In this map scale learning exercise, students analyze a map of an area with several towns marked. Students use the scale (1 cm = 1 km) to answer 6 questions about the distances between towns.

Eighth graders examine different pieces of literature from specific isolated Pacific islands. In this Geography lesson, 8th graders read and interpret a written selection. Students construct a map of the stories setting.

Someone finds a time capsule 100 years from now, and it includes your family photo album. What would the photos tell that person about you and your place in history? Scholars investigate how artifacts tell stories. Using photos, maps,...

Students study cloud data and weather maps to explore cloud activity.  In this cloud data lesson students locate latitude and longitude coordinates and determine cloud cover percentages. 

Students examine geometric quilt patterns to identify how math may have been used to help slaves escape to freedom. They slide, flip and turn geometric shapes to create a map quilt.

Graphs, charts, maps, diagrams. Reading and comprehending informational text is far more than just decoding the words on a page. Here's a packet that provides young readers with practice answering constructed response questions using...

Imagine sitting down with representatives of your school to write a new student handbook. What arguments would ensue? How would compromises be made to finish the project? Scholars research the Constitutional Convention using a directory...

Students work in small groups to solve the problems presented. The main project, mapping the classroom, use these discussions to collaborate in creating a tangible demonstration of their understanding.

Second graders explore convection currents and how they relate to the movement of tectonic plates. Then, young geologists reconstruct Pangaea with a worksheet and pinpoint plate boundaries on a map...

Readers are asked to use the provided graphic organizer to list the main idea and supporting ideas in a passage about the inventions of Benjamin Franklin.

Before your learners excuse themselves to get a drink at the water fountain, prompt them to think about where that water comes from. A middle school science lesson encourages groups to research their community's source of drinking water,...

Magnets don't grow in fields, but magnetic fields are important to understand. The lesson covers the effect electricity has on magnetic fields. Scholars use a compass, magnets, and electrical wire to test magnetic fields and energy...

Despite the recognized atrocities of the Holocaust, anti-semitism continues. The 11th and final installment of the Teaching the Holocaust series explores the long-term effects of the Holocaust on modern anti-semitism, asking pupils to...

Colonization, cartography, and circumnavigation. After reading a short article about early explorations, kids use the information provided to answer a series of comprehension questions.

Readers are introduced to some of the conflicts that arose over land and resources in the Americas in a two-part cross-curricular comprehension worksheet that asks kids to study the article and then to use information provided to...

Defying death. Defying those who want to do harm. Defying genocide. Pupils research the events in Rwanda to gain an understanding of what it takes to survive a horrific event like a holocaust. They use video, time lines, and Holocaust...

When faced with a dilemma, how do journalists decide how much news to use? Social media scholars explore the philosophies of ethical resolution in the first of a 16-part Social Media Toolbox series. Partnered pupils use a Potter Box to...

Starting with questions about the tilt of the Earth and apparent motion of the sun, a worksheet provides instructions on how to figure the paths of the Sun on certain dates. Learners answer three more questions, complete with...

Ease into informational text with the lesson suggested here. Part of a unit series, the lesson draws from previous lessons and acts as a natural moment to add in informational text. Class members read one section of My Librarian is a...

Here is a great textbook chapter on China's establishment as a communist state in 1949 and the effects of World War II on the nation. The first page prompts learners to complete a timeline activity as they read the material,...

Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.

What's the link between lactase persistence and dairy farming? Biology scholars analyze data to find evidence of the connection, then relate this to human adaptation. Working individually and in small groups, learners view short video...

Why are some so resistant to change? The status quo is often to blame for a lack of forward movement in society. Following the events of World War I, women in America suddenly had a voice—and were going to use it. Scholars use the...

What does the French and Indian War have to do with the American Revolution? Following the war, Britain issued the Proclamation of 1763 in an attempt to limit the colonists' western expansion. To understand how the proclamation, the...