Desert regions are hotter for multiple reasons; the lack of vegetation causes the sun's heat to go straight into the surface and the lack of moisture means none of the heat is being transferred into evaporation. This concept, and other...

Looking for a hot date? Pick any day in August, statistically the hottest month in the United States. The 15th lesson in the series of 21 instructs pupils to investigate the August 2007 heat wave through NASA data, daily temperature...

Did you know the hole in the ozone is seasonal and filled by January every year? The lesson plan uses scientific measurements of the ozone over the South Pole to understand patterns. Scholars learn that the hole grew bigger annually...

Take your biology class' understanding of biodiversity to a whole new level! Ecology scholars use data to calculate three different diversity indices based on the organisms in the Gorongosa National Park. The four-part activity uses an...

Students explore budgeting. For this finance and math lesson, students brainstorm ways in which households could save money. Students view websites that give cost reducing ideas. Students complete an expense comparison chart and use the...

In the sixth lesson plan in a series of 21, scholars use NASA data to graph and interpret albedo seasonally and over the course of multiple years. This allows learners to compare albedo trends to changes in sea ice with connections to...

The class discovers how a decimal can make all the difference in the Olympics. As they learn about decimal place values, they compare and contrast data and demonstrate decimal values using manipulatives.

Young historians investigate how voting patterns have changed by comparing the outcome of the 1960 election to the outcome of the recent election. A creative final assessment has participants making a news show wherein they provide...

A timely lesson uses documentation from the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918 to compare it to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Scholars watch a short video, analyze sources, complete a worksheet, and write a claim with supporting...

Are wages based on race? On gender? Class members research wages for workers according to race and gender, create graphs and charts of their data, and compute differences by percentages. They then share their findings with adults and...

The 2016 election is over, and now it's time to dig in to some data! An activity revolves around data gathered from the First Vote Project in North Carolina wherein thousands of young scholars voted. After diving in to the data...

Students state their opinions about school funding and the use of monetary resources by school districts and use reasons, facts, and examples to support their ideas. They compare sets of data related to school funding and draw...

Some of the CO2 emitted by burning fossil fuels is removed from the atmosphere by natural sinks, such as the ocean. The fifth engaging lesson plan in the series of 21 examines the CO2 data from three very different locations. It then...

Here is an interesting topic. Learners examine the economics that led to the founding of the First Bank of America. They participate in a reader's theater experience depicting the debate between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson...

Third graders construct numbers to the millions place. In this 30-page place value instructional activity, learners create numbers and evaluate the place value of digits. They explore standard and expanded form of numbers. An incredible...

As an assessment of their skill in crafting a compare and contrast essay, class members read and compare the portrayals of nature in excerpts from naturalist John Muir's My First Summer in the Sierra and from poet Emily Dickinson's...

Second graders work in groups to identify what types of trees create which types of leaves  In this plant life lesson plan, 2nd graders analyze a set of leaves and identify the tree it came from while graphing the data in a science...

Students investigate scientific methods by analyzing an article from the Natural Inquirer.  In this data analysis lesson, students read an article from the magazine and discuss at least 2 scientific methods that could be used to...

So much can change in seven years. Young statisticians choose three types of businesses, such as toy stores and amusement parks, and use census data to determine how the number of those businesses in their state changed between 2010 to...

Climate change and weather extremes impact every species, but this lesson focuses on how these changes effect polar bears. After learning about the animal, scholars create maps of snow-ice coverage and examine the yearly variability and...

Scholars read excerpts from the story, Heidi, in a three-part assessment that focuses on comparing and contrasting characters. Each part contains three tasks that challenge learners to discuss, answer comprehension...

Learning about waves can have its ups and downs, but a demo-packed tool kit has the class "standing" for more! Learners gain experience with several different wave types, organizing observations and data, and wave...

Students explore number relationships by participating in a data collection activity. In this statistics instructional activity, students participate in a role-play activitiy in which they own a scrap material storefront that must...

Students analyze a research report and the list of components needed in a research report and then identify those components based on a set of standards using the scientific method. They collect data which can be used for a graphical...