Teams use the design process to design, build, and test a model levee to protect the town from a wall of water. A handout provides a price list for the materials learners can use to build their levee within a budget.

It might be silly to determine the creep rate of putty but groups will enjoy making different formulations of silly putty and playing with them to understand how the different mixtures behave. The second part of the activity has groups...

Let your brilliance shine like the sun. Future mathematicians and scientists consider given data on the abundance of different elements in the sun. The assessment task requires consideration of how these different abundances relate to...

With 52 task cards, learners will not run out of things to do with a book they are reading independently or with the class. Tasks include making a poster on a specific topic, writing a summary, drafting a sequel, creating a windsock,...

All soil is not created equal! A lab activity asks learners to collect and analyze soil. Specific calculations determine the amount of sand, silt, and clay in a sample and allow individuals to identify the soil texture. 

Make a connection between empathy and bullying with a reading passage that has readers thinking about other people's feelings. After reading, learners respond to ten reading comprehension questions involving short answer and multiple...

Increase camping vocabulary just in time for summer with a camping themed literacy pack. Use word cards and sentence cards to enhance fluency, build vocabulary, and strengthen writing skills. The activities are perfect for centers,...

Turn your class discussion of rock formation from ho-hum to holy hornfels! Junior geologists gain experience in identifying rock types and rock origins, with an emphasis in hypothesizing the environment needed to form certain...

The United States has more per capita emissions than any other country in the world. An eye-opening simulation encourages users to explore environmental goals and factors that affect climate change by balancing different priorities....

Do words change or add meaning or interest to a work of art? The final lesson in a four-part series on the beautiful brain as a work of art focuses on art analysis. Scholars write a story about exploring art from the inside. Reflections...

Control the spread of a contagious disease. An applet allows pupils to run a simulation on the spread of a disease. Rules govern how the disease is spread and the length of time it takes to recover. Learners view the spread visually and...

Will human existence define an epoch? Many scientists think we are in a new epoch, the anthropocene, defined by humans and our impact on the environment. An online interactive demonstrates the immense impact humans have had on every part...

How do scientists determine what questions to ask to meet their research goals? Help your class develop an inquiry mindset with a lesson based on studies in the Gorongosa National Park. Partners create their own research questions by...

Big news isn't necessarily newsworthy everywhere! How do journalists decide what to cover with so much happening around them? A instructional activity on media literacy examines the factors that affect the media's choice of stories to...

A three-part assessment challenges scholars to read informational texts in order to complete three tasks. Following a brief reading, class members take part in grand conversations, complete charts, and work in small groups to research...

Hear about a great resource on sound? An interesting hands-on activity has learners construct a device that will soundproof a phone or speaker. They test out different materials to see which ones best absorb sound waves.

Create a winning card. Given a description of a bingo game using two spinners, pupils determine which of three cards has the greatest chance of winning. Scholars then determine which are the best numbers to put on their own cards to give...

Spread the word about concussions! After reading articles about concussions and sports safety, small groups create paper slide videos to educate their peers about concussions, their symptoms, long-term consequences, and how to protect...

Carrot, egg, or tea? A parable gets teens thinking about how, when faced with the same adversity, people respond differently. As the lesson progresses, class members learn about how stress is regulated by the sympathetic and...

Stop. Breathe. Think. A richly detailed lesson on mindfulness introduces freshmen to meditation as a coping strategy to deal with stress.

In today's political rhetoric, many forget the pivotal role the Republican Party played in the causes of the Civil War. The party's formation was the final straw for Southerners who saw the enslavement of people of African descent a...

Working in small groups, pupils design a questionnaire to survey classmates about their carbon footprints. Then, after discussing the activity with group members, they share with the class an interesting fact they learned. 

Avoid donuts on test days! Teach your classes how to prepare for assessments, ranging from pop quizzes to major exams, with a lesson that helps scholars identify and practice effective test-taking strategies. Participants learn about the...

Middle schoolers learn how to "put stress to rest" by identifying their stress factors and the physical and emotional signs they exhibit when stressed. After the class brainstorms ways to handle these stressors, individuals commit to...