Few Americans have heard of the burgeoning scientific community known as the America Philosophical society, started by none other than Benjamin Franklin. With inquiry, research, and discussion, high schoolers come to understand their...

General chemistry class members engage in a mini-unit on mole conversions. Through nine lab activites with varying degrees of difficulty, they practice measuring mass and volume, molar calculations, and stoichiometry. Terrific...

Entangle your life science class in learning with this collaborative food web activity. Using pictures of the plants and animals native to a particular ecosystem, young biologists work in small groups to construct visual...

Are you thinking about taking your class to the local zoo? Kids of all ages love visiting exotic animals in order to learn about biodiversity, habitat, and animal adaptations. Here is a 44-page activity guide that provides educators with...

Young people have an opportunity to make it a beautiful day in their neighborhoods with an activity that asks them to identify what is healthy and unhealthy in their community and develop some ideas about what they can do to fix the...

Understanding geography and government begins at the local level. Using maps and the parts of a newspaper, a unit plan introduces the concept of community. It starts with the creation of classroom and school maps, and then moves through...

In grades kindergarten through fifth grade, scholars take part in a social-emotional learning unit designed to boost social responsibility. Three hundred pages provide lessons and activities related to everyday classroom practices, the...

How can engineers help their communities? Three challenges in the first unit explore why STEM is important to communities and how neighborhoods are engineered to experience those benefits. The second unit prompts groups to plan an...

From 3-D cities to building bridges, young engineers engage in innovative STEM challenges that promote brainstorming and collaboration. Learners take on the roles of different types of engineers as well as become familiar...

Did you know there are 20 volcanoes erupting at any given time? Pupils look at various igneous rocks, read local geologic maps, and determine if their area has a history of volcanic activity. A reading passage and analysis questions...

Use STEM activities within the class to provide connections to concepts. The resource includes activities that range from working with buoyancy to building rockets and launching them. Other activities involve the engineering design...

See how changes in initial populations and parameters affect a biological community. Individuals use a special software program to simulate a desert community with five species. They adjust initial populations to see how the community...

Barrio de Paz is the story of Nelsa Libertad Curbelo, a nun, who works with the gang youth of Guayaquil, Ecuador. The 17-minute documentary focuses on her explanations for the rise of gangs and for how gang culture reflects...

Invite your pupils to explore their surroundings with a walk around the neighborhood. Learners use their senses to make observations about their surroundings. 

Fourth graders plant a tree. In this sustainable forestry lesson, 4th graders define community forest and brainstorm a location to plant a new tree on the school grounds. Students learn how to plant a tree and discuss choosing an...

Twelfth graders construct a timeline to show changes and trends in the future of urban and community forestry. In this forestry lesson, 12th graders discuss the importance of trees. They read a timeline and add future events to show...

In this 4-H swine activity page worksheet, learners study the parts of a hog, complete a swine word search, complete a career scavenger hunt, and develop a swine budget. They also read pig facts and learn how to select a hog while...

Nanofibers can be made through electrospinning or force spinning in order to reduce the negative impact on the environment. Pupils study the role of fibers and dye on the environment through a series of five hands-on activities. Then,...

Encourage your class to solve local environmental issues. Groups brainstorm environmental issues that are affecting the community, choose one they want to solve, and design a product or service to solve their chosen issue. They then...

Lead your class in exploring their local communities as well as the general environment. As they determine continental distributions by investigating minerals, rocks, and fossils located in their local region, pupils construct...

Fifth graders explore electrical concepts and host a guest speaker. This lesson plan sets up guidelines for students to follow when they have a guest speaker. Students are primed to become actively involved in a lecture or discussion,...

How can people use simple machines to solve real-world STEM problems? Learn about simple machines using a hands-on, project-based learning activity. First, pupils investigate and evaluate simple machines. Then, they receive a task that...

Students investigate how communities grow and change. In this communities lesson, students discuss how their community has changed and construct a model of a community.

Uncover the fascinating world of vaccines in a multifaceted activity. Investigators explore community perception and the science of vaccines with eight tasks. Scientists continue their studies by giving and reviewing surveys, analyzing...