High schoolers write a personal reading history about how reading has influenced their lives. They identify their strengths, weaknesses, and preferences as readers through a survey. Students examine what goes on in their minds while they...

Students identify and discuss characteristics of "successful reader," describe what goes on in their minds while they read various texts, and explain through presentation techniques that readers use to comprehend text.

Middle schoolers examine the influence of biodiversity on human culture through the use of birds. They brainstorm words that come to mind when they think of human cultures. They describe ways that human culture and biodiversity are linked.

Students research the history of the conflict in the Middle East and why the peace process is so complex. They step out of their "comfort zone" and examine both the Palestinian and Israeli perspectives of the conflict with an open mind....

Seventh graders participate in a class discussion about what caused World War II. Working in groups, they identify the reasons they believe were most important in starting the war and present their reason in the form of a PowerPoint,...

Students identify a character in Fallen Angels and discuss the changes that occur in that character throughout the Vietnam war.  In this Fallen Angels lesson, students participate in literary circles in which each student has a...

Pupils work in small groups to create outlines and mind-maps that demonstrate their understanding of the effects of outsourcing on economic relationships and the U.S. economy.

Turn your classroom into a farmers' market! Reading Applesauce Season by Eden Ross Lipson or Monica Wellington’s Apple Farmer Annie, launches this investigation of apples, farmers' markets, and the people selling products. The class...

Sarah Stewart’s The Gardener and Food from Farms by Nancy Dickmann display the importance of community farms. After reading these short picture books, class members draw connections between farms and the food we eat each day. As a...

Create tomatoes in 15-20 minutes using this fun and interactive lesson plan! Learners listen to a book about tomatoes (recommendations listed), and focus on the vocabulary word tomato. They count the syllables...

Students use clustering/mind mapping techniques to generate ideas, graphically represent inferences, organize their conclusions and write a report that presents conclusions the writer has reached, and facts substantiating those conclusions.

Young scholars examine the definitions of philantrophy and common good. They identify non-profit organizations in their community and research organizations that existed in colonial times with the same goal in mind. They create a...

Third graders identify unacceptable social behaviors and then describe how to replace those behaviors with acceptable behaviors. They see that as individuals we are in charge of our bodies and minds, and therefore we choose our...

Students sing a South African song and fill in blank words. They draw images that the song brings to mind while working in groups. Then, they share their art projects with the class.

Students create two drawings for a new animal pen design at the zoo. They must draw the ideas keeping the amount of material available in mind. They compare and contrast their two designs and write how they are similar in perimeter and...

Twelfth graders work in teams to design a method of recycled plastics purification by flotation. They base their design on the concept that different kinds of plastics have different densities and keep overall costs and purification time...

Students engage in a variety of activities to introduce them to and help them develop open-minded and thoughtful attitudes toward refugees.

Students build houses out of legos. They create the strongest model with the "drop test" in mind. They must build a structure that will pass the drop test. (Teacher drops from waist to the ground)

Learners utilize supply and demand models to demonstrate how markets can be affected by intervention from governments or other agencies in an attempt to correct a perceived market failure. After viewing a PowerPoint presentation,...

Fourth graders write a persuasive paper after a demonstration about the properties of water and how they work. The instructional activity also uses a mind map to outline the paper.

Students explore the country of Scotland. They brainstorm what they know about Scotland and draw a mind map of their ideas. They explore the Gaelic language and read about living in Scotland. They discuss a reality television show and...

Students participate in a reading literacy lesson that focuses on the skill of visualization and the metaphor of a movie is used to explain images in the mind. This lesson teaches children how to make a movie in their head from what is...

First graders identify and interpret what fluency means and relate it to a rabbit hopping along fast without messing up. They close their eyes and picture a book in their minds that they really love to read and locate it on the...