Every living creature can leave a fossil record, yet most fossils belong to extinct organisms rather than ones currently living. Scholars learn about dating rock layers, fossils, and the environment of the past. Pupils understand that...

Middle schoolers investigate the structure of the atom through hands on activities. In this atomic structure lesson, students perform 4 activities showing indirect evidence of the structure of the atom and the parts of the atom. They...

Students appreciate and examine the roles that people play in particular situations. For this career lesson plan, students use research and information skills to perform the roles they are assigned.

Learners role play the position of a scientist to gather information on Meriwether Lewis' death. They discover what he did after the famous expedition and how centuries affect the study of a body. They share their information with the...

Seventh graders participate in a "Solve the Media Center Mystery" using the directions that are included in the lesson. They role play as detectives as complete the activity and choose a research topic. They develop questions that they...

Expose the beautiful mystery of bulbs as young botanists learn all about these fascinating plants. They glean information from a short text before observing actual bulbs (consider an onion), and comparing their findings with predictions....

Ping, ping, ping. The last installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program explores technology use in marine studies, such as sonar. Activity involves simulating sonar techniques to identify a...

Students revise Spanish mystery stories. They sequence the events from a group's mystery story and suggest revisions for the setting. They revise their stories using the suggestions from classmates and describe characters in folktales....

Students explore using descriptive words by playing a What Do You See? game, describing items in a Mystery Bag, and using Eye-Spy binoculars on an on-campus field trip. They read the book, I Went Walking, and write descriptions of a...

Students explore detective investigations. In this introduction to mysteries activity, students role play eye witnesses and investigators related to a "crime" committed in their classroom. Students collect evidence and record...

Students role-play biologists, coal geologists, space warfare experts, astronomers, pollution-control scientists, and hydrophysicists as they answer the question, "Why is Venus so much hotter than the Earth?"

Students, in groups, examine and list the varieties of plants and how they relate to man and the environment. They create plant books complete with leaf samples with sketches and information, grow beans in plastic baggies, and role-play...

Expose the beautiful mystery of bulbs as young botanists learn all about these fascinating plants. They glean information from a short text before observing actual bulbs (consider an onion), and comparing their findings with predictions....

Fifth graders listen to a read aloud of David Mc Cauley's book Motel of the Mysteries. They discuss an unknown artifact and decide what it might be used for. They research other artifacts and play "What's that Relic?"

Students role play an honorary detective to assist in solving a crime committed. They investigate by a bank robbery and interview eyewitnesses using their Crime Investigation Notebook and clues from an eyewitness account from the...

Second graders role-play as members of the "Math Graph Detective Academy" and assist in solving a mysteries. Once they have watched a "top secret" video, they sort objects according to traits into five categories. Throughout five...

Students culminate a science and language arts unit by participating in a performance. In this performance lesson plan, students make costumes and scenery before performing a play entitled, "The Mystery of the Missing Jewel Fish."

Students investigate the habits of animals by studying their prints.  In this animal life lesson, students investigate the different types of tracks left from animals by researching the Internet.  Students utilize clay or...

Students role-play the jobs of space shuttle astronauts, conduct experiments, and research space using the Internet and offline experiments. Student-astronauts hold a "press conference" to share their information with others in a...

Students participate in "Raiders of the Future", a role play about futuristic scientists sending a spaceship to Mars for research and exploration. They collect geological samples for analysis, discover the ruins of an ancient...

Learners role play as history detectives. In this historical inquiry activity, students discuss what detectives do, analyze a trunk of "artifacts" and make conclusions about its fictional owner. Learners complete six pages of related...

Learners work in pairs, and take turns pretending to be a magician. There are a set of instructions for the magician to follow. A penny and a dime are used, and odd and even numbers are employed for multiplying. There is also a nifty...

Students read a poem and discuss how the poem could be made into a piece of drama.