Mystery is an exciting genre for young readers to investigate. The plots are so intriguing! Here is a series of lessons featuring Sherlock Holmes stories that invite learners to enter the world of the mystery genre.  Based on what...

Students play the parts of members of a microbe detective team. They solve the mystery of students stricken with chills, vomiting, and diarrhea after a picnic. They research different microbes and look for appropriate antibiotics.

First graders explore the theme of dental health and hygeine. They make tooth loss predictions, count lost teeth, and graph tooth loss. In addition, they listen to dental health stories, read online stories, create spreadsheets, and play...

Junior archaeologists examine types of artifacts from the Bronze Age on the internet. In collaborative groups, they create a story about a ship from this period and then construct a model of the ocean floor after their ship has sunk....

Students explore images of the Klondike and read Jack London's White Fang to become culture and nature detectives. In this novel analysis lesson, students analyze the setting of the novel and the ways London portrays nature and...

How does examining an ice core tell us about weather? Learners set up and explore fake ice cores made of sugar, salt, and ash to represent historical snowfall and volcanic eruptions. From their setups, scholars determine what caused the...

Incorporate reading strategies, math, research, and the scientific method into one lesson about water conservation. After reading a story about a landlady trying to determine how many people are living in an apartment, learners develop a...

Students discover how clouds form and how air pressure and air temperature affect their formation. The lesson is delivered in the story of Mike Breezy, Air Detective, who tries to solve The Cloud Case.

As an anticipatory set, biologists listen to the story of Ruth Patrick, a scientist who used algae to detect water quality. They observe a demonstration of osmosis and diffusion. In their lab groups, they place Elodea stalks in...

Middle schoolers study the effects of the Great Exchange on the Americas.

Students explore how forensic science is used in criminal investigations. They learn that for the next few days that are going to try to solve a crime that took place in the classroom. Students are given a story to read about the crime...

Advocate for the environment! With the short story included, learners are prompted to think about radon (the odorless and colorless gas) and possible ways to get donations or raise money to purchase detection equipment. The plan spans...

Students explore forensic science and its uses in criminal investigations. They solve a fictional crime by identifying and analyzing the fingerprints, strand of hair, and thread samples for evidence. After completing charts for each,...

Students review electricity. In this physics lesson plan, students attempt to find a way to determine if a transformer is fixing to fail. The lesson plan reviews electricity concepts that the students should already be familiar with.

Students examine the relationship between animal adaptations, habitats and community interactions.  In this ecology instructional activity students complete a skull detective worksheet then use their knowledge to analyze a skull. 

As students examine maps of Utah, 4th graders search for clues about what prehistoric life was like in Utah.

Students consider various scientific research in order to arrive at their own conclusions as to whether global warming is occurring and if it constitutes a problem.

Middle schoolers imagine they are a detective who has been asked to solve the theft of cookies from a jar in the student cafeteria. Students practice using the steps of the scientific method to solve the crime. Finally, middle schoolers...

Pupils listen to the story Ant Cities by Arthur Dorros, and discuss the ways that ants are similar to people. They create a butcher paper mural of an ant colony that includes hills, tunnels, rooms, grass and sky.

In this understanding bias worksheet, students read about bias and they detect bias in given paragraphs. They determine if the writer conveys the information with bias or not.

Young scholars explain how Hipparchus, around 130 BC, used a shift in the predicted location of a lunar eclipse to detect a slight shift in the path of the Sun around the sky. They examine the elliptical orbit in which the Earth travels...

Students explain that planets actually orbit the center of gravity of the solar system, and that distant planets may be detected by motions of their central star around the centers of gravity of their planetary systems.

Explore 1870s when a "bone rush" led to amazing discoveries, as fossil-hunters risked life and limb in their quest for dinosaur remains. The class uses the attached visual encyclopedia to prep for a discussion on early paleontology. Two...

Students apply their knowledge of the characteristics of living things to unknown creatures to determine whether they can be considered "alive." They watch a Star Trek episode, then describe the characteristics of life.