Light up the solutions. By following a set of directions, pupils build a circuit board with six different circuits. Learners use the circuit board to create a matching activity by connecting the questions to the correct answers via a...

Bring the excitement of genetics to scholars with a dynamic hands-on meiosis modeling experience. During the activity, biologists follow step-by-step procedures to build chromosomes, model independent assortment, learn about crossing...

Driving a Mars rover is a challenging task. Learners play a board game that simulates the decisions scientists and engineers make while controlling the rover. Their task involves building a command sequence to get from point A to point B...

Bring the science of space exploration to the classroom. Young learners explore the mechanics of the parachute-landing mechanisms on the Mars Rover. They design and build their own parachute models and test their ability to land a probe...

Two activities work with a fiction and nonfiction book about robots‚—Robot Dreams by Sara Varon and Robot by Roger Bridgman. Scholars read each story, then build a robot out of found objects, examine robot sensors, and search for...

Sometimes what you get is far more than what you first see. The third routine in the Building Community series asks participants to engage in a See, Think, Wonder strategy. Small groups analyze a projected image, infer what is happening,...

Middle schoolers learn what respect means to them and their classmates with the opening exercise in a series of confidence-building lessons. Participants list people they respect and why they respect them. They generate a definition,...

Money? Beauty? Education? The final lesson plan in the Confidence Building module encourages middle schoolers to consider the power they have to determine the course of their lives. After investigating different forms of power,...

Groups of two to four work collaboratively to engineer a birdhouse that will stay cool in the summer heat. Teams examine several different-colored roofs, testing the efficiency of each with a heat lamp. Then, groups sketch their ideas,...

Find similarities in seemingly unlike organisms. The second instructional activity in a series of 12 builds the concept of a taxonomy and explores the use of a dichotomous key. Learners begin in part one by attempting to group a set of...

What's life like in a hydrothermal vent? Find out in part five of a 13-part series. Learners journey to one of the harshest environments on the planet, the hydrothermal vent, to learn about the creatures that survive the extreme...

Building upon previous lessons, scholars take to asking and answering questions about a frog's habitat. A partner discussion follows a read-aloud of an informational text in preparation for a worksheet that boosts reading comprehension...

Fourth graders draw a set of blueprints and record measurements on them. They add, subtract and multiply to work within their house-building budget.

Young scholars explore bridges and how they are constructed. After reviewing materials on bridges, they work in groups to record their findings. They design and construct a bridge using K'NEX or straws and predict which bridge will hold...

Learners investigate the history of fighter kites and build their own.  In this aeronautics instructional activity, students discover how other countries utilize fighter kites and where they originated.  Learners create their...

In this materials worksheet, students will review different types of materials and the structures that can be made using these materials. This worksheet has 7 fill in the blank, 6 matching, 1 short answer, and 6 multiple choice questions.

Students compare and contrast likenesses and differences to others by creating a life-size picture of themselves. In this character building lesson, students dictate a sentence about comments on sharing and display them with their...

Students plan and build a ramp designed for maximum distance a car can travel. In this physics and data collection math lesson, students work in groups to design a ramp using various household materials. Students test small cars on their...

Students use the Internet to research the ancient practices of building structures and to help them recognize what building materials serve as good conductors and insulators of heat. They build a structure using straw bale walls.

Eighth graders design and build a gingerbread house. For this technology lesson, 8th graders research the important components of a house. They evaluate the strength of their design and suggest modifications when necessary.

Need a unit to teach fractions to fourth graders? Look no further than this well-developed and thorough set of lessons that takes teachers through all steps of planning, implementing, and assessing their lessons. Divided into eight...

In a sweet simulation, junior geneticists examine the chromosomes of a fictitious Reebop marshmallow animal, combine chromosomes to produce offspring, and then make a model of the resulting Reebop baby. Phenotypes include number of...

Get crafting with hundreds of pages of art lessons! The plans are organized into topics, which include clay, drawing, composition and design, mixed media, painting, printmaking, and paper.

We would be lost without maps! How are they made? Introduce junior topographers to LIDAR technology with a fascinating activity. Set up a mock city, then have learners operate a laser measure to determine the shape of the landscape using...