Although the methods are all scientific, forensic science was started by police officers rather than scientists, who relied on observation and common sense. Young detectives use many tools to solve crimes around the school in a...

Water is the source of life. It appears in poetry in both peaceful and torrential descriptions; it appears in earth science in its liquid, gaseous, and solid states. Combine these interpretations of our planet's most precious and...

As the culminating activity in a unit study of science fiction, young writers demonstrate their understanding of the genre by producing their own graphic novel. After deciding on the main elements of their story, individuals use a comic...

In this age of information overload, it is often difficult for young people to know what they think about a topic. The graphic organizer, video, and activities included with this resource show middle schoolers how to use proven facts to...

Problem solved! Readers continue their work on determining gist and paraphrasing problem-solving steps by reading section four of Investigating the Scientific Method with Max Axiom Super Scientist. Learners complete a graphic organizer...

Solve the world's problems. Class members move on to section two of Investigating the Scientific Methods with Max Axiom Super Scientist and complete a similar activity as in the previous lesson. Next, they carry out a first read to...

Learners reinforce science concepts learned throughout the year using Movie Maker. Eighth grade students work with fourth grade learners in which they create a movie project about a science topic after completing a graphic organizer.

It's all in the presentation. Readers take a look at author's presentation in the article Rachel Carson: Sounding the Alarm on Pollution. Scholars work together to complete a Comparing and Contrasting Authors’ Presentation graphic...

Learners follow along as the teacher reads Products of Mining in Canada: From Batteries to Vehicles aloud. They then discuss the meaning of key terms and determine the gist of the text. Pupils do a second read and complete a graphic...

The fabulous four. Scholars learn the four key components for creating an excellent journal entry. They then work to create a journal entry rubric and participate in a mini lesson about organizing and outlining journal entries. 

Here is a handy guide for putting together a research report on birds, or on a selection of other topics (see the added materials.). Individuals are guided to think of three questions about their topic, they narrow down subtopics, use a...

Pesticides—unnecessary pollutants or positive application? Learners watch a video about DDT and read Rachel Carson: Sounding the Alarm on Pollution for their mid-unit assessment. They complete graphic organizers, answer multiple-choice...

That is ground shaking news! Scholars read Earthquake in multiple reads to determine the gist, identify cause and effect relationships, and understand vocabulary. Learners complete graphic organizers to describe what happens before and...

In this science/Arctic worksheet, students utilize a graphic organizer to plan out their Arctic report/project by placing key words on each line to help them organize their thoughts.

Twelfth graders brainstorm ideas for their own science fiction story. Using worksheets, they sketch the plot and setting for their story. They create appropriate characters and develop their interactions among each other. They share...

Class members use e-mail and the merry-go-round story format to create a science fiction story. Each writer begins by selecting one of three prompts, crafting the introductory paragraph and sending the paragraph to the next person on the...

It's time to refine writing and word choice. Learners work on Part 1 of their end of unit assessment by creating an essay titled What Makes a Hurricane a Natural Disaster? They use glossaries and graphic organizers from previous...

A peer review form just for science? Specifically tailored for science writing, this resource asks editors to give detailed responses to questions about the relevance of the study, the clarity of the hypotheses, the methods, materials,...

Help your class use critical thinking when it comes to unfamiliar words. With vocabulary from Kyoko Mori's Shizuko's Daughter, kids write the word in the center of a graphic organizer, and find its category, comparisons,...

Why do athletes load up on carbohydrates the evening before a competition? The lesson helps answer this question as it relates the type of food to the amount of energy it contains. After a discussion, scholars perform an experiment...

In this graphic organizer worksheet, students read the difference between a fact and an opinion. They identify a topic and write facts or opinions in the chart to help them organize their thoughts and information.

In this graphic organizer, students compare and contrast land animals and sea animals. They make a list of how they are different, and another list of how they are different after looking at photographs on the page.

Explore expository writing and using precise language in this descriptive paragraph writing instructional activity. Learners brainstorm prior knowledge about the changing seasons in Ohio. They describe seasonal items, view seasonal...

Although the article that launches this lesson is about the history of the Periodic Table, the objective is reading comprehension. Using the eight-page informational text, learners answer five comprehension questions and craft one essay....