How did World War I effect the United States' status as a world power? Pupils examine a website to learn many interesting facts about American involvement during World War I. They read passages and interact with artifacts in an online...

Space explorers take a virtual trip around the sun right within your classroom! They stand in a circle facing away from the "sun" (a lamp) in the center of the room. As they move according to your instructions, they view different...

Learners study the causes for a juvenile court to terminate all rights of a parent to a child. They do case studies of a few examples of this scenario taking place. This lesson invites quite a bit of debate amongst the pupils, and...

Pupils become plants in an interpretive play that depicts what happens throughout the seasons in a rain garden. As you narrate, students bloom, flower, and go to seed accordingly. The lesson is first in a series of lessons written for...

It's shark week! In this problem, young mathematically minded marine biologists need to study the fish population by analyzing data over time. The emphasis is on understanding the average rate of change of the population and drawing...

Elementary schoolers find out which month has the most class birthdays (mode) and which birthday represents the middle point of all the birthdays (median). They gather and organize data to find one number that fairly represents the whole...

Your young fishermen learn about exponential function growth by interpreting the pieces of the given equation within the context of numbers of fish in a lake.

Passive solar heating is a technology that's been in use for thousands of years. Here, elementary schoolers are exposed to this type of heating, the materials that are used in passive solar heating, and they study how engineers design...

Point of view is everything, especially when reporting about the war in Afghanistan. Class members compare and contrast the same event from the war in Afghanistan as reported by five different sources. Learners are also asked to rank the...

Here's a great idea for writing portfolios. Kids decorate all four sides of their portfolio, introducing themselves, their families, goals, dreams, and favorite things. Detailed directions for all four panels and a rubric are included in...

Here is another lesson regarding the law. This time, the laws that dictate eligibility for food stamps is the focus. After an initial discussion about the basics of the laws, learners do a case study of a family who is applying for food...

Your young bankers compare earning interest accumulated yearly and monthly to decide which method most increases their balance. Using an exponential function to model the bank balance affords the learners more practice connecting...

Your learners will get lots of practice calculating simple and compound interest by the end of this lesson. Simple explanations and examples lead learners through the concepts and steps of calculating simple and compound interest...

After listening to your lecture on climate change, young scientists access NOAA's database listing Mauna Loa's carbon dioxide data. They graph the monthly means and then compare their graphs to NOAA's. This is a concise plan that could...

Sixth graders keep track of the amount of paper they consume on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. The goal of the lesson is to have them all find ways to reduce the amount they use. Everyone creates recycled paper from old newspapers...

What makes a story interesting? Complex characters! As part of a series of worksheets that prepares middle schoolers to write their own novel, the exercises included explain the role of the protagonist, the antagonist, and the supporting...

Function machines are a great way to introduce the topic of functions to your class. Here, you will explore the input and output to functions both using numerical and non-numerical data. Learners are encouraged to play with different...

Introduce junior oceanographers to ice conditions in The Great Lakes. The ice map links are no longer available, so you will not be able to have your class perform the mentioned data activity. You can, however, access the Canadian Ice...

A passage about solar eclipses provides readers with an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to identify the main idea and supporting ideas in an article.

Every time you purchase something from the store, it goes into a bag, but what happens to the bag? This lesson encourages your learners to think about what happens to those plastic and paper bags and their effect on the environment. Use...

Information is provided on Gray's Reef, Florida Keys, and Flower Garden Banks marine sanctuaries. Young marine biologists then visit the FishBase and REEF databases to collect fish species information for each location. They then...

What do infants need? What are parental responsibilities? Why breastfeed? What are the pros and cons? When do infants sit-up, roll over, crawl, talk, get teeth, eat solid foods, and sleep through the night? So many questions, and this is...

“C u l8r @ skool.” As part of a study of formal and informal language, class members examine excerpts from Lil’ Boosie lyrics, the Emancipation Proclamation, a speech by Martin Luther King. Links to the resources not provided; however,...