Play letter sound detective with your class, and snoop out sounds, onsets, blends, and rhyme. In pairs, children take turns choosing a card from the pile; as they sound out part of the word, their partner attempts to figure out which...

Become a pest detective! Individually or in small groups, scholars scout the land to discover which pests—plant and animal—inhabit it, determine whether the pests are endangering the environment, and summarize their findings.

Odds are, most of the members of your class know someone who has been affected by breast cancer. Teach them more about prevention through healthy lifestyles, detection with self-testing and mammograms, and the most effective treatments...

This abstract for an instructional unit using three-minute mysteries, stories by Sir Arthur Canon Doyle, and Edgar Allan Poe includes a short history of detective fiction, sample plans, and suggestions for exercises and activities...

Mystery is an exciting genre for young readers to investigate. The plots are so intriguing! Here is a series of lessons featuring Sherlock Holmes stories that invite learners to enter the world of the mystery genre.  Based on what...

Police find a man murdered in a local hotel, DNA everywhere, and now they need scholars' help. Budding detectives step into a crime scene playing the roles of victim, suspects, and investigators. They apply knowledge of criminology and...

Test your learners' sensory awareness with three hands-on activities that ask pupils to use their other senses to identify and describe everyday objects hidden from sight.  

Beat the heat using sensors. Scholars research normal body temperatures for humans and a specific animal. In groups, they create sensors that monitor body temperature, as well as the weather. The goal is to reduce the occurrence of heat...

Calling all junior detectives! Scholars use the tools of investigation to determine the causes and impacts of the American Civil War. Using viewing guides, videos, group research, and written resources, they discover what it takes to...

A picture really can speak a thousand words—no matter how old! Scholars become history detectives as they learn how to analyze historical photos and evidence to uncover the past. The fun hands-on activity makes history come alive through...

Promises made and promise broken. Spies and activists. Voting rights in Mississippi are the focus of a lesson that has class members research the history of the struggle in Mississippi. Learners take on the role of voting rights...

Young scientists meet Edward Alexander Bouchet who, in 1876, was the first African American to receive a PhD in Physics. This two-part lesson plan first looks at the debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois about the type...

The distinctive attire of royalty, working class, and peasants of the Victorian era conveys much about the conditions of the time. Learn more about why people dressed as they did, and how their fashion changed during the 64-year reign of...

Rather than who done it, the mystery literary detectives have to solve as they examine the evidence found in Edgar Allan Poe's famous "The Tell-Tale Heart" is why did he do it?

To prepare for a sensory walk outside, the whole class engages in a discussion of the five senses, kids close their eyes, and share what they sense. Groups then follow a guide, tour an area, and share what they experience...

How did the Ebola virus first infect humans? Young virologists examine genetic sequences from the 2014 Sierra Leone outbreak to find similarities during a riveting activity. Following similar methods used by MIT and Harvard, partners...

A rare lesson plan on fashions that were in vogue during the Victorian era. Learners discover what types of clothes both rich and poor people of this time period wore. They see how fashions changed during the reign of Queen Victoria, and...

Imagine a lesson that models for learners how to separate facts from opinions. How to detect bias. How to evaluate a source of information. How to identify propaganda. Although designed for middle schoolers, the activities in this packet...

Junior archaeologists examine types of artifacts from the Bronze Age on the internet. In collaborative groups, they create a story about a ship from this period and then construct a model of the ocean floor after their ship has sunk....

Upper graders become "shipwreck detectives" by studying the debris field from a shipwreck in the Aegean Sea which took place in the 700s.  A website is accessed that gives specific information about the debris field, and pairs of...

Two scenarios are presented for chemistry detectives to decipher. Both require the use of an infrared spectrometer and focus on the examination of polymer materials. In the first, lumps in polyethylene bottles are analyzed. In the...

What do Robert Downey Jr., Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett, Fritz Weaver, Roger Moore, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Daffy Duck have in common? Why, it’s elementary, my dear Watson! They all have portrayed Sherlock Holmes. Literary detectives...

Young detectives are given the "clues" to investigate whether King John should be remembered as a poor ruler of England, particularly in comparison in King Richard. They analyze historical informational texts and work in...

Although the methods are all scientific, forensic science was started by police officers rather than scientists, who relied on observation and common sense. Young detectives use many tools to solve crimes around the school in a...