Before beginning The Things They Carried, class members are asked to use a KWHL chart to record what they know about war, what they want to know, and where they might find answers to their questions. Groups then research...

Third graders continue to practice the close reading skills of capturing the gist and reading again for important details in the sixth lesson in a larger unit. This is a great beginning-of-the-year unit for establishing visible thinking...

If a 150 lb. person can comfortably eat and digest a 1 lb. burger, then how large would the person be who can comfortably eat and digest a 350 lb. burger? For a burger that size, it would take either a large person or a class of really...

Where the Read Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls is rich with themes relating to love and family. Help your class to understand these themes with the series of reading activities included in this unit outline. Readers can keep a journal to...

The class brainstorms a list of prominent people from their knowledge of social studies. Groups of two pupils get together and select one of these people to research. They create five questions to research on their person and record them...

Fourth and fifth graders review how words can have several parts, including; roots, prefixes, and suffixes. Pupils receive a word building tiles worksheet, embedded in the plan, and they record selected roots, prefixes, and suffixes in...

Which is colder -12 or -18? Temperature is natural real-world application of ordering rational numbers. It's also fun to talk about the lowest recorded temperature on Earth. Take the time to discuss this inquiry with your class. 

Here is a great way to incorporate art, history, and music. Learners will make airduct instruments, such as recorders, flutes, and whistles out of clay. The ceramic instruments can be quite ornate and even used to make music. The...

Here is a lesson that kicks off with a question. "How does ice floating on the ocean act as it melts?" As learners investigate this natural phenomenon, they'll discover that it has a lot to do with temperature, salinity, and the effect...

Everyone loves a lesson that involves throwing things around! To understand probability, your experimenters will predict how different cylinder-shaped objects will land when tossed. When the data is collected, they will calculate the...

Turn your classroom into a greenhouse with a lesson plan on plant growth. First, investigate the different parts of seeds, identifying the seed coat, cotyledon, and embryo. Then plant the seeds and watch them grow! Measure the new...

It's time to roll up those sleeves and get a little dirty in the second lesson plan of this series on the science of food. Investigate where plants and animals get the minerals they need to live in this two-part exploration of soil....

Get things cooking with the first lesson in this series on the science of food. Working in small groups, young scientists make and record observations about different mystery foods. These descriptions are then shared with the class and...

What better way to learn about plant life than by creating a class garden? Young botanists start with a brief discussion about radishes before planting seeds and watching them grow. To determine the importance of water,...

Immediately capture the attention of your class with the smell of freshly popped popcorn in the sixth lesson of this series on the needs of living things. Young scientists first use their senses to make and record observations of...

First, estimate existing knowledge about air with a class discussion. Then, hand out a 10-question pre-assessment quiz to record how much pupils know to compare to their knowledge later. This will also give mini meteorologists the...

Get started with The Cay. First, provide some background information and images that relate to the novel. Then pupils can create double-entry journals. Once that is complete, read the first two chapters, encouraging individuals to record...

While this is not the traditional, step-by-step lesson plan, it is chock-full of material that you can easily incorporate into your earth history unit. Its main purpose is to serve as a guide to using a three-part film, The Day the...

Young readers learn how to get at the root of new vocabulary with this fun language arts activity. When working in pairs, children begin by matching unknown vocabulary words to their Greek or Latin roots. When all the vocabulary cards...

Put a new twist on your collection of optical illusion activities. Affix the linked printable spiral to a drill, record player, or some other rotating tool. Have learners stare at the spinning disk for only 15 seconds and then look away....

Clarify for young scholars the basic properties of addition and multiplication with this foldable math resource. Written on the front flaps are the terms commutative, associative, identity, and inverse...

Master place value with a series of lessons that use math journals, manipulatives, and place value mats. Kids follow the instructions to represent numbers of all sizes with base ten blocks and recording sheets. 

Handle any behavior problems with communication and efficiency. A documentation log provides space for a child's name, the date and behavior problem, as well as the action taken, the parent communication, and any follow-up.