When we think of ocean exploration, many of us have visions of sunken pirate ships full of treasure or mysterious creatures of the deep. What really motivates deep-sea investigation? The first in a series of diverse six-part lessons...

Students explore genealogy by reading a family history book in class. In this family tree lesson, students read the story Me and My Family Tree by Joan Sweeney and discuss their own family history. Students identify what the term...

Explore the rainforest with your class. Learners study the meaning of the word endangered, choose an animal to study, gather data, and discuss why the animal is in danger of extinction. This is a motivating way to have your class discuss...

Native American studies is fun, educational, and highly motivating. Fifth graders will gain a deeper understanding of the six major pre-Columbian culture areas on the North American continent. They will choose one group and conduct...

NFL football in science class? Yes, please! In an engaging and motivating three-day lesson, kids take a look at their own nutritional habits and needs compared to those of an NFL player, then experiment with the effects of hydration on...

Fifth graders correspond with one another regarding interesting global topics. They swap interview questions and collaborate in the publishing of an online newspaper. This should be a highly motivating lesson which get kids writing!

Discuss and generate blogs in this technology lesson. Middle and high schoolers explore examples of blogs and create their own blogs. Use this lesson throughout the year to reinforce concepts from your language arts class (or any class)....

Learners examine the implications of North Korea's nuclear testing. They develop a K-W-L chart, read an article, write questions, conduct research on their self-generated questions, and create an exhibit of their findings.

Students explore the publishing roles of author and illustrator. Stories are written and the illustration done by other students. Answers to several questions act as a motivating force for the creation of the stories.

Students identify and analyze the motivation behind the African-American students in organizing the sit-in if Greensboro and the formation of the SNCC. Students identify how the generational differences between members of SNCC and other...

Have your young writers organize their thoughts before writing. They generate ideas through various brainstorming activities prior to writing a mock feature news story for USA Today. A series of USA Today articles debating the level of...

Learners investigate the motivation of volunteers. In this philanthropy lesson, students interview school volunteers on why they volunteer and write thank-you letters to them

Students generate their own definition of documetary. They watch and discusss a series of extracts that demonstrate the breadth of the documentary form. Students create a defintion of the term documentary that takes into account the...

Students discuss favorite recipes from their home countries and help each other to generate the correct sequencing and grammar for the recipe. They write out the recipe using imperative and passive structures.

Students are given an obscure topic and told to generate six related questions they think a reader might be interested in knowing. They switch papers and answer each other's questions as 'fraud' experts in their best technical writing...

Students research discrimination and how people fought against for the common good. In this discrimination lesson, students watch a movie about Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas. Students generate a list of words about discrimination....

Students discuss the importance of power grids in power generation. In this physics lesson, students explain the impact of power failure. They investigate the power blackout in 2003 and discuss their findings.

Students read oral history accounts of the 1930s and 1940s from "The Greatest Generation" books. They discuss how the common good and civil society was strengthed by these men and what they did for America. They research another time...

Students prepare to write a discursive composition. They pay particular attention to generating, selecting, ordering and organizing ideas. Students incorporate the use of linking devices and paragraph planning.

Ninth graders explain how wind can produce electricity. In this geometry lesson, 9th graders construct their own pin wheel turbine and calculate its power. They discuss the pros and cons of using wind generator.

Students use clustering/mind mapping techniques to generate ideas, graphically represent inferences, organize their conclusions and write a report that presents conclusions the writer has reached, and facts substantiating those conclusions.

Students use the Internet to research the history of the splitting of the atom. They use that research to prepare a presentation on an aspect of that topic. A map is generated to record findings and results.

Fourth graders generate written summaries from non-fiction articles.  In this writing lesson plan, 4th graders determine what must be included in writing a good summary and then work in small groups to construct summaries after...

Young writers design and publish a newsletter with articles that demonstrate knowledge of mathematical concepts. They explain mathematical procedures and basic operations in a news article format. Next, they compile several articles to...