How do you calculate your Body Mass Index, and why is this information a valuable indicator of health? Class members discover not only what BMI is and practice calculating it using the height and weight of six fictitious individuals, but...

Send youngsters home to survey how they use water in their homes. Then bring them together to discuss which uses are essential for our health and which are not. A helpful video offers teaching tips for this lesson, and a presentation...

What can layers of rock teach us about the climate? Young scientists solve a mystery about who stole a cookie by applying the law of superposition. Then, they apply the same concept to solve a more difficult mystery, trying to determine...

As a class, scholars read the poems, Humpty Dumpty, Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater, and Jack and Jill, in order to identify words with the same ending sound. Using their rhyming skills, learners brainstorm additional words...

Young economists learn about the method of predicting changes in the exchange rate with Big Macs in an instructional video. After an understanding the index, learners write a post on a discussion board and respond to class members' posts...

The era after the Civil War saw a flourishing of African Americans exercising their rights. Using graphic organizers and Internet research, pupils consider the legacy of Benjamin Sterling Turner, who sat in Congress. Afterward, they...

Looking for an interesting text to share the world of microbes with your middle school classroom? The edition contains explanations, worksheets, experiments, discussions, and links to outside sources for a true and complete...

Help your class make sense of nutrition labels with the ninth lesson of this series. After explaining the different information provided on packaged food labels, perform an activity that demonstrates the amount of sugar in a single can...

Models are an important part of science; they help us see the world on a scale that works for us. In the first of five lessons on HIV, learners make a paper model of the HIV virus that is about 500,000 times larger than the actual virus....

Is obesity a disease or just a preventable risk factor for other diseases? Scholars attempt to form their own opinions by reading a background of the issue and watching videos that explore the main pro and con arguments using an included...

Second graders practice using technology to gather information. In this online research lesson, 2nd graders use technology to find information for a research project. Students write a research paper, and give a presentation to the class...

There's nothing negative about this mini-unit on integers! Engaging young mathematicians in a series of hands-on activities and collaborative learning opportunities, this resource offers an excellent way to introduce your class...

In cooperative groups, middle schoolers contemplate the probability of 18 different situations occurring. After they make predictions, they compare them to the actual risk factors. This eye-opening exercise demonstrates that the odds of...

Three activities stem from one hands-on project designed to explore character traits. Scholars create an action figure that reflects their personality to teach others about themselves and role play conversational skills.

Discuss how diseases have impacted human history. Divide your class into groups and assign each group one of the following: tuberculosis, malaria, plague, cholera, smallpox, and AIDS. They read up on, complete a concept map, and present...

How does gravity affect the life cycle of a butterfly? Learn first-hand what types of investigations astronauts perform in space by following along with one of NASA's experiments. Create butterfly habitats in the classroom with specific...

Scholars look at and describe a picture of Cronus and Rhea and discuss the process of making predictions. Learners then use the images to write a prediction about the myth of the gods on an index card before completing guided...

In the second of five lessons about HIV, discover the mechanisms that allow the HIV virus to replicate. Using the models that they created the day before, learners examine the parts of the virus particle. The lesson plan does not say...

Writers compose an original found poem by searching for words that inspire them. Words are taken from everyday conversation, books, cut from magazines, the mail, or an already written poem. 

Why do decreasing prices (deflation) restrain economic growth, and why is this a real concern? Here you'll find reading materials and a related worksheet that gets right to the heart of this question, using recent events and...

Imagine being part of a team of scientists that discover the oldest human remains in North America. Imagine being part of the crew that documents this discovery. Class members get a change to be part of such an exciting adventure in a...

Was the Civil War fought only due to slavery? Using an interactive web tool, scholars investigate the four main causes of the Civil War. Gathering evidence and data to support their claims, they present a final statistical breakdown...

Inflate your knowledge, not the economy! Pupils learn more about inflation with detailed worksheets and exciting activities such as role play, an interactive PowerPoint presentation, and a project in which they design...

Explore various ecosystems from around the world as your class discovers the interdependence of all living things. Using the provided sets of ecosystem cards, young scientists work in small groups building food webs to demonstrate the...