Stanford University
Civil Rights or Human Rights?
Young citizens consider the American civil rights movement as part of the global struggle for human rights. After using a timeline activity to learn about the major events in the civil rights movement, class members study Malcolm X's...
Centers for Ocean Sciences
Ocean and Great Lakes Literacy: Principle 1
Is your current lesson plan for salt and freshwater literacy leaving you high and dry? If so, dive into part one of a seven-part series that explores the physical features of Earth's salt and freshwater sources. Junior hydrologists...
Cornell University
Hydrophobic Surfaces—Deposition and Analysis
Couches, carpets, and even computer keyboards now advertise they are spill-resistant, but what does that mean? Scholars use physical and chemical methods to coat surfaces with thin films to test their hydrophobic properties. Then they...
California Academy of Science
Color Vision Genetics Evolution Simulation
At one point, all mammals carried only two color receptors, but now most humans carry three. An informative presentation and hands-on activity demonstrate how this evolved through genetics. By participating in the activity, pupils...
PBS
Crack the Case: History's Toughest Mysteries
Young sleuths don their trench coats, tip their fedoras, and grab their notepads to investigate one of four famous unsolved mysteries. After examining multiple primary and secondary sources related to their cold case, they propose a...
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: The Cycle of Addiction
Drug addiction, including prescription drug addiction, begins with a reason that's different for every user. High schoolers learn more about the reasons people begin abusing drugs with a set of videos and worksheets that discuss four...
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Myth or Fact
Are opioids the most abused drug after marijuana? How hard is it for young people to obtain painkillers without a prescription? Middle and high schoolers explore the growing epidemic of opioid addiction with a instructional activity that...
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Learning About Opioids
Feeling high is not the only side effect of abusing prescription opioids. Middle and high schoolers learn more about specific painkillers, including Fentanyl, Oxycodone, and Clonazepam, as well as their common brand names and extensive...
Scholastic
Recovery From Drug Addiction
Are there factors that put some individuals at a higher risk for drug addiction than others? Learn more about the risk factors that may make some people more susceptible to addiction, as well as protective factors that help prevent...
Scholastic
Prescription Pain Medication: What You Need to Know
The national epidemic of opioid addiction is making its way into high school populations. Educate the students in your class about the ways prescription opioids can both block pain and deliver large amounts of dopamine that make it very...
Towson University
Looking Into Lactase: Guided Inquiry
Milk does a body good ... unless, of course, someone is lactose intolerant. Pupils play the role of pharmaceutical scientists in a guided inquiry lab about lactase. Lab groups collaborate to learn more about lactose intolerance, how...
Towson University
Berries...With a Side of DNA? (High School)
Is DNA still present after picking fruit or cooking vegetables? Biology scholars extract and collect DNA strands in an impactful lab. Working groups prepare their samples and compare their results to negative and positive standard...
Towson University
Mystery Disease
How did scientists determine the cause of illness before technology? Science scholars play the role of medical researcher in an engaging guided inquiry activity. Using observations, technical reading, and Punnett squares, learners...
Towson University
Mystery of the Crooked Cell
Can your class solve the Mystery of the Crooked Cell? Junior geneticists collaborate to learn about sickle cell anemia in a fascinating lesson plan. The included materials help them to examine the genetic factors behind the disease...
Cornell University
Forensic Science: Case of the Missing Diamond Maker
Someone stole a diamond-making machine. Who done it? Scholars use forensic science at six different stations to determine the culprit. They analyze fingerprints, use their senses, and complete chemistry experiments to determine the...
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Getting Ready for the All American Eclipse!
Give your pupils a front row seat at the biggest light show in the sky this year! In addition to admiring the total solar eclipse, young astronomers can explain the phenomenon with a little help from an inquiry-based instructional...
Channel Islands Film
Island Rotation: Lesson Plan 3
How far have California's Channel islands moved? What was the rate of this movement? Class members first examine data that shows the age of the Hawaiian island chain and the average speed of the Pacific Plate. They then watch West of the...
University of Minnesota
Do the Stroop
The Stroop test helps diagnose executive function disorders when used in conjunction with other tests. Reading color words and identifying colors seem like basic skills, but the Stroop test may show otherwise. Scholars work with a...
University of Minnesota
Blind Spot
Your eyes each work independently, so how do we only see one image? The quick hands-on experiment encourages young scientists to test their blind spots on each eye individually. After learning where the blind spot is and why it exists,...
Nature Works Everywhere
Recording the Rainforest
Animals have evolved to communicate in different frequencies so they can hear each other throughout the rainforest. The first instructional activity in a three-part series begins by exploring an interactive story map online about the...
NOAA
Mud is Mud...or is it?
We know that the type of soil varies by location, but does the seafloor sediment also vary, or is it all the same? Scholars compare photos of the seafloor from two different locations: the Savannah Scarp and the Charleston Bump. Through...
NOAA
Lost City Chemistry Detectives
In 1977, scientists discovered hot springs in the middle of deep, cold ocean waters near the Galapagos Islands. Scholars research the chemical reactions that explain what scientists found at the Lost City. A discussion connects many...
NOAA
I Can't Breathe!
The Gulf of Mexico dead zone, an area of low oxygen that kills marine life, costs the United States $82 million every year. Young scientists research anoxic ocean environments then come up with a hypothesis for the cause of the Gulf of...
Facing History and Ourselves
A Scene from a Middle School Classroom
Citizens in the modern world can't imagine making the same social choices made by many Germans in the 1920s and 1930s, but they don't realize that they actually do it every day by ostracizing others. A case study of middle schoolers...