Students investigate just what a tsunami is, what causes it, how fast it travels, what it looks like, and its devastating effects upon landfall. They read the experience of a former Peace Corps Volunteer who went to Sri Lanka after it...

Students discuss what they know about the regions where snow leopards live. They observe the worksheets to see if they can identify any of the mountain ranges and then use atlases to check and complete the country identification worksheet.

Students describe daily life in a small Vietnamese city by exploring a photographic essay, then apply what they have learned to write a descriptive essay about the daily life of a Chaudoc resident.

Students use Google Earth to map cities along the Silk Road trade route. In this Silk Road trading instructional activity, students complete a worksheet examining production, transportation, and value of goods and research trade items....

The centerpiece of this lesson plan is a predator-prey simulation in which colored paperclips represent different species of animals camouflaged against a colored background. Relevant follow-up questions are provided. The activity is...

Students examine and compare primary and secondary source accounts of the Wright brothers' first flights on December 17, 1903.

Students replicate some of the trailblazing methods of Lewis and Clark on a fifteen-minute "writing journey" through the school or neighborhood.

Scholars become travel guides in this group research project to investigate a Chinese city or region for a presentation. Heavily based on Internet research, the activity requires participants to jigsaw the final project, so each team...

Examine paper money from the American revolution! Historians study the paper bills and discuss the history of money. How has money changed over the times? Activities are included. 

Amazing science can sometimes happen right before your eyes! The class gets cozy as they watch crystals grow. They use Epsom salts, rocks, and food coloring to create crystals. They'll observe the entire process, documenting every step...

Students determine what factors identify a country's political borders. After reading an article, they investigate questions surrounding the Great Rift Valley. On a map, they trace the valley from Asia through Africa and research the...

Sixth graders make a model of a watershed. In this geography lesson, 6th graders view a shaded relief map of California and locate landmarks. Students examine the San Francisco Bay Watershed by following the journey of water through...

Students draw conclusions about an mystery person based on documents and artifacts provided. For this drawing conclusions lesson, students become detectives by reading and analyzing evidence provided. This lesson includes information...

Students, by drawing on their own experiences, discuss and examine the basic physics of flight. They participate in a variety of activities regarding flight.

Students bring rocks and minerals from home to investigate in the classroom. In this rocks and minerals lesson plan, students observe all the rocks and minerals brought into the class and answer 7 questions about the features of the...

Students study the westward movement through examining stamps. For this westward movement lesson plan, students draw conclusions, determine cause and effect relationships and examine the westward movement of the United States by...

Young scholars examine letters of Japanese-American children during internment in World War II. They discover what it was like in the camps and how they were treated once they were released. They also view photographs of the camps.

Students participate in multiple hands-on activities to explore reproduction and pollination. In groups, using a cotton swab and powder, students simulate being pollinators and plants. They name the parts of the flowers and the function...

Sixth graders explore the Tropical Rainforest and come to understand what it is and how it affects the ecosystem. In this rainforests lesson, 6th graders write about the Tropical Rainforest, imagine they are in the Tropical Rainforest,...

Students research India and Indian culture. In this Indian research lesson plan, students research and report on the lives of Indian children. The report will be in the form of a mock interview between a journalist and an Indian child....

Sixth graders explore the Renaissance. In this Renaissance lesson, 6th graders study the culture and society of the middle ages. Students research the geography and climate of the times and discover how these affected agriculture.

Learners are given a description of some fascinating animals from "Planet X". They follow the descriptions given to illustrate one of these animals paying careful attention to introduced vocabulary such as 'appendages', 'receptors', and...

Sixth graders determine the geographic features that facilitate and prevent communication and commerce between parts of China. They recognize a sampan, the traditional flat-bottomed boat used in Southeast Asia.

Students compare a realistic landscape painting with a photograph of the same place.