Most of us have heard of Rosa Parks, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and Martin Luther King, Jr. But what about Claudette Colvin, Virginia Durr, Freedom Summer, or the Birmingham Children's Crusade? A five-lesson unit prompts class...

Winter, spring, summer, and fall—Earth experiences them all! But what about Mars? Scholars compare the planets in terms of distance, tilt, and rotation during a lesson from PBS's Space series. Great visual models of Earth and Mars, plus...

Maybe the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Ralph, a mouse character in Runaway Ralph, thought that summer camp had to be better than dealing with his mother, uncle, and cousins. However, camp has its troubles, too. Worksheet...

Why does Earth experience summer, fall, winter, and spring? Using an informative demonstration, learners see how the angle of the sun on Earth and the rotation of Earth determine the seasons. Scholars work in pairs to learn that the...

Find the height from afar. Teams role play as summer interns to find the height of a set of windows from the outside. Scholars must first determine how to find the height with the available tools. After determining a strategy involving...

Consider the preponderance of evidence when making a verdict. The third of five lessons in Unit 1: The Big Climate Change Experiment focuses on the evidence for climate change. Learners study graphs, diagrams, and pictures regarding...

After reading a series of articles that provide background information about Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, class members design a meal plan and an activity plan for a weeklong summer camp for 5- to 8-year olds with diabetes. A second...

Beat the summer heat by exploring the properties of color. Scientists view a video explaining the relationship between light absorption and energy transfer using variables including intensity, time, and wavelength. A multiple-choice...

Over the summer of 1944, the Allied powers of World War II came together to take back the beaches of France. See the ways each division operated to turn the tide of war with an interactive timeline and map.

A wonderful series of lessons on the four seasons. Everyone explores the seasons through looking at proper clothes, monitoring temperatures, looking at paintings of each of the seasons, and creating their own images with their...

Perfect for summer camp, an after school program, or your classroom, these instructions will make tie-dying a breeze! Simple instructions and helpful images make tie dying a fun and easy project. Tip: Have learners predict the outcome of...

Third graders first begin the activity by reading Vera B. Williams Stringbean's Trip to the Shining Sea. This book is a collection of postcards that Stringbean Coe and his brother Fred write to their family while they were on a summer...

Give your future household repair specialists a real-life chance to apply the concepts of ratio and proportion. Using a scale drawing, they calculate the missing dimensions of two walls of a compound-shaped attic. They then figure how...

Political tensions have surrounded the Olympics for centuries; take a look back at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics with this political cartoon analysis activity. Background information gives learners context regarding Tibetan protests...

Explore the history and traditions of the Fourth of July in this ESL presentation. It includes basic facts about the Revolutionary War and American Independence Day, as well as various ways to celebrate the holiday. A good way to...

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”  Readers of The Stranger rate Mersault’s moral development (or lack thereof) using Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development scale. Using...

What brings happiness? An anticipation guide for Dandelion Wine asks readers to ponder the concepts in Ray Bradbury’s novel about the joys of summer. The scripted plan includes the guide, additional activities, and assessment options. Do...

Readers of Dandelion Wine work in groups to develop questions on four levels (right there, think and search, the author and you, and on my own) about Chapter 34 of Ray Bradbury's reflection on the joys of summer. Groups jigsaw and...

Why do shadows look different in the summer than in the winter? What causes day and night? How can a sundial be used to tell time? Answer these questions and more through two engaging lessons about light and shadows. Fourth and fifth...

Engage students in sharing about themselves with this social-media-inspired student interest survey. Using the format of a Facebook page, the worksheet asks kids to fill in information about their interests, family, friends, summer...

Keep track of all your class members' birthdays, even those during vacations and summer months, with a template that includes every day of every month. You can even import images of stars.

What was Shakespeare's intent? That is the question at the heart of a summer assignment designed for AP English Literature. Class members focus on five scenes from The Tempest and compare the interactions of Prospero, Caliban,...

A well-fitting helmet can be the difference between an unfortunate bicycle accident and a tragic bicycle accident. Encourage your class to exercise bike safety with a set of lessons that demonstrate the importance of wearing a...

Encoding What I did Last Summer. Class members develop a way to encode a personal experience using a top-down approach to determine components and sub-components of their experience They then pick one portion of the experience and go...