Smithsonian Institution
Watching Crystals Grow
Amazing science can sometimes happen right before your eyes! The class gets cozy as they watch crystals grow. They use Epsom salts, rocks, and food coloring to create crystals. They'll observe the entire process, documenting every step...
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Revolutionary Money
Examine paper money from the American revolution! Historians study the paper bills and discuss the history of money. How has money changed over the times? Activities are included.
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Baga Drum
Students examine a Baga Drum in order to explore the history of the Baga people of West Africa. In this art history lesson, students recognize figures used in Baga Drum design that represent aspects of Baga culture. They also design and...
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Letters from the Japanese American Internment
Students examine letters of Japanese-American children during internment in World War II. They discover what it was like in the camps and how they were treated once they were released. They also view photographs of the camps.
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Under the Spell of Spiders
Students examine spiders. In these spider lessons, students will view spider images and live spiders to determine physical characteristics, habits, and habitats. Students will examine fantasy and folklore about spiders to create and...
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How Size Shapes Animals
Learners investigate how size affects large and small animals differently. For this animal lesson plan, students determine how size affects different animals by constructing their own animal out of marshmallows. Once learners create...
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Fossils Footprints Across Time
Students examine fossils to understand how they are formed and how they give information about geological history. In this fossil activity, students research and write about fossils and make models of different fossil types.The PDF...
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Going...going...gone? Tropical Rainforests-How They Work, What They Do for Us, What's Being Done to Them...
Sixth graders explore the Tropical Rainforest and come to understand what it is and how it affects the ecosystem. In this rainforests instructional activity, 6th graders write about the Tropical Rainforest, imagine they are in the...
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Using Artifacts to Engage Students in Critical Thinking Activities
Creating learning centers with artifact-related activities are a great way to promote deductive reasoning and critical thinking skills.
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India: Where Remarkable Differences Are Ordinary
Students research India and Indian culture. In this Indian research lesson plan, students research and report on the lives of Indian children. The report will be in the form of a mock interview between a journalist and an Indian child....
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Rock Art Around the World
Students analyze rock art. In this rock art lesson, students research cultures that created rock art, analyze their art pieces, and compose essays regarding their findings.
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Japan: Images of a People
Students learn the geography of Japan and its location in reference to the United States.
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Dinosaurs Were Real!
Students investigate the history of dinosaurs, as real animals. In this dinosaur lesson plan, students examine basic concepts that help them understand the history of all life. Included in this article is information on the world of the...
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Teaching With the Power of Objects
Students define value of an object. In this value lesson plan, students identify reasons for collecting objects, compile a personal inventory of items they find valuable, and then define why those items are valuable to them. In step two...
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History Close to Home: Creating Your Own Special Museum
Students create their own museum exhibit. In this museum creation lesson plan, students research their local history so they can decide on a theme for their exhibit and what objects they will use in order to design a museum exhibit. A...
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JAPAN, IMAGES A PEOPLE
Students interpret Japanese and American paintings; evaluate paintings as sources of cultural and historical information
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Art to Zoo: Celebration
Students research and develop a report on birthday rituals around the world. In this research lesson plan, students compare birthday rituals from other cultures to their own. Images and resources are included.
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Diggin' The Past
Students explore the culture of Ancient Egypt. In this ancient civilizations lesson, students are divided into groups to research how aspects of culture were influenced by the Nile River. Students create a slide show that describes how...
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Stories of the Wrights' Flight
Students examine and compare primary and secondary source accounts of the Wright brothers' first flights on December 17, 1903.
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How Things Fly
Learners, by drawing on their own experiences, discuss and examine the basic physics of flight. They participate in a variety of activities regarding flight.
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Letters from the Japanese American Internment
Students make deductions about life in an internment camp by reading and comparing letters written to Clara Breed. Along the way, they consider the advantages of looking at a historical event from the multiple points of view of...
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A Day Full of Popcorn
Students use the "tool" popcorn with activities in Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, P.E., Music, Art, Science and EATING.