Is there power in persuasion? After reading paragraphs six and seven of Booker T. Washington's "Atlanta Compromise" speech, learners look at how Washington uses rhetoric and carefully planned word choice to add to the persuasiveness of...

Lights out! Scholars build on their understanding of a simple circuit by adding a switch and creating schematic drawings. The eighth lesson in a series of 14 has pupils use everyday materials to create circuits and make observations as...

Hungry? Try a quote sandwich! Writers discover the concept of using a quote sandwich to introduce and analyze a quote in an argumentative essay properly. Additionally, pupils engage in peer critiques, analyzing each other's drafts and...

Scientists use data to learn about species survival—and your classes can too! A set of four lessons guides learners through a process to draw conclusions about the fluctuations in the population of the Hellbender species. They read...

Build up a bag of green. Pupils determine the number of green Skittles in a snack bag and come up with a way to determine how many snack bags it would take to create one bag of only green Skittles. Classmates share their methods and...

What's all the buzz about electricity? Scholars take part in a scientific activity to test the conductivity of liquids and solutions. They first see if water, salad oil, alcohol, and vinegar cause a buzzer to buzz when electrodes are...

Writing is all about progress, not perfection. Scholars engage in a peer critique protocol to gain feedback on their quote sandwich from a previous lesson plan. Next, pupils begin drafting their argumentative essays based on the novel...

Four projects enable class members to show what they have learned about ways they can stand up for democracy. to begin, individuals review their identity charts and craft a mask that represents themselves. Next, groups create a short,...

Jane Elliott's controversial blue eyes/brown eyes experiment detailed in the film A Class Divided leads to a discussion of privilege, social power, and opportunity. Viewers note how the children react to the experiment, share their...

Are there differences in the brains of liberals and conservatives? That is the question young political scientists are challenged to answer. Class members examine studies, consider how the results are presented, and how the studies were...

Researchers go beyond the surface of an election issue to craft an objective report on the history of the issue, factors surrounding the issue, and factors in a candidate' biography that may influence a candidate's position on the issue....

Get inspired to help those creative juices flow. Using the resource, scholars write their final, best version of their narrative monologues or concrete poems. Next, they prepare for a performance task by watching and discussing a video...

It is not a barrel of monkeys—it's a jar of worms! Scholars create a worm farm in a spaghetti sauce jar. Pupils layer moist soil, sand, and oatmeal to create a habitat for worms. Individuals place worms into the habitat, cover it with...

Cemeteries hold a lot of clues for history detectives. Using the provided outline as a guide, scholars research tombstones and inscriptions to learn more about those who came before.

Light up the class's knowledge. Pupils build a simple circuit using a battery, wire, and a light bulb and create a diagram of their circuit. The teacher provides a short lecture on a complete circuit, calling attention to the direction...

Calling all archaeologists! Scholars dig through their research about overfishing, searching for the best information to include in their consumer guides. Next, pupils engage in a pair-share activity to discuss their findings with a...

Take your best educated guess. After being presented with a video of a glass of candies, class members estimate the number of each color of candies. Pupils view a graphic showing more information on the fraction of candies before...

Prepare, practice, perform. Using the resource, actors first revise their conclusions for their readers theater scripts. Then, groups perform their scripts in front of the class, while peers evaluate each performance using a rubric. 

Copying the comics couldn't be easier. A fun and simple activity has young scientists rub the back of a comic strip with a spoon to see if the ink will transfer to a white sheet of paper. They then repeat the experiment, rubbing...

Use fractions to estimate candy counts. After watching a video of emptying a bag of candies into a glass, individuals estimate the number of candies of each color. The teacher provides the class with additional information to help answer...

Build a pyramid based on sums. Individuals watch a video of a computer program that creates a pyramid of numbers based upon a starting number. The scholars develop a hypothesis on how the number trick works and share their thoughts on...

Where did the water go? Learners conduct an experiment to see how the difference in temperature affects evaporation rates. Scholars continue to investigate evaporation by comparing water and alcohol evaporation rates. Pupils experiment...

Where does the water come from? Pupils conduct an experiment to learn more about condensation. Scholars fill two cups with ice water and isolate one from the surrounding air. They then use a coffee filter to compare the amount of water...

Bubbles seem to come from nowhere. Pupils investigate the formation of carbon dioxide bubbles in sodas. By placing different objects, including candies, in the soda, learners observe the formation of tiny bubbles on the surface of the...