Ideal for your electricity unit, especially with middle schoolers, this lesson plan gets engineers using multimeters in electrical circuits to explore the relationships among voltage, current, and resistance. Older learners may even plot...

Dorothea Lange’s photograph, Migrant Mother, and The Paycheck by Rick Nahimias, provide learners with an opportunity to practice their document interpretation skills. After a careful study of the images, class members develop a detailed...

The thaw depth of tundra creates a positive feedback loop with both global warming and the carbon cycle. Scholars sort photos and develop a hypothesis for ground cover and permafrost depth. Then they review the data and measurements...

If the Greenland ice sheet melted, sea levels would rise by about 20 ft; if the Antarctic ice sheet melted, sea levels would rise by 200 ft. Scholars explore ice melting through the analysis of different ice samples, clean and dirty ice....

After several short 15-minute mini-lessons, your learners will gain an understanding of the characteristics of a non-fiction text. Using the book Map It by Elspeth Leacock, your class will become acquainted with non-fiction terms...

Tenth graders discuss collage and photomontage techniques and artists, and how the art form can convey cultural or current issues. They research a collage artist, then design a topical or personally symbolic collage. Present their...

Stress the importance of the different types of pressure our mind and body experience in a instructional activity about how certain types of stress are actually necessary and good for our bodies. As astronauts and people with injuries...

How much does the sun heat up a lake or ocean? Scholars use a cup and a strong lamp to investigate the heat transfer and thermal layers in the ocean to come up with the answer. They collect data and graph it in order to better understand...

What is it worth to you? A hands-on instructional activity asks groups to collect weights of different combinations of coins and calculate weighted averages. They use the analysis to understand the concept of an isotope to finish the...

The 2016-2017 protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) motivated Camille Seaman to create "We Are Still Here," a photo essay featuring portraits of contemporary Native Americans who protested the pipeline. This eight-page...

Review one of the most memorable cases in the history of the United States. After reading To Kill A Mockingbird, young scholars read and select court transcripts and other primary source material from the Scottsboro Boys Trial of 1933....

Excerpts from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and from John Fante's Ask the Dust, as well as a variety of primary source documents provide the background for an examination of the migrant experience from 1920-1945.

Roll with your class into the idea of conservation of energy. Pupils use a roller coaster track to collect data to reinforce the concept of conservation of energy and the influence of friction. Class members then create a graph from...

Did you know light can decrease visibility? Light pollution absolutely makes it more difficult to see stars. Scholars build a simple magnitude reader to determine the magnitude of stars. They use these data to estimate the impact of...

Have you ever wondered how your town was placed where it is? Scholars research the impact the advancement of the railroad due to the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act had on the formation of civilization in the Great Plains. Map...

Political candidates work hard at creating an image they believe will appeal to voters. High schoolers collect 10 photos and other images of a candidate and analyze them to determine what techniques create a positive or negative impression.

A picture can speak 1000 words. Scholars research the Vietnam War through the lens of a camera. Examining photos from the collection of Christopher D. Ammons allows open interpretation of life during one of America's darkest conflicts....

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...

Have a class discussion to better understand the art of Martha Rosler. Young art critics consider Martha's art as it is used to express issues of political unrest and social awareness. They look at each of the five images and use the...

For the warm-up in this cool climate instructional activity, you will need to click on "Mapping" and then "US Mapping" once you arrive at NOAA's "US Climate at a Glance" page. Earth science explorers realize that 2012 was a warm winter...

While many of our learners may recognize the date of September 11, 2001 in the United States, most will not be able to personally recall what transpired. On Patriot Day, introduce your young learners to the events, aftermath, and...

High schoolers test wood splints that have been soaked in mystery solutions to identify the different colors it produces when lit. The lesson concludes with a reading passage and analysis questions.

Ninety-seven percent of scientists who study climate agree that human activity is warming the planet. Learners explore carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, a gas causing this warming, through a hands-on experiment. Once complete, they...

Scholars analyze various photos to determine how the people pictured take a stand. They use a Notice/Wonder Note Catcher to help organize their thoughts. Learners then study a Taking a Stand: Frayer Model handout to learn what it means...