Students develop a setting, plot and characters for a science fiction story based on current news themes, and then individually write drafts of the story.

Class members use e-mail and the merry-go-round story format to create a science fiction story. Each writer begins by selecting one of three prompts, crafting the introductory paragraph and sending the paragraph to the next person on the...

Read and discuss the article "Welcome to Cicadaville (Enter at Your Own Risk)" to gain a better understanding around the confusion regarding cicadas and locust swarms. In groups your young analysts research statements about animals to...

Research the necessary components of a planet that supports life after reading the article "All of a Sudden, The Neighborhood Looks a Lot Friendlier" from The New York Times. After finding their information, middle and high schoolers...

Students notice and investigate a large range of devices for presenting texts-captions. Students write original captions for several audiences. Students write a fictional news story based around a certain caption.

Students explore interesting animal behaviors and adaptations. They create information sheets about an animal residing in a fictional sanctuary and assess the animal's likelihood of being a good pet.

Students consider how the tension of a rubber band relates to the stress build-up in earthquakes. They conduct research and write fictional television coverage about a Pacific Northwest town that is hit by an earthquake.

Students examine a local water supply and create a fictional invertebrate specifically adapted to thrive in that environment. They write a short story from the invertebrate's point of view.

Students examine the different branches of the primate family tree. They create fact cards about various species of non-human primates and then write fictional skits about interactions among the different primates.

Students explore a portion of the Chinese Zodiac with projects centered around the year of the rabbit. Students research types of rabbits, actual and fictional. Working in groups, they create a written or multimedia presentation.