Students use the elements of art and principles of design to explore value. In this color value lesson, students use the portrait of a a face to help them understand color value, tints, shades and tones.

Learners work with patterns. In this pattern lesson, students find AB patterns in nature and the manmade world. They create their own AB pattern using math manipulatives and visual arts. 

Students see that ecosystems provide services to people that are essential to life as we know it. Reporters (drops of water) could interview the trees and soil in the surrounding ecosystems for news stories on how they helped keep the...

As part of a study of the Civil Rights Movement from 1868 to the present, class members examine first person narratives, the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, and other significant events in civil rights history....

Shapes are so fun! Little ones explore, identify, and create shapes using tangrams or pattern blocks. The activity is intended to stimulate critical thinking while engaging learners through play and shape identification. Each child will...

Students create greeting cards from recycled products. They research how paper is recyled and the history of paper. They write free verse and create their own recycled paper. They use Microsoft Word to write their final drafts of verse...

In this origin of life worksheet, students write answers to five questions. They describe characteristics of the first life forms and how scientists believe oxygen accumulated in the Earth's atmosphere.

Scholars, in groups, gather information relating to community health care. Using video and digital cameras, they interview members of a health center staff. They then compile digital images, select music, and narrate a story about their...

Learners view a plastic cockroach, mouse, or picture of a pest and discuss if they belong inside the house or school. They discuss what a pest is and brainstorm what makes it a pest and ways to get rid of them. They then discover dangers...

Upper elementary pupils learn about the blood transportation system and anatomy of the human heart. They fill in an outline of the human heart  (not included) focusing on the flow of blood to and from the heart. Using stethoscopes,...

Beginning biologists prepare a sugar solution for yeast cells to live in, and divide it into two different jars. Samples from each jar are viewed with a microscope, and then one jar is placed in a warm environment and the other a cold...

Students develop an artwork made entirely out of recycled materials to exhibit during an Earth Day celebration. They participate in a lecture discussion on the history of Earth Day and environmental issues, do internet research on a...

Young scholars examine cell division and the process of mitosis.  In this cell reproduction instructional activity students grow yeast and observe the results, and learn about the career of scientific illustration. 

Second in a series of five lessons, this lesson encourages preteens to consider cities as urban ecosystems. First, they keep a food diary for a few days. They visit the Natrional Agricultural Statistics Service website for current data...

Cities are compared to living, breathing, metabolizing organisms. Fourth in a five-part series of lessons, this one focuses on the flow of materials through a city. Links to interesting websites and images make your delivery of...

Children will love researching and then creating a bottom dwelling mollusk of their own. They watch clips describing the ocean ecosystem and how oysters fit into their environment. Next, they research what oysters eat and how they look....

Middle schoolers research to determine weather patterns and natural hazards most likely to affect their region.

Learners explore resource management, specifically farming. After reviewing vocabulary words, groups of students explore what is conserved by each practice. They compare and contrast responses. Learners describe farming procedures which...

Students examine examples of writing samples from NCS Mentor and discuss with students what makes each writing piece earn points. They grade a writing sample on the program and discuss various simple machines and their components.

Students work together to examine the tastiest towns in the United States. After discovering the names of the equipment, they identify the seven continents. They take a survey and locate the cities and states of the foods mentioned.

Sixth graders pick a native animal and write a classified housing ad to match the animal's habitat requirements, paste it on posterboard and then try to match each habitat with the animal it represents.

Students examine the United States at the turn of the century. Using primary source documents, they interpret them within a specific historical context. Using this information, they write a poem with metaphors and a specific meter They...

Sixth graders participate in question and answer sessions and develop a skill-based resume. They identify and explain resume-writing situations in which an ethical dilemma may present itself. Finally, 6th graders identify and project the...

Pupils make a rocket out of paper. They follow the given instructions and test to see if it will fly. They write about the experiment and are given the opportunity to change their varibles to make their rocket work.