US Mint
Rename That State!
As Shakespeare famously wrote, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," but can the same be said for a state? In this elementary geography lesson, students are assigned specific states to research using the information...
Curated OER
Italian City-States
Check out this packet of worksheets involving mapping activities, vocabulary logging, reading and comprehending informational texts, etc., which focuses on Italian city-states during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. There are also...
EduGAINs
Go H2O! Investigating Residential Water Systems
Before your learners excuse themselves to get a drink at the water fountain, prompt them to think about where that water comes from. A middle school science lesson encourages groups to research their community's source of drinking water,...
ProCon
National Anthem Protests
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the National Anthem in 2016 as a form of protest. Were his actions appropriate? Using the provided website, pupils attempt to decide for themselves by reading the main...
Teach Engineering
May the Force Be with You: Weight
Too much material will weigh you down. The sixth segment in a series of 22 highlights how weight affects a plane. Pupils learn that engineers take the properties of materials, including weight, when designing something.
Teach Engineering
What is Going on with Grandma?
Pupils individually determine what they need to know about osteoporosis and how they will find that information. They share their thoughts with a partner before moving on to share with the class. The class arrives at a list of a set of...
NOAA
Mapping the Deep-Ocean Floor
How do you create a map of the ocean floor without getting wet? Middle school oceanographers discover the process of bathymetric mapping in the third installment in a five-part series of lessons designed for seventh and eighth graders....
Newseum
‘45 Words' Video Lesson
A short video introduces viewers to the political struggles involved in passing the First Amendment and the many challenges it has faced since its passage. Viewers then discuss how to balance issues of freedom of the press,...
NASA
Engineering Design for Human Exploration
What would it take to live on the lunar surface? Small groups build model rockets in order to simulate launching a habitat into space and rebuilding it. Divide the class into groups to design and build a model of a lunar habitat. The...
US Citizenship and Immigration Services
Thanksgiving 1—Pilgrims and American Indians
The Pilgrims first arrived in America in order to gain religious freedom. Here is a instructional activity that takes the class on this journey with the Pilgrims, stopping to look at how they got here, who they met when they arrived, and...
PBL Pathways
What Should Have Happened on Gilligan's Island?
"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale ..." Gilligan's Island is a classic that spans generations and offers a problem-solving opportunity for scholars. Take a project-based learning approach to examine the population of the island....
NOAA
The Great, Glowing Orb What You Will Do: Make a Solar Heat Engine
How is solar energy able to move wind and water to control the climate? Scholars explore the concept of solar energy in the first of 10 activities in the Discover Your Changing World series. They follow instructions to build homemade...
Flipped Math
Calculus AB/BC - Exponential Models with Differential Equations
Exponential models come with a shortcut. Pupils watch an example of how to determine if a differential equation is an exponential model. Learners realize the solution is in the same formula, allowing for a quick way to determine the...
K20 LEARN
No Imitations, Please! Avoiding Plagiarism
With all the stuff available online, good essays are just a click away. But talk about tracking! Writers beware! New tech can now identify plagiarism, and the consequences of presenting someone else's work as your own are severe. Here's...
NOAA
Marine Policy
Save the oceans! The 22nd installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program focuses on laws and marine policy. Pupils take part in an activity investigating fisheries stock data.
Curated OER
Citing Sources
Practice citation skills with this activity, which takes learners to the Library/Media center. There, they will view a Powerpoint presentation and practice collecting data in both print and non-print sources. All necessary materials are...
Curated OER
Differences Between Resource Types
Google it! Like Kleenix, Google has genericized. But when beginning a project, young researchers need to go beyond search engines and become aware of the different types of research resources available. Introduce the options with a...
Curated OER
Camel Report Planner
In this camel report planner worksheet, students are to list three things they want to learn about camels. From the list provided, students circle the resources they will use for the report, then take notes on the worksheet. Organization...
Curated OER
Wildlife Fact File
Students research a specific animal. In this animal science lesson, students use a "Wildlife Fact Sheet" to take notes on their specific animal. Students use the Internet and reference books to gather information.
Curated OER
Researching Famous People
Student take notes, on a graphic organizer, about the life of a famous person. They create a trading card about their famous person including a portrait and important facts.
Curated OER
Search Report of Information
Learners research and develop a Report of Information for a research paper. They select a topic, write 5-10 interesting questions, research and take notes, create an outline, and write paragraphs.
Curated OER
Medical Pioneers
High schoolers use research skills to take notes over fifteen current medical innovators or innovations. They prepare a PowerPoint presentation over their chosen fifteen medical innovators and innovations. Students show a correlation...
Curated OER
A Colony is Born : Lesson 11 - Group Presentations and Summatives
Fifth graders give presentations on colonial research. The others take notes on the presentations. They play a card game which helps them review content. They take a summative assessment and present their research notebooks.