Using geoboards, computer programs, and hands-on manipulative materials, elementary schoolers engage in a study of two and three-dimensional geometric shapes. This activity is chock full of good teaching ideas on the subject, and the...

Here is a good lesson on butterflies and caterpillars. After listening to The Very Hungry Caterpillar, young learners put cards that depict the life cycle of a butterfly in the correct order. There are some good ideas for center...

Have your middle schoolers participate in numerous activities designed to spark their awareness of literature. They express ideas and concerns clearly and respectfully in conversations and group discussions. Next, they view a music...

Discussion doesn't always need to be spoken. Before you begin The Tempest by William Shakespeare, have kids connect their ideas and experiences to central questions of the play with a silent discussion activity. Once they have...

Let nature guide your engineering designs. By taking apart a flower, pupils learn about reverse engineering. They use the results to brainstorm designs for new products or ideas. This is the seventh installment of a nine-part Life...

Poor organization often destroys an otherwise good paper. After writing a first draft, individuals consider the organization of ideas, a topic discussed in the 16th handout in the 24-part Writing the Paper series. The resource covers...

Mathematicians utilize artwork to help illustrate the major ideas of transformations and tessellations. They visually identify transformations including reflections, rotations, and translations. They discuss how artists have used...

Almost every teacher has a stack of old magazines lying around. Get creative and turn them into mosaics! That's right, this resource explains how kids draw, design, cut, and paste to create mosaic art from recycled magazines. Connect...

Muhammad Ali was the greatest, as he'd tell you himself. A set of reading comprehension worksheets walks through parts of Ali's life and promotes individuals to become good readers and writers.

Class members are challenged to design a device that will move a circus elephant into a train car. Groups brainstorm ideas that use simple machines to load the elephant. They then choose one of their ideas, sketch a plan, and present it...

What's that buzzing in your ear? An insightful lesson about genetically modified mosquitoes! Partnered pupils explore the creation, release, and monitoring of mosquitoes designed to reduce the mosquito population. After watching a video,...

How important is the tip of a new shoot on a growing plant? Individuals learn about the results of experiments on shoot tips and must interpret them. They apply previous learning and connect complex ideas through advanced analysis.

Lesson 6 of this extensive unit finally has your class begin to work their way through specific articles from the text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Before examining the rights actually detailed in the...

What makes human interaction different from interaction with computers? Learners consider the question as they build Turing tests to determine whether a computer thinks like a human. They begin by looking at current versions of Turing...

Sorry, Charlie. Scholars take a close look at Apology by Plato. Activities analyzing the text help pupils understand, make, organize, and write about claims. Learners work in groups, complete claim tools, and evaluate thinking by filling...

First graders tellacollaborate with other students around the world sharing their ideas about what earth day means to them. They share ways in which they recycle, reduce and reuse.

What are the effects of competition in an academic environment? The competition between the main characters in A Separate Peace motivates a series of activities that asks readers to take a stance on competition, and then to develop a...

Navigate the ups and downs of learning about energy. Future engineers consider how potential and kinetic energy apply to roller coasters. They design a roller coaster of their own and then use computer design software to showcase their...

Who is the Donner Party? Find out why this group of pioneers lives in infamy. A lot of information is provided in this resource, but you will have to copy and paste the text to acquire the handouts. Learners will look at primary sources,...

The Civil War is undoubtedly a part of America's history, but could it be part of your pupils' history as well? Middle schoolers conduct research to discover a connection between their ancestors and the American Civil War. Whether...

Develop a strategy for finding the area and perimeter of irregular figures. Building on an understanding of finding area and perimeter of rectangles and triangles, learners apply the same concepts to composite figures. After practicing...