Does the fastest one always win the race? Look deeper into The Tortoise and the Hare with a set of discussion questions for before, during, and after reading the story.

Extinction events have happen throughout geologic history, but only five mass extinctions occurred over the last 4.5 billion years. Scholars view fossils from a layer of sediment during an extinction event and observe patterns to draw...

Currently, only 2.1% of global warming is felt on continents, while over 93% is felt in the oceans. The fourth lesson plan in the series of 21 on global warming is composed of three activities that build off one another. In the...

Making inferences and drawing conclusions is a key component to successful active reading. Encourage your class to use context clues and prior knowledge to infer different elements of a story, including the setting, plot, and character...

Looking for a hot date? Pick any day in August, statistically the hottest month in the United States. The 15th lesson in the series of 21 instructs pupils to investigate the August 2007 heat wave through NASA data, daily temperature...

How can diagnostic labels help children? Is hypnosis a useful tool or a fraudulent practice? An examination prompt explores controversies in psychology. A second, structured inquiry unpacks perception—and its various influences.

Find out the science of how clouds keep Earth cooler on hot days. Using guided discussions, investigators analyze and interpret maps of how much solar energy Earth receives at different times of the year. Participants draw conclusions...

Which is worse — drought or flooding? Neither is helpful to the environment, and both are increasing due to climate change. The 16th instructional activity in a series of 21 covers the average precipitation trends for two different...

Sixth graders strengthen their understanding of what a high quality website is composed of. Learners evaluate three websites for accuracy, credibility, and reliability by completing a chart.

Climate change and weather extremes impact every species, but this lesson plan focuses on how these changes effect polar bears. After learning about the animal, scholars create maps of snow-ice coverage and examine the yearly variability...

Support science instruction with a combination of engaging activities and skills-based worksheets that focus on clouds. Learners take part in grand discussions, write an acrostic poem, complete graphic organizers, solve word...

What important facts about Dr. Seuss influenced the Read Across America movement...? This is the driving question of a research project that requires scholars to find information about Dr. Seuss' life and work. Class...

Fifth graders read the story of "Katie's Trunk". They identify the traits of integrity and fairness in the characters John Warren and Katie. Students explore how people can experience the same event but interpret it differently. They...

The activities in this lesson will help you focus on the important features of arguments, especially on the writer (or the source) and the evidence the writer provides. That way, you can more accurately decide if an argument is valid and...

This is a collection of 14 discussion opportunities. Review the key ideas expressed and draw conclusions in light of information and knowledge gained from the discussions.

Self-checking interactive tutorial puts reading comprehension skills to work by asking learners to make inferences, predict what happens next, and identify the main ideas in a series of short reading passages. Related materials include...