How did jazz influence Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man? Class members read some of Ellison's non-fiction writings about blues and jazz, listen to records, watch videos, and engage in student-centered discussions. They then produce podcasts...

Bring the sounds of the deep South vocal blues to the classroom with a Smithsonian Folkways lesson plan. In preparation, scholars listen to and count the 12 bar blues patterns in several works and identify the I, II, IV, and V chords as...

Dive your class into a reading of Island of the Blue Dolphins with this in-depth study guide. Breaking the novel into three parts, the resource begins each section with a focus activity that identifies a specific theme or question...

Please, sir, can I have a few thousand dollars for my research? The last installment in a six-part lesson has the pupils develop a grant proposal. Class members apply their knowledge of skin cancer, ultraviolet radiation, human skin, and...

Class members use an applet on the Internet to simulate the spread of a disease. The simulation allows individuals to determine two nodes to vaccinate to limit the number of nodes infected. By running several simulations, scholars...

Combine art, math, language arts, drama, and delicious Jell-o with a instructional activity based on the African folktale Anansi and the Tug o' War. Kids make predictions and discuss plot points of the story before joining in...

The last activity in a nine-part series has teams create a Google Earth map using the data they collected during a field trip. Using the map, groups analyze the results and make adjustments to the map to reflect their analysis. A short...

Take note. Soul music. Gospel music. Country music. Summer comes alive with the sounds of music as program participants learn about various genres of music, create instruments, and write and perform songs about the facts and traditions...

Young adventurers embark on a journey, setting sail along the blue ocean with Christopher Columbus. Teachers will find that this unit makes their lesson planning smooth sailing!

Finally, an electromagnetic spectrum lab that will get glowing reviews from your class! Explore the nature of light using red and blue LED sources and fantastic phosphorescent paper. Young scientists compare the effects of blue light...

A 67-page packet provides instructors with a complete course in the history of Jazz. Lessons look at the roots of jazz in early 20th century African American communities in the southern United States and continues to the New Orleans...

This is an absolute must-have resource for early elementary teachers! Here you'll find a collection of activities and worksheets for each day of the month of June, with topics ranging from ordering numbers on a calendar or identifying...

Using Claude Monet's On the Bank of the Seine as inspiration, young artists create their own postcards. During the instructional activity, learners discuss the techniques used in Monet's painting, as well as the woman in the...

Who knew you could cover prediction, histograms, fractions, decimals, data collection, and averages (mean, median, and mode) all with a bag of M&M's®? Here's a fantastic set of worksheets to help you make candy a mathematical journey...

From Brazil to Indonesia, young scientists investigate the geography and climate of the world's tropical rain forests with this collection of worksheets.

Future engineers test different alloys to determine the specific strength of each one. Based on the results, they make a recommendation to NASA on which alloy to use on engines for spacecraft.

Where does inspiration come from? Where do writers get their ideas? What about visual artists? A PowerPoint and a video introduce middle schoolers to children's author and illustrator Eric Carle and how he found inspiration in the work...

Bring history to life for your young scholars with a Fourth of July lesson series. After a class reading of the Declaration of Independence, students translate this pivotal document into layman's terms before working in small...

What do you call a fungus that writes music? A decomposer! Here, young biologists explore fungus by tasting fungus (blue cheese) to creating art with fungus to playing a board game centered around, you got it, fungus. Surprise...

Nothing flows like J-E-L-L-O! In the final portion of a four-part series, pupils create scale models of microfluidic devices out of gelatin and bendable straws. They use their devices to test various flow rates in the delivery of...

Young scientists construct an understanding of molecular compounds in this hands-on science lesson plan. Using LEGO® to model the atoms of different elements, students build molecules based on the chemical formulas of common...

Class members work to translate the Declaration of Independence into their own words, as well as design a Facebook page within the context of 1776 to raise public awareness about the document and its meaning for citizens.

Small groups use the knowledge learned about the heart to design and build a prototype of an artificial heart valve. The teams demonstrate the functionality of their valve. They are also responsible for creating a pamphlet that describes...

Upper graders form a "Presidential Task Force," and attempt to make recommendations concerning the future of the national power grid. After a teacher-led discussion which proves that our nation's energy consumption will soon outpace our...