Explore how the informality of electronic correspondence has affected communications in the workplace. Writers develop pages for a basic writing guide that contains rules and examples to help correct common writing errors. A great way to...

In an effort to practice engineering design, STEM classes break out into teams and endeavor to make a working ink pen. To prepare, they read about writing implements through history, patents, and viscosity of liquids. Armed with this...

Young scientists investigate the scientific concepts and principles that help make common toys such as hula hoops, yo-yos, slinkies, and silly putty work. As a class, they read "Backyard Rocket Science, Served Wet" to get a look behind...

High school writers identify the purpose of both a topic sentence and a transitional statement. They write a topic sentence which denotes the paragraph topic and the author's stand on that topic. Then they write an effective transitional...

The world is full of possibilities for your ELLs. Help them explore their career options with a lesson that incorporates Internet research and expository writing. Not only will they learn more about their careers of choice, but both...

Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...

Should school and professional teams test athletes for sickle cell trait? Will it protect them by providing knowledge or lead to discrimination by not allowing them to participate in sports? After learning about this genetic disorder,...

In groups or independently, learners interview their teachers to see what their technological needs are. They write a proposal that persuades them to purchase those supplies. Then they come up with a budget to get all teachers their...

Here is lesson 5 from a 7 lesson unit on using blogging to create a community of writers. The aim of this lesson is to get students writing about what Archaeologists do and how they use material data to study the past. They compose a...

Just about every public building that your students are familiar with has an access ramp which complies with ADA requirements. As it turns out, designing such a ramp is an excellent activity to incorporate slope, the Pythagorean Theorem,...

Who has been messing with my trampoline? Young writers choose local events as the basis for their own “Who Did It?” mystery. They then devise a plot, problem, and cast of characters and write an introduction explaining the problem and...

It was a bittersweet event when the space shuttle Atlantis touched down for the last time on July 21, 2011. Space science learners read an article about this event in The New York Times and then write answers to who, what, where, when,...

Students create news articles that help them build their knowledge, skills, and academic confidence. In this special education lesson, students use previous knowledge to write a newsletter and demonstrate their understanding of various...

Help young researchers find credible sources online. Modeling with a Google search for information about Shakespeare’s Macbeth, use a computer projector or Smart Board to show class members how weak the top three search results are....

The New York Times article “Lessons in Internet Plagiarism,” launches a look at how the Internet has increased the prevalence of plagiarism. The richly detailed lesson plan includes warm-up and wrap-up activities, discussion questions,...

How does word choice affect the reading of a text? Compare two headlines that were written about the same event. Is one biased? Discuss how word choice often reveals the author's feelings about a topic. Then look at different techniques...

Explore the basic PowerPoint commands and options. They research information (including the WWW) related to an approved topic for presentation development. They create a presentation defined by specific criteria. They document research...

Kids almost always want to share the things that make them special. They create and deliver an autobiographical multimedia presentation using step-by-step outlines to plan their content. This is a great "All About Me" lesson, perfect for...

Bring technology to your novel unit with this instructional activity, which prompts readers to analyze a book they are reading in a Socratic discussion with their classmates. They create a live blog online in which they can give their...

"Fore!" All right, no one really yells this out in miniature golf, but this well-defined activity will have your charges using lots of numbers in their unique design of a miniature golf hole. Included in the activity criteria is the...

Creative projects and collaborative learning are hallmarks of 21st Century learning skills. Using an iphone, 6th graders create an iMovie which shows a student composed riddle. The riddle needs to be about one of the landforms they have...

Keep your hands on the wheel—at all times! Scholars learn why pilots use a flight computer through a high-flying demonstration. Making calculations for speed, distance, or time is automatic if you know how to use a flight computer. 

A career in aeronautics might be calling your class members. Building from the previous two lessons in the series, learners continue analyzing the mathematics of aeronautics. Groups create a paper airplane using paperclips for balance....

Third graders practice identifying characters and story elements by creating a character cluster in class.  For this story analysis lesson, 3rd graders discuss the story Snow White and identify the characteristics of the evil witch....