Virginia Department of Education
Transformations
The coordinate plane is a popular place! Identify rotations, reflections, and dilations on the coordinate plane. Pupils work in small groups to match transformations of a figure with the description of the transformation....
Chicago Botanic Garden
Recent Weather Patterns
Decide whether weather is changing! A two-part activity first challenges classes to review the differences between weather and climate. Once finished, individuals then analyze historical data to determine if climate change is happening...
NOAA
What Killed the Seeds?
Can a coral cure cancer? Take seventh and eighth grade science sleuths to the underwater drugstore for an investigation into emerging pharmaceutical research. The fifth installment in a series of six has classmates research the wealth of...
Yummy Math
The Olympic Flame's Trip
Just in time for the start of the Winter 2018 Olympics, you can track the Olympic torch relay through the Republic of Korea. But there must be some math involved, right? Give learners a worksheet that prompts them to calculate the...
DiscoverE
Design a Flotation Device
Save the soup! Scholars devise a flotation device using straws, balloons, foam, corks, and other objects. A can of soup must stay afloat for at least a minute with this device—your dinner might depend on it!
DiscoverE
Building Begins with a Beam
A sturdy beam made of foam seems like an oxymoron. Scholars design a 48-inch beam that can hold a one-pound weight. The beam should be sturdy enough so it doesn't bend too much. If it does, the egg placed underneath the beam will break.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Lesson 7: Observations Across Habitats
How are animals in separate but nearby habitats related? Ecology scholars compare the animal inhabitants of the Gorongosa National Park in part seven of an eight-part series. Learners study photos from two different habitats, then...
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Chraisma by Jeanne Ryan
Often, science fiction makes a lot of connections to real life. An educator's guide for the novel Charisma by Jeanne Ryan, has readers discuss many of the real-life issues that come in the text. A brief summary helps garner interest...
Biology Junction
Strawberry DNA
Humans eat around 93,205 miles of DNA in an average meal. Scholars learn how to extract DNA from a strawberry using a presentation. It walks through each step and explains why the process works. Comprehension questions encourage...
DiscoverE
Bridges, Buildings and Beyond Activity Packet: Grades 9-12
Shore up engineering knowledge with some building activities. Scholars design a foam beam, create a structure from playing cards, and construct a paper tower that won't topple over in the wind. Along the way, they learn about engineering...
International Technology Education Association
Singin' the Black and Blues
How does the color of the sky change from blue to reds and oranges to black? An illuminating lesson explains how light travels through different mediums using the sun's light as an example. By examining diagrams and illustrations, pupils...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Robots
Two activities work with a fiction and nonfiction book about robots‚—Robot Dreams by Sara Varon and Robot by Roger Bridgman. Scholars read each story, then build a robot out of found objects, examine robot sensors, and search for...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Animals
Scholars explore the animal kingdom with help from two texts, Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey and A Bed for the Winter by Karen Wallace. The literature and informational text set the learning stage for thoughtful discussion and...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Environment
A fiction and nonfiction text, The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry and I See a Kookaburra! Discovering Animal Habitats Around the World by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page begins a learning experience in...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Archaeology
Readings of fiction and nonfiction texts followed by a series of activities put scholars in an archaeologist's shoes. Learners read two texts, Archaeologists Dig for Clues by Kate Duke and The Shipwrecked Sailor: An Egyptian Tale with...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Time
An activity packet explores the concept of time. First, scholars read two stories—The Very Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle and Telling Time: How to Tell Time on Digital and Analog Clocks! by Jules Older, illustrated by Megan Halsey....
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Folktales
Following a reading and thorough discussion of books—Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti by Gerald McDermott and The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons—scholars complete three activities. First, they use playdough or cookie dough to create...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Sleep
A reading adventure pack features two stories—Time to Sleep by Denise Fleming and Animals Don’t Wear Pajamas by Eve Feldman. In response to reading the fiction and nonfiction texts, scholars create a dreamcatcher, discuss hibernation,...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Music
Music is the focus of the reading adventure pack. After reading, pupils complete hands-on activities. Scholars use household items to make shakers and cymbals. They listen to eclectic music by turning on the radio, borrowing music from...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Green Eggs and Ham
A reading of Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss and a nonfiction book of your choice begins a reading adventure pack comprised of three hands-on activities. Following the reading, scholars craft a food mobile made of colorful fruit and...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: The Snowy Day
Scholars listen to a read-aloud of fiction and nonfiction books, The Snowy Day, written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats, and Snow Is Falling, written by Franklyn Branley and illustrated by Holly Keller, then take part in four creative...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Farms
A Reading Adventure Pack features a fiction and nonfiction text—The Oxcart Man by Donald Hall and illustrated by Barbara Cooney and Farming by Gail Gibbons. Following the readings, scholars make a collage showcasing foods farmed from...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Rocks
A Reading Adventure Pack focuses on rocks. Scholars participate in three activities after reading a fiction and nonfiction text—The Jade Stone, a Chinese folktale adapted by Caryn Yacowitz, and Rocks in His Head by Carol Otis Hurst....
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Oceans
Flotsam by David Wiesner and The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor by Joanna Cole, illustrated by Bruce Degen, begin a reading adventure pack focusing on oceans. With story listening and thoughtful discussion, scholars complete several...