Creative projects and collaborative learning are hallmarks of 21st Century learning skills. Using an iphone, 6th graders create an iMovie which shows a student composed riddle. The riddle needs to be about one of the landforms they have...

Sitting Bull was not expected to be a great warrior. Yet, he led the Lakota people and other tribes to several pivotal victories against the United States government when federal troops threatened their land. Using primary sources, such...

Agriculture, deforestation, and urbanization. How have human's changed the planet and how might we mitigate the effects of human activity on the planet? To answer these questions class members research the changes in human land use from...

To better understand the migrant experience during the Great Depression, pupils analyze two primary resources: photographs by Dorothea Lange and a U.S. Map that shows the Dust Bowl. They compare and contrast Lange's images to Steinbeck's...

Bring the ocean floor to life! Earth science scholars discover the process of deep sea mapping in the third installment in a series of five lessons about ocean exploration. The teacher's guide includes helpful resources, worksheets, and...

How do you create a map of the ocean floor without getting wet? Middle school oceanographers discover the process of bathymetric mapping in the third installment in a five-part series of lessons designed for seventh and eighth graders....

A very thorough lesson plan focuses on what plants need to grow and stay healthy. There are excellent reading activities and worksheets included in this fine plan. A terrific way to introduce a unit on plants and their needs.

Animals have evolved to communicate in different frequencies so they can hear each other throughout the rainforest. The first lesson in a three-part series begins by exploring an interactive story map online about the Borneo rainforest....

One of the best parts about teaching the littlest learners is that you can create thematic lessons that use one topic to address every subject. Here is a nice set of thematic teaching ideas that uses turtles and tortoises to teach...

New roads, new businesses, new developments, new mass transit systems. All growth has both positive and negative effects on communities. Government classes investigate the principles of Maryland's 1997 Smart Growth program and...

Young citizens construct an understanding of urban planning in this cross-curricular unit. Covering every aspect of city development from the political, economic, and social influences to sustainable building practices, this...

Start a whole new life in a land known as the Wild Wild West! Learners analyze maps, personal accounts, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, songs, and video clips to uncover life under the Homestead Act. Using their new skills, class members role...

Earth is a complex structure. Learners explore their home, the earth, using a fun hands-on activity. They create tactile models of the earth using ordinary household materials that represent some common features: land, polar caps,...

Walk in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark as they discover the wonders, beauty, and dangers of the American frontier. After gaining background knowledge about Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, young explorers use primary...

The second instructional activity in a unit about how writers develop their central ideas and use evidence to support their arguments focuses on the role that scholars at Jundi Shapur, "The World's First True University," played in the...

What is the connection between the spread of ideas and the expansion of the sugar trade? Class members continue their reading of Sugar Changed the World and use an analysis tool to identify how critical ideas in the chapters are...

A critical look into the structure and function of ecosystems is here for young learners as a series of lessons and worksheet activities. Topics covered include land-based and marine ecosystems, connections to the water cycle, food...

Young history sleuths examine an inventory of the belongings of a Virginia colonist and use deductive reasoning to determine what the document reveals about colonial life. They then use a Venn diagram to compare the inventory with a...

The slope of the land is an important feature when considering the erosion that will occur. In this resource, which is part of a rain garden unit, learners calculate the slope of the proposed garden site. Even if you are not planning a...

More than just a worksheet, the resource provides a thorough guide to navigate through the land of parallelograms. Filled with definitions and theorems, the resource supports learners through problems such as proofs and finding missing...

Links to two different versions of this mapping activity are available. In "The Small Version," youngsters design a town, keeping the water supply in mind. In "The Large Version," they also design a town, but they consider services and...

Fifth and sixth graders are introduced to the primary landforms of Illinois and discover how they were created. Landform cards are made for each pupil. They use the twenty-questions format until they have identified each one. Then,...

Just how do astronauts stay safe during moon landings? Here's an activity that allows investigators to use the engineering process to explore how shock absorbers protect astronauts during landing. Applying knowledge of gravity, force,...

Challenge small groups to build a structure that catches a raw egg without breaking—working collaboratively and applying mathematical and engineering principles. Pretending the frame was made by a business, scholars create a marketing...