Why didn't Rapunzel's hair stop growing?  Why did it take the fairy godmother so long to intervene in Cinderella's affairs? Young writers consider unanswered questions like these and compose news articles investigating the true...

Jump back into expository writing and analysis at the start of a new school year! Start with a review of an authors' stylistic choices in diction, syntax, treatment of subject matter, and figurative language. Writers choose a text to...

A great idea for showing language arts pupils the universality of themes, even in the real world! Have class members choose an idea-noun (peace, justice, war, love, etc.) at the beginning of the year or semester. They complete weekly...

Feel the pull of science! The final installment of this 18-part series is an application of everything learned in the previous high school lessons. Scholars are given a magnetic field map and must propose an arrangement of magnets that...

Let’s learn about frogs! Young readers are led through “Freaky Frogs,” a non-fiction article. Teach learners how to edit an article so there are fewer details to sift through. After talking through the article, they learn the six steps...

Finished your novel? What’s next? Designing the book cover, of course. But how to begin? After examining the covers of published books and noting the common elements of these jackets, young novelists design a front and back cover for...

High schoolers plot particle sizes of common airborne materials on a log scale. They read an article on particle size and its relationship to the ability to pass through the lungs, into the bloodstream, and eventually into the cells...

After reading "Aquatic Alchemy," an article about recapturing water for reuse when in space, your class will use calcium hydroxide or hydrated lime to purify cloudy water. Geared toward high school chemistry or environmental science...

Have you ever noticed a news story revolves around an essential question? Scholars research methods of reporting historical events. Working in groups, they use an interactive module to gather information on a historical topic, uncovering...

Can you beat the odds of cancer? In the first installment of a seven-part series, future biomedical engineers consider how to detect and diagnose cancer. An article on biosensors provides useful information toward this goal.

It's a bird, it's a ... device made to mimic birds. The eighth installment of a nine-part module has pupils read various articles to learn about bird flight. They consider the implications for aeronautical engineering.

Take a close look at a number of newspapers with collection of lessons and activities. Using a poster (which can be found under the materials tab), learners examine the hard copy of a local newspaper. This leads into an exploration of...

Pupils examine an article about tsunami warning systems and discuss why they are important. They conduct an experiment that shows how the velocity of a wave in water changes with the depth. 

High schoolers in chemistry or health courses look at the material safety data sheet (MSDS) and periodic table of elements to gather information about mercury and lead, two toxic materials that have been found in food products. They read...

Ninth graders explore environmental concerns of the community and identify the basic needs of people, wildlife and domestic animals. Working both individually and in groups, they also define natural resources and compare and contrast...

Students examine the importance of tsunami warning systems. They read and discuss an article, conduct an experiment in a wave tank, calculate wave velocities of tsunamis, and identify what happens to tsunamis as they approach a shoreline.

Students bring in their own article about immigration and how it is affecting their community. They summarize their article and brainstorm reasons why someone would immigrate to another country. They discuss push and pull factors.

Students participate in a memory experiment to discover how the eye works. After reading an article, they analyze a new technique which examines how the brain registers sight. They develop their own memory game and conduct trials using...

Ninth graders use online tutorials, class discussion, presentations and scientific articles to explore types of cells along with cell structure, function and behavior. They explore ethical questions related to cells and disease.

Young scientists participate in a hands-on experiment to explore Einstein's theory of relativity in a creative manner. They investigate various waves and compare their characteristics as they discuss how each wave is created....

Students discuss different literary devices and use them to write summaries of New York Times articles dealing with international news. They reflect on the effectiveness and appropriateness of sports metaphors in the political arena.

Pupils read the fictitious newspaper article entitled, "Levels of Radon in Jersey Town Exceed Limits." This helps them get a basic vocabulary started for the terms and concepts related to radon. In groups, they identify words that they...

Pupils critically analyze data regarding climate changes using a glossary of terms generated by examination of climate related articles. They examine and graph climatic data, and discuss, hypothesize and test apparent discrepancies in...

Eighth graders examine the impact of the Progressive Era on the state of North Carolina. Using primary source documents, they discover the reason for the creation of schools during this time period. After reading news articles, they...