Begin your unit on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince with an anticipation guide that addresses the novel's themes. Kids read ten statements that discuss love, friendship, and growing up, and determine whether or not...

Legos in science class? Watch your pupils fall in love with this activity. After learning to measure potential and kinetic energy, young scientists create their own ramps using Lego Mindstorm sensors and software.

Primary sources are valuable for understanding the context of historical events, but the diction and dialect in these documents can be difficult to understand. Middle and high schoolers participation in a transcription process in which...

How are elections really run and won? Learn about special interest groups, super PACs, and lobbyists with an engaging lesson about the caucus process. Young voters research specific interest groups and analyze their part in previous and...

As part of a study of voting rights in the US, class members examine Constitutional amendments connected with voting and the role of the Electoral College in the election process.

New Horizons set forth on a mission to Pluto in 2006. Ten years later, the spacecraft is still on its way. Here, enthusiastic scholars predict what they will be like—likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc.—when New Horizons arrives at its...

In 2006, New Horizons began its mission to fly to Pluto. As it continues its journey, scholars track its progress with the help of an informative website, all the while reinforcing measurement concepts with the construction of a scaled...

What are employers looking for in prospective employees? Career-minded high schoolers examine their strongest technical skills as well as important 21st century skills, including leadership, empathy, clear communication, working well...

To find life on another planet, scientists look for gases (atmosphere), water, and temperatures that are not extreme. In this activity, groups of pupils become "Titan-ians," scientists who want to explore Earth for possible life forms....

Discover how innovations can help your school and community. In the three-part STEM lesson plan, scholars learn the meaning of innovation and brainstorm innovations in their schools. They identify issues in their communities and think of...

Explore and brainstorm innovations for cars with a STEM lesson that asks scholars to weigh different options when considering when buying a car. They research the fuel efficiency and carbon emissions for various options, and then...

Explore the consistency of the earth's layers and soil through modeling. By conducting an engaging experiment, learners develop a model for the earth's layers and a soil profile using edible materials. Each material is chosen based on...

Introduce class members to Gandhi's non-violent, non-cooperative ideas with Richard Attenborough's 1982 bio-epic. The film traces the experiences that gave shape to Gandhi's ideas and the actions that eventually lead to the end of...

Candace Fleming's award winning Ben Franklin's Almanac is the anchor text for a classroom guide that provides teachers with a cache of pre, during, and post-reading activities.

What can we learn from the data? Young scholars analyze actual solar data to answer specific questions. The activity presents an opportunity for an open-ended investigation of the data to conclude a five-part series on solar winds.

Have you ever been told that your new car begins to lose its value as soon as you drive it off the lot? Aspiring accountants take on the concepts of depreciation and book value through an easy-to-deliver career and technology lesson. The...

Canada mines more minerals than any other country in the world. Scholars with a sample must determine how to get the mineral out while preserving as much of the rock as possible. They analyze the data and compare methodology while...

Set in Oklahoma in the 1930s, The Grapes of Wrath presents a powerful view of life during the Great Depression. An insightful lesson plan takes a closer look at the characters in John Steinbeck's classic novel, combining the...

Parades are a great way to celebrate. Get young historians into the festivities by asking them to create an informational float for a Freedom Parade. Picking a topic from the provided list or suggesting one of their own, class members...

The Civil Rights Act of 1866, which granted citizenship to all males in the U.S., resulted in the first African Americans to be elected to Congress. Class members research 11 of these men, the challenges they faced, and craft...

The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The lesson explains what the Bill of Rights is and how it applies to everyday life, like freedom of speech or the right to a jury trial. Young historians complete hands-on...

Students examine the differences between an El Nino and La Nina year.  In this investigative instructional activity students create maps and graphs of the data they obtained. 

Students work toward the mastery of the art of reading, kids should collect words the way they collect baseball cards or Beanie Babies. Few learning tools are as powerful as a personal dictionary that a child can create, add to, and use...

Middle schoolers explore a country and its culture through its national landmarks. They use technology tools to research and communicate information. To demonstrate research skills, they use the Internet as well as print materials.