Discuss tone and imagery with Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress." In an attempt to get his fair lady to consummate their relationship, he write a poem urging her to seize the day! Introduce the author to your high school class,...

Using a miniature coral reef aquarium kit, young ecologists model this unique ecosystem. They research various coral reef organisms and their niches, and they culminate the project by working together to write a report. Use this activity...

After hearing about the 2006 PHAEDRA mission that explored the Aegean Sea, middle schoolers work in groups to create a robotic vehicle. They must consider power, propulsion, and other vital systems. Use the multitude of external...

View a video presentation comparing chemosynthesis to photosynthesis. Review the findings of the 2004 Ring of Fire Expedition that studied biological communities around the hydrothermal vents of the Mariana Arc. In...

Students work in groups to prepare a brief broadcast or print news report from one of five possible viewpoints about an environmental contamination scenario. Students are given basic information about a chemical spill in a small town and...

Get young learners involved in the development of classroom rules! Students and the teacher discuss the purpose of having rules, including how rules provide order, security and safety. Then learners design pictures to accompany the...

Change one variable and try again. Teams build basic balsa gliders and collect data on their flight distances and times. Through collaboration, the team decides on two modifications to make to the basic design and collect data for the...

Learners explore the influence of the landscape of Ireland on shaping the poetry of William Butler Yeats. They work in groups researching the growth of the Irish Nationalist Movement, Celtic origins, invasions, and the impact on the...

Students work in groups to create a storyboard about their video. They shoot a video designed to teach others to connect the computer and camcorder and how to capture video in Adobe Premiere Elements editing program.

In collaborative groups, physics learners design and create a web portfolio of internet resoucres explaining poitive and negative acceleration, zero acceleration, and positive and negative velocity. This is a terrific assignment for...

Fifth graders examine the impact of Benjamin Franklin's ideas on the goods and services available in Colonial America as well as analyze the importance of Franklin to modern society. While listening to "How Ben Franklin Stole the...

Pairs of pupils get together in order to measure the heights and lengths of their shadows. They use these measurements in order to predict the height of other friends in class. A good activity to practice measuring things that cannot be...

Be sure to come prepared to discuss the theory of Pangaea and the two super-continents, Laurasia and Gondwanaland. Collaborative learners look for fossil evidence that supports the theory that one super-continent divided into two. They...

Help middle schoolers conduct Internet research and develop a working definition for the discipline of social studies. From a list of websites, they develop classification skills and differentiate between primary and secondary sources....

Ducks hate getting mail! Find out why with a math activity that prompts kids to define fractions in order to solve a riddle. They view 12 fractions and align the letters to find the answer.

Estimate and explore the length and weight of classroom items using standard measurement and scales. Students will work in groups to determine appropriate measuring tools, weigh or measure items, and record their results on a data chart....

High schoolers evaluate a forest for timber harvest and discuss potential impacts of logging. In this sustainable forestry lesson, they work in groups in a forested plot to choose trees to cut based on species and stem diameter and then...

Develop a world-wide, email chain on which class members can showcase their acts of kindness. After defining the meaning of random acts of kindness through discussion and through a reading of Random Acts of Kindness,...

Albert Bierstadt's painting Wind River Country shows viewers how a reader progresses through a story. Your class studies the light and dark areas, how the eye moves across the painting, and what attracts the audience to the work, and...

Has your Spanish class seen an episode of Extr@? Have small groups write scripts, act out their parts, and record a video project for their classmates. Consider assigning each group a specific topic to ensure project diversity.

Fourth graders act out and write original narratives. In this theater meets writing lesson, 4th graders work in groups to create original narratives; after students act out their story, they write it down as a narrative.

I love literature circles! Get your pupils together and have them discuss the book they are reading. They determine and practice their role in the literature circle then discuss the book they are reading. This is a great introduction to...

What is a Hoosier? 4th graders will identify sayings/expressions to reflect a region or culture. They will research Indiana history to work in groups to prepare for the annual 4th grade program where they will present the information...

Fifth graders write a speech.  In this history lesson, 5th graders define the word infamy and listen to a speech by FDR.  Students work in groups to summarize his speech and rewrite sections of the speech.