To prepare for a study of intellectual property rights, (or an assessment) introduce your learners to the legal concepts and key vocabulary associated with the debate. After defining intellectual property, copyright, fair use, and...

Looking for the best inclined plane for the job? Groups calculate the theoretical mechanical advantage for four different inclined planes. They determine the actual mechanical advantage by measuring the amount of force needed for the...

Tap into the desire to learn about computer codes. Pupils apply the Tap Code and the Polybius Square to send secret codes using sound. They design a code that tells a robot what movements to make and then test out their code using one of...

What do George Harrison, Vanilla Ice, and Steven Ambrose all have in common? The Warner Brothers’ films Batman Forever and The Devil’s Advocate? All are guilty of plagiarism. And if you are considering a research project and want to...

Need some support or ideas of how to entertain middle schoolers or what clubs to bring into your school?  Let this excellent 40-page resource guide with links and step-by-step directions on STEM activities guide your decision.

Elementary learners listen to a story, then sort objects from largest to smallest at six different stations around the classroom. Adaptable for a large range of age and ability groups. 

Class members adopt the role of Law and Order history investigators and examine primary source documents to determine the legitimacy of Marco Polo's claim that he traveled to and traded in China. A cleverly crafted...

Searching for a fairly easy demonstration of how oxidation triggers rust formation? The demonstration allows high school chemists to witness the rusting of metals, as large and small objects are held into a flame while triggering the...

Not only do future engineers learn the difference between accuracy and precision, they also get some hands-on experience using different measuring tools. 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" serves as an exemplar for a mini-lesson on semicolons. Working alone or in small groups, class members first circle all the semicolons in the letter, and then consider how this...

The last activity in a nine-part series has teams create a Google Earth map using the data they collected during a field trip. Using the map, groups analyze the results and make adjustments to the map to reflect their analysis. A short...

This multi-media website helps educators understand their rights concerning copyright materials for educational purposes. Copyright and fair use, case study videos, user rights, a PowerPoint presentation, and other useful resources are...

When using copyrighted materials as part of the creative production process, you can document your own (or your students') fair-use reasoning process using this Google form. It's a tool to strengthen your critical thinking and reasoning...

This site from the Library of Congress provides the homepage of the United States Copyright Office. The information provided on this page is very helpful on the subject with many links to frequently asked questions, as well as laws and...

Activity-based resource on digital piracy and fair use. Students read the literature on the topic and participate in a role play acting as congressional members arguing about the lawfulness of file sharing copyrighted material over the...

An introduction to copyright laws, fair-use policies, and multimedia guidelines as used by the University of Maryland.

This page offers information about copyrights & copyright protection, both for printed materials & internet material. For those who wonder what means, anyway!

A four-page handout on copyright and fair use, beginning with frequently asked questions and continuing with summaries of parts of copyright law, tips on asking permission to use copyrighted materials, and guidelines on acceptable use of...

Good site for debunking myths about copyright law, posted by a New York attorney.

Ready-to-print chart containing specific information about what teachers can copy without violating copyright laws.