Enough with the talking, let's build something! In the fifth step in the engineering design process, young engineers build a prototype to test their ideas. The lesson walks them through the process of evaluating it step-by-step....

Besides serving as awe-inspiring monuments of human achievement, skyscrapers are built to perform a wide range of functions in urban communities. The second lesson in this series begins by exploring the history of the Empire State...

Watch augmented reality bring classrooms to life. Scholars work in groups to design, build, and market a new pair of headphones meant for children under three. They use an augmented reality app to show their headphones in action as they...

Follow the life of an apple from harvest to the consumer. A three-part lesson describes the different steps to get an apple from the farmer to your kitchen and the approximate waste that happens at each step. They discuss the process and...

Watch your classroom turn into an arcade. Pupils work in groups to build pinball machines from boxes and other found objects. Gamers must incorporate a variety of obstacles and launchers into the machine to see their designs in motion.

Blow the minds of young scientists with this collection of inquiry-based investigations. Based on a series of eight videos, these "hands-on, minds-on" science lessons engage young learners in exploring a wide range of topics...

High schoolers define basic design vocabulary. They examine fabrics and sort into similar piles, design a picture of a beautiful room and label each art element in the design. They read an article from an interior design magazine and...

Students create a store where they sell pictures, tee shirts, and prints. In this store lesson plan, students learn about sales, marketing, and how to run a business.

Work on making good shopping choices with a fun economics project. Kids analyze the differences between brand names and generic products, bigger and smaller units for purchase, and different places they can shop for different items.

High schoolers need to be prepared to enter the job market during or after high school. Here are six preparational activities geared at getting those kids ready to enter the job market. They conduct research on various jobs, learn...

After reading a workplace ethics scenario regarding an employee who makes racially insensitive comments, your learners will discuss how language that stereotypes others is discriminatory and never "just joking."

Help class members become savvy consumers with a series of activities that has them analyzing marketing strategies, comparing the value of brand name versus off-brand clothing, and considering the advantages and...

Make young mathematicians' dreams a reality with this fun drawing project. Given the task of designing their dream home, students create drawings and physical models that demonstrate their understanding of proportion and scale.

Does money seem to slip through your middle schoolers' fingers? Encourage them to examine spending, saving, and budgeting habits with a unit on consumer skills and money management. Young spenders study the waste that occurs with school...

Learners design a shopping bag that will allow the consumer to immediately identify the store and understand the product that is being sold. They create an advertisement for a new shopping bag. Students choose their type of business to...

Let the energy blow. Using mostly easily found material such as PVC pipe and fans, pupils build wind turbines. Scholars connect a multimeter to an electric motor to determine the amount of energy generated by their designs. Learners then...

Students design, invent, and build a model of something new, useful, or decorative to solve a problem using any combination of materials provided. They also create logos, packaging, etc. related to product sales.

Sometimes, taking things apart is more fun than putting things together. Groups of learners participate in a reverse engineering activity. They dissect a device of their choosing to see how it works—great hands-on learning from the...

Students create their own design clothing company, incorporating the 4 Ps of marketing. They use imagination, art, and creative skills to develop each component of the packet. Students are explained the four Ps of Marketing (product,...

Students construct a model of the Supreme Court's courtroom. They design the courtroom in such a way so that the architecture and furnishings in the courtroom represent the neutrality and power of the court.

Focus on inquiry-based learning in your science class with a series of activities designed for middle schoolers. A helpful packet samples four different texts, which include activities about predator-prey relationships, Earth's axis...

A Reading Adventure Pack invites scholars to start gardening. Following a reading of two books—fiction and nonfiction—young green thumbs repurpose food containers to grow an herb garden in their kitchen, plant seeds in starter pots out...

Although designed for vocational and auto shop classes, this image of a pamphlet contains everything anyone would need to know about automobile engine the fluids, how to check them, and when to replace them.

Although designed for a foods lab, the information in this resource might be just the thing for your own recipe notebook. Illustrated, step-by-step directions for making the perfect omelet, egg-citing puzzles, games, and even...