Students explore how to describe the Gulf Stream, how Benjamin Franklin charted it, and correctly plot it on a map.

Learners of any age examine the significance of historic sites, how we understand those sites, and what they mean in terms of history and the culture of the past. They look at maps, artifacts, and data taken from archaeological sites to...

Students explore Tanzania. In this geography skills lesson, students read This is Tanzania by Richard Lupinsky, Jr. and discuss the impact that volcanoes have had on the nation. Students analyze the imagery in Lupinsky's piece and create...

Just like so many other birds, swans migrate during the cold winter months. Your class can gain a better understanding of migration and bird life as they act out some of the activities common to the tundra swan. They make a nest, sit on...

Reading comprehension and note-taking skills are practiced as young ecologists embark on this journey. Explorers visit a website where they will read about three ecosystems that are in danger. They use interactive programs to build a...

Snow is actually translucent, reflecting light off its surface which creates its white appearance. Pairs or individuals access the given website and answer questions about snow cover. They analyze graphs and charts, examine data, and...

First graders identify monarch butterflies and study their life cycles. They order the stages of the life cycle and create a monarch butterfly of construction paper. This well-designed instructional activity should be easy to implement...

Trace a survivor's story using a timeline, map skills, poetry and/or prose and photography, and make a visual representation of a survivor's journey through his or her life as a culminating activity for the class and the survivor....

Students conduct research on animals by visiting the website for the Madrid Zoo. They locate various animals on the website and answer questions about animals and their habitats in Spanish, then create a poster, advertisement, or a press...

Students compare water access in the United States with that of Africa. For this water access lesson, students located Ghana and Kenya on a globe before reading Peace Corps Volunteer accounts of the difficulty of accessing clean water....

Students read examples of folk tales and describe the characteristics of fables and folk tales. They also examine the concept of fate and if it plays a part in people's lives.

The Secret Garden, is a wonderful book to read with your class. After reading, why not employ the lesson plan presented here as a follow up activity? In it, pupils create character charts that portray the tremendous changes that...

Using The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, pupils practice sequencing events in a story. After reading the story, they head to the computer lab to use Kidspiration to sequence events. Then they create their own books to demonstrate...

The PBS film, Bronx Princess, launches a study of complex parent-child relationships. Using the provided reading guide, viewers respond to clips from the film and compare Rocky and Yaa’s relationship to other parent-child relationships....

Some books are perfect for drawing connections between multiple subjects. The book Hill of Fire becomes the hub for three very different, yet related activity ideas. First the class hones their oral language skills by creating an...

Using technology, learners create and deliver a multimedia autobiographical presentation to present to the class. This ambitious lesson has learners use a variety of sources both old and new; magazines, poster board, the Internet, and...

Middle schoolers conduct research on the history of the Great Wall of China. They explore websites, complete various interactive activities, read a history of the Great Wall, write an essay, and take an online quiz.

Elementary schoolers evaluate the legend of Norristown Mountain by looking at facts about the Osage Indians and the legend itself. They do an exploration of Arkansas' Native American groups which includes a look at their legends,...

Do talk back! The transcript of one side of a telephone conversation launches a study of dialogue. Class members imagine the response of the speaker on the other side of the conversation and record these responses on the provided...

Students examine the differences between air temperature and ground temperature.  In this investigative instructional activity students find NASA data on the Internet and use it to create a graph. 

A 3-day French lesson targeting food shopping vocabulary. It is designed for elementary French learners pretending to communicate with merchants in a small village outside of Dakar. The plan follows a class reading of the picture book,...

Young scholars examine and evaluate the Treaty of Versailles. They read and discuss primary source documents, explore various websites, develop a list of postwar goals for France, Germany, and the U.S., and evaluate whether the treaty...

But for a fluke, 1862 could have gone differently during the Civil War. When Union troops found Robert E. Lee's battle plans for critical engagements in Maryland wrapped around cigars and tossed aside, history changed forever. Class...

Poetry is a wonderful way to explore language, express topical understanding, and incite creative thinking. After a trip to the local natural history museum (or zoo), learners write an acrostic or a cinquain poem describing one of their...