Students explore the debate between intelligent design and Darwinism. They research both topics by accessing primary sources. Students interview school administrators to determine what its science curriculum is and the timeline for any...

Difficult redistricting concepts are covered in a context that will make it understandable to your government scholars. They begin with a KWL on the term redistricting and then watch a video to answer some questions. They...

Engineering challenges are not just man-made ... nature has its own set of them. A hands-on STEM activity has groups designing a seed dispersal system. Each group can only use one sheet of paper — a tough task!

Investigate desert biomes by creating food chains and food webs. Groups first research feeding habits of organisms in the Sonoran Desert. This information helps pupils draw food chains and webs to determine relationship between organisms.

Building on prior knowledge of the pervious lesson in the series, pupils explain the previous lesson to each other. Then they write a simple guide for a young child to read on the same topic. 

Challenge readers of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath to create a museum exhibit that uses artifacts to focus on one issue raised by the award winning story of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the Joads.

Ron Toomer, a famous roller coaster designer, suffered from motion sickness. Pupils design their own roller coasters, learning about potential and kinetic energy in the process. Labs focus on the importance of drop height, energy...

From the time of its publication, Uncle Tom's Cabin has been controversial. To better understand the debate, class members first examine a broadside decrying the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and then two newspaper reviews of the...

Five lessons display the art created by Germans under the Weimar Republic. The focus of these lessons is to help learners understand the role of art in politics, government censorship, and Nazi tactics. Web links are included.

A critical look into the structure and function of ecosystems is here for young learners as a series of lessons and worksheet activities. Topics covered include land-based and marine ecosystems, connections to the water cycle, food...

How do you get started designing a product to meet your engineering design goals? Here, learners gain understanding of an important aspect of the engineering design process: background research. Through brainstorming and worksheets,...

Learners examines the arctic food web with a short video about polar bears and an article about bears and warming temperatures. They design an arctic food web and discuss the trophic cascade that could come from climate...

With the emphasis on incorporating more nonfiction in language arts classes the question arises about how to design activities that motivate kids to engage with informational text. How about an assignment that asks class members to...

Three of Emily Dickinson's poems, "I like to see it," "Because I could not stop for Death," and "We grow accustomed to the Dark," provide instructors with an opportunity to model for class members how to use close reading strategies to...

Eight graphic organizers to choose from? That's right! Each of these organizers relates to writing or reading. From narrowing a writing topic, to responding to literature, to planning a writing project, you'll find many purposes for...

Explore capillary action from different perspectives. In the fourth installment of a nine-part series, scholars perform several experiments to observe capillary action. They look at the meniscus of water in a glass, observe capillary...

Called the Eight Wonder of the World by some and the Big Ditch by others, the Panama Canal is indeed an engineering marvel. The long, complicated, and sometimes controversial history of the canal is captured in a presentation loaded with...

Guide members of the educational community in understanding and supporting autistic learners. A kit from Autism Speaks includes an array of tools designed for parents, teachers, and community members. 

Learners design book covers. In this graphic design lesson, students are introduced to designing book covers. Learners develop skills on how to promote their designs to clients. Students then create their own book covers.

Young scholars conduct Internet research about various websites noting the design and appearance of them. Working in small groups, they compare and contrast the sites and share their opinions of them with classmates. They also examine...

Eighth graders examine a free-form sculpture technique and produce a sculpture of wire, pantyhose and plaster.

High schoolers examine the grid in terms of a method of organization in our society as well as graphic design. In this "Making and Breaking the Grid" instructional activity, students design solutions to common problems and draw...

Designed to encourage readers to consider both sides of of the question of whether Ender is responsible for the death of all the buggers, individuals search for examples from Orson Scott Card's popular science fiction novel, Ender's Game...

What is and what will be the role of newspapers in the future? Keeping this essential question in mind, class members use print, electronic, and/or web editions of newspapers, to investigate topics that include financial...