Texas Woman’s University
Patterns, Patterns Everywhere!
Not only is pattern recognition an essential skill for young children to develop, it's also a lot of fun to teach! Over the course of this lesson plan, class members participate in shared readings, perform small group...
Dick Blick Art Materials
Chenille Stem Stitchery
The works of Spanish painter Joan Miro are used to inspire young artists to create their own colorful works of art using stitchery canvas and yarn. Kids draw their design on plastic canvas using erasable crayons and then stitch the...
Museum of Disability
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon
Help to create the next generation of friends with a lesson about accepting people who are different. As kids read Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon, they answer a series of discussion questions and activities about making friends...
It's About Time
Photosynthesis, Respiration, and the Carbon Cycle
Provide your class with the opportunity to view our carbon cycle close up. Young scientists research the cycle of oxygen as it completes the tasks of photosynthesis and respiration. They explore the importance of carbon in an ecosystem...
AIMS Education Foundation
Classroom Olympics
As the Summer Olympics are approaching, incorporate Olympic-type games into the classroom. From straw javelin to cotton ball shot put, these games are sure to keep leaners engaged. The best part is that there is math involved! Pupils...
Energy for Keeps
Going for a Spin: Making a Model Steam Turbine
Discover the effectiveness of wind, water, and steam as energy sources. The hands-on activity has young scientists create a turbine from common materials. After constructing the turbines, they use wind, water, and steam to turn them and...
Scholastic
STEM Challenges and Activity Sheets for Grades 6–8
From 3-D cities to building bridges, young engineers engage in innovative STEM challenges that promote brainstorming and collaboration. Learners take on the roles of different types of engineers as well as become familiar...
DiscoverE
Build a Better Candy Bag
Every child's dream: stuffing as much candy into a bag as possible. Doing this, though, requires a nice sturdy bag. Scholars design the sturdiest bag they can and test the limits of those bag using a sweet treat!
American Museum of Natural History
Create a Compass
Historically, humans have used many methods of finding due north. Using a hands-on activity, learners create their own compasses. They then test their compasses in their neighborhood or to assist with stargazing.
PJ Library
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
Teach children that just because something is old, doesn't mean you have to throw it away with a reading of Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback. Engaging children with an arts and crafts activity in which they patch the...
National Security Agency
Classifying Triangles
Building on young mathematicians' prior knowledge of three-sided shapes, this lesson series explores the defining characteristics of different types of triangles. Starting with a shared reading of the children's book The Greedy...
Ask a Biologist
It’s a Plankton Eat Plankton World
For as small as they are, plankton sure play an enormous role in maintaining marine ecosystems. Dive into an investigation of these tiny organisms with a hands-on life science activity in which children cut out pictures of sea...
Dick Blick
ArtStraw Architecture
While architects and engineers don't often build with plastic straws and foam board, the same principles still apply. Challenging both the creativity and critical thinking of students, this engaging design project is perfect...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Parallel Lines Cut by a Transversal
Parallel lines seem so right for each other. It's too bad they'll never, ever meet. Learners use tracing paper to discover relationships among angles formed by two parallel lines cut by a transversal. They apply this information to find...
NOAA
The Methane Circus
Step right up! An engaging research-centered lesson, the third in a series of six, has young archaeologists study the amazing animals of the Cambrian explosion. Working in groups, they profile a breathtaking and odd creature and learn...
Mascil Project
Parachute Food Drop
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.
J. Paul Getty Trust
O Greek Shape! O Fair Pose!
Everything old is new again. The Los Angeles J. Paul Getty Museum presents a activity on how Greek black-figure painting influenced eighteenth century Neoclassical artists. After looking at a series of examples, class members create...
ESL Kid Stuff
Clothes
How would your kids react if they saw a big pile of clothes in the middle of their classroom? Learn about different types of clothes with a lesson that includes songs, games, and a fun dress-up activity.
Virginia Department of Education
Macromolecules
Finally, a chance for the class to play with their food! Allow pupils to simulate stomach acid with common foods, and introduce specific macromolecules into the mixture to explore characteristics of carbohydrates, lipids,...
Science Matters
Energy and Winds
In the study of wind energy, scholars build a small windmill and observe how it transfers wind into mechanical energy. Learners will make connections to the previous activity with concepts such as the creation of wind...
Curated OER
Unity in Action
Elementary learners make a collage after learning about Kwanzaa. They discuss the concept of unity and make a collage of pictures that they feel exemplify unity.
August House
The Stolen Smell
Some smells are better than others! Explore your sense of smell with a series of activities based on the Peruvian folktale, The Stolen Smell. With exercises about phonics, counting, cooking, art, and drama, the lesson is a...
iCivics
Wanted: A Just Right Government
What type of government did American colonists gain and seek after gaining their independence after the Revolutionary War? Here is lesson plan that will guide your young learners through the new nation's progression from the Articles of...
Incredible Art
Painting with Dots - Kirkland Style
Pointillism is the focus of a lesson that asks young artists to compare Vance Kirkland's painting style with aboriginal dot art, and then to produce their own piece of dot art.