The class listens to and reads lyrics from popular songs that explore themes of self-esteem, body image, and eating disorders. The song interpretations will serve as a jumping-off point to deeper discussion on the issues, culminating in...

Introduce your young meteorologists to black carbon produced by the burning of fossil fuels by showing the video, "Changing Planet: Black Carbon." Viewers discover that deposition of this carbon on polar ice impacts the absorption of...

After reading a short excerpt about the planet named after the Roman god of war, Mars, your class will answer four comprehension questions. The activity challenges them to fold over the paper and answer the questions without referring...

Students recreate an "American Idol" contest in which they present their favorite books to their classmates using arguments for and excerpts from the books. Following the presentation, students will be polled and the least popular books...

This is not just a lesson plan, it's a life saver! Here are 10 separate documents intended to assist a new Special Ed teacher. There are 4 different games, instructional tips, ways to handle documentation, behavioral modification...

Teacher's notes, a materials list, detailed procedure, tips, and extension ideas are all included to make teaching this lesson plan on photovoltaic cells a sunny spot in your day! After some brief background reading, physical science...

The first verse of A.A. Milne’s poem, Beetle, is the basis for a model of how to summarize a text. The two-page learning exercise also includes a short story for guided practice, as well as summarizing questions, a story sharing...

Integrate art, math, life science, music, and fun in this beginning addition and subtraction activity. Children kinesthetically represent adding and subtracting numbers to 10; they stand up one at a time as you count forward and sit down...

Students look back at this year in history and evaluate important events, discoveries and people from 1998. They, in groups, create 1998: Year in Review. While 1998 has come and gone, the idea and intent for this instructional activity...

Students consider familiar audio and imaging devices, researching and analyzing the differences between analog and digital versions. They then reflect on which versions of the technology provide a truer record over time.

Students sing along to a hello song. They develop skills of phonemic awareness, literacy and social awareness. They think of words that rhyme with their names to add to the song.

Here is a comprehensive method for assessing chemistry learners' knowledge; have them approach two laboratory problems, plan their methods of solving each, and then actually carry out the experiments to find the answers. Both the...

What a pair! Older pupils interview younger ones and use what they learn to write a short, illustrated storybook that features the youngster as the main character. The youngster responds with a thank-you note in which they identify their...

Talk about a timely resource! As part of a series of primary source exercises, individuals read and respond to questions about Theodore Roosevelt's "The Square Deal" speech. Roosevelt reminds us of what our social system should be.

Starting with a presentation, pupils learn about how sedimentary rocks form. They then create their own sedimentation bottle to observe the process.

What contributions have great peacebuilders made to our society? Civic-minded scholars take an in-depth look at people who have made a difference world-wide during the 12th lesson in a 15-part series. After researching facts about their...

Discover the life of Abraham Lincoln with help from the story Abe Lincoln Remembers by Ann Turner. After listening carefully, scholars reflect on what they deem as Lincoln's most influential life event and how it relates...

Make some beautiful music with a lesson about playing the recorder! After learning some of the basic fingering positions and notes, have kids practice their skills with two easy songs.

Esther Forbes' award-winning Revolutionary War novel, Johnny Tremain and excerpts from Julie Otsuka's When the Emperor Was Divine are used to model how imagery brings alive the setting of a story. The young writers then craft their...

The political, social, and economic challenges the European Union faces as it enlarges is the focus of a six-lesson unit. Class members investigate and craft a presentation about a member country, the treaties member states must...

The first remote sensors were people in hot air balloons taking photographs of Earth to make maps. Expose middle school learners to space exploration with the use of remote sensing. Groups explore and make observations of a new...

What's the best way to study? Well, it depends. . . Session two of a 23-lesson life skills series focuses on a variety of study skills strategies and suggests when/why to choose one over another.

Tree rings from North America give a continuous history of El Nino intensity over the last 1,100 years. Scholars learn how scientists use tree rings to create timelines demonstrating variations in weather patterns. The cumulative...

Scientists in California developed a bionic eye that allows blind people to see edges of objects in black and white and costs $145,000. In the activity, groups of scholars discuss bioengineering, focusing on the human eye. They then...