Young athletes put together the athletic skills they need to play different sports in the eighth week of this physical education unit. First they work on basic skills like running, jumping, kicking, throwing, and catching....

Are the young leaders of tomorrow sitting in your classroom right now? Polish their skills to perfection using a series of teen leadership activities. Each lesson promotes both personal growth and team building, while helping scholars...

Would astronauts be able to grow their food on the Moon? Teams research plant growth in order to design and build a growth chamber that will function on the lunar surface. They narrow down plant choices based upon their...

Should bottled water be sold in schools, or should they only provide tap water? The summative unit in the six-part series encourages scholars debating this topic. The lessons teach how to build an argument, how to gain background...

Turn young mathematicians into landscape architects with this four-lesson series on area and perimeter. Beginning with a basic introduction to calculating perimeter and area using non-standard units of measurement, this...

Can a sidewalk increase the amount of pollution in local streams? Scholars learn the answer to this question though research and experimentation in the fifth unit in the six-part series. Pupils study runoff, impervious surfaces, and the...

It's tempting to stay away from credit cards entirely, and it can also be tempting to charge large purchases on credit cards with the intention to pay them off later. But as a three-part lesson on credit and debt shows your high...

What kind of design challenges are there in building structures to support rocket engines? The unit takes design teams through the process of building the lightest possible thrust support structure that can withstand the necessary forces...

What would it take to live on the lunar surface? Small groups build model rockets in order to simulate launching a habitat into space and rebuilding it. Divide the class into groups to design and build a model of a lunar habitat. The...

In 1980, in the tropical rainforests of Panama, scientists discovered 1,200 species of beetles living in and around just 19 trees, with most of the species new to science—that's biodiversity! In the activity, learners work in teams to...

Explore human anatomy and physiology using models. Scholars study systems of the human body and design a display for a museum exhibit. To complete the activity, individuals create analogous models of their chosen human body systems.

Despite the recognized atrocities of the Holocaust, anti-semitism continues. The 11th and final installment of the Teaching the Holocaust series explores the long-term effects of the Holocaust on modern anti-semitism, asking pupils to...

Why do people use drugs? What are the consequences? The alternatives? How can young people resist the pressures to use drugs? The Project Alert drug prevention program provides middle schoolers with the information they need and the...

Teens of the world, unite! Take your class or club on a multicultural journey through the relationship between cultural values and teen leadership skills. Groups work together to learn about one another's cultures while examining the...

By constructing a watershed model and identifying watershed features in it, they discover how water erosion changes the landscape. As with most watershed modeling activities, this one is costly in terms of time and materials. It is,...

What can I use in space? The three-lesson unit has groups research what man-made or natural resources would be available during space exploration or habitation. Team members think of ways that resources can be reclaimed or reused in...

Energy transformations happen everywhere, every second of the day. The energy transformation common to most scholars is potential and kinetic energy. The three-week lesson covers multiple types of energy transformations through...

Where is a geneticist's favorite place to swim? A gene pool. Young geneticists complete hands-on activities, experiments, and real-world problem solving throughout the unit. With extra focus on dominant and recessive genes, Punnett...

What goes into a museum display? A secondary-level STEM project prompts groups to design a museum display for the Tech Museum of Innovation. They create an analogous, interactive model illustrating a science concept to complete the...

Turn the class into the next episode of Law & Order! Scholars work together to create a mock trial over the course of several weeks before going before a judge for the case performance. They take on different roles, go through...

An exciting version of baseball to build fluency in creating rhyming words. The classroom is divided into two teams; when one team is up to bat the first student is given a word family such as -at. They must create a rhyming word and...

Simple machines are devices with few or no moving parts that make work easier, and which people have used to provide mechanical advantage for thousands of years. Students learn about the wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane,...