all things. A hands-on activity has scholars design and build paddle boats. They learn how the elastic potential energy of rubber bands can be converted to the kinetic energy associated with motion.

Without structure, things fall apart. Scholars discuss the importance of structuring a podcast to tell a story that makes sense. They walk around the classroom, stopping at stations to answer questions on posters about planning 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...

A great way to begin a discussion of leadership is to have learners reflect on their own experiences with leadership. A one-page worksheet asks individuals to list what they believe are the top characteristics, qualities, and beliefs of...

Flu fighters unite! To get the word out about the importance of getting vaccinated against the flu, groups create posters that persuade teens to get immunized. Also, scholars read articles about how to cope with colds, then create...

Things are getting a little slippery in an inquiry-based lesson studying precipitates. Learners use soap and Alka-Seltzer tablets to create different mixtures with water. They then study the properties of the mixtures including their...

To begin a study of Walt Whitman's poem, "Election Day, November 1884," learners first call out a word or two that describes their reaction to the recent presidential election. They then read an encyclopedia entry about the Presidential...

Amanda Gorman, the United States's first National Youth Poet Laureate, is featured in a resource from the Academy of American Poets. Class members first read Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech and note what King wanted...

There's no such thing as the perfect crime! Your class of sleuths are ready to investigate the trace evidence at a crime scene and compare it to a list of suspects. They use their investigative skills to record physical properties of the...

Saving sugar, growing crops, and not eating meat sound like small things, but they were a huge part of the home front effort during World War I. Photographic evidence of civilian struggles during the war, along with a matching game,...

Things should heat up during a hands-on lesson exploring solar energy. An enlightening activity challenges young scientists to design a structure that collects solar energy efficiently. They keep track of temperature data over time and...

Walt Whitman's poem "As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days" offers scholars an opportunity to practice their noticing skills. They first examine a postcard of the Newport News Shipyard listing things they notice about the image and how...

Wouldn't it be lovely if people were immune from colds and flu? Alas, such is not the case; however, there are things we can do to avoid getting or spreading these pesky health hazards. Middle schoolers read articles that provide them...

Stress isn't necessarily a bad thing. The key, however, is learning how to appreciate eustress and manage distress. "Parachute Stress," a lesson designed for high school freshmen, has them identify 10 major stressors as well as the...

The goal of this Health Smart lesson plan is for freshmen to develop a personal system for coping with stress. They create a power-up list of things that make them feel happier, healthier, or better connected, identify people in their...

Always strive to make things better. The second of three activities in the Experimenting with Solar Heaters unit has learners design new solar heaters that are more effective compared to the simple models they used in the previous lesson...

For many high schoolers, what they want to be when they grow up can be very intimidating. Here's an activity that gets them thinking about their interests and how they might connect these interests to future jobs. After watching a short...

What kind of wind works best to make things move? After watching a short video from Curious George, super scientists answer the question by testing various wind-making tools. Learners observe, record, and share their findings.

Things can always be made better. The culminating installment in the seven-part Understanding Science and Engineering unit has pupils design their own water pumps. In groups, they build a prototype of a design of their choice, then test...

Discuss all things round and round. Pupils review finding area and the circumference of circles and use them to solve problems. Next, they learn about central angles and their relationships to measures of arcs. Learners then find out how...

A pop-up video version of FDR's "Day of Infamy" speech engages scholars in depending their understanding of the attack on Pearl Harbor. After watching the video, class members select five new things that they learned and research how...

Three activities focus on the First Amendment, especially the freedom of speech. Scholars craft a letter to the President of the United States and express their views about a topic important to them. Another activity has participants...

Civics scholars are challenged to determine what it means to be a good citizen. Class members select three adults in their lives and interview them to discover what the term "good citizen" means to each of these people. The class then...