Water, water, everywhere — but will there be enough to drink? Check out these detailed lesson plans to meet NGSS water cycle and CCSS literacy standards in your science classroom. Learners do a close reading of a challenging, poetic text...

Explore how lack of access to water impacts peoples' lives in poor countries. Through text reading and discussion, middle schoolers are presented with the story of a young girl who lives and functions with limited water resources. They...

What do cereal, fog, and space shuttles have to do with newspapers? A collection of science investigations encourage critical thinking using connections to the various parts of the newspaper. Activities range from building origami seed...

Germination is an amazing process that results in amazing things. The book The Tiny Seed is the inspiration for a set of activities that will help build early literacy, observation, language, and writing skills. The class observes how...

Young scholars brainstorm about the different health issues facing teens today. In this health science lesson, students discuss the danger associated with drug abuse. They recommend ways to stay healthy.

After reading Elie Wiesel's Night, watching the movie Life is Beautiful, and researching World War II, class members write a comparison essay on the book and film. This includes a prior knowledge activity, discussion in whole and small...

Approach the topic of popularity with this resource from the New York Times and their Learning Network series. The article is about Alexandra Robbins' "Quirk Theory." Learners respond to the article excerpt either on paper or...

Something’s fishy! Assign each of your pupils an individual sea creature and investigate the oceans. Young oceanographers utilize Kidspiration software to research a creature, illustrate an image, and create fact cards about their...

Marijuana can affect every part of a user's life—starting with the delicate nervous centers of the brain. An informative article and worksheet prompt teenagers to learn more about how the THC found in most forms of marijuana can...

Pupils examine the life of renowned African American scientists. In this science literacy lesson, students explore a website containing profiles and achievements of past and present African American scientists. They prepare a poster...

Here's a workshop for teachers that rocks the academic world! Using earthquakes as a medium for instruction, educators learn about crosscutting engineering with science. Fun, hands-on, collaborative exercises encourage participants to...

Does it actually exist? Consider the sighting of a giant squid, much like the one that appears in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Middle and high schoolers read the article One Legend Found, Many Still to Go, and research other mysterious...

Students investigate the lives of frogs by completing several worksheets.  In this biology activity, students discover the life cycle of a frog from tadpole to death.  Students complete frog life cycle puzzle as well as create...

Bring digital storytelling to your language arts class! To begin, learners select their own topic, such as a poem that reflects a life experience they had or a historical figure who interests them. Then they work to create a storyboard...

Compare various types of biological diversity in a coral reef and calculate a numeric indicator that describes the diversity found in coral communities. Your class can work in groups to look at the abundance and distribution data of...

It's hard to imagine that anything was missed on this five-page list of science roots, prefixes, and suffixes! Listed in alphabetical order, all are included in a single, two-column list. This may be especially useful for advanced...

Develop historical analysis and interpretation with your older students. They will study and analyze three given interpretations of Christopher Columbus' life, which includes significant events, his character, and the impact he made on...

Woody Guthrie will capture the imagination of even your most reluctant learners. Using his work, your class will develop their skills in non-fiction reading comprehension, interpreting primary source material, and use of multiple forms...

Concept muraling helps learners improve their comprehension of a text by giving them a way to organize their understanding of the key concepts in that text. Introduce readers to this process with a carefully scaffolded lesson that models...

Students examine ways in which humans have brought change to the natural environment. In this ecology and literacy lesson, students listen to the book Island Boy by Barbara Cooney. Students observe and define map-reading vocabulary as...

Students research marine ecosystems by creating class presentations.  In this oceanography instructional activity, students research the different locations of marine sanctuaries by identifying them on a transparency map in class....

Students undertake a similar (but not quite as drastic) adventure as that of Frontier House as they explore the day-to-day realities of frontier life through a Laura Ingalls Wilder story, and reflect on which time period suits them...

Middle schoolers explore the composition and function of blood through a variety of media and hands-on experiences. This lesson is a very good introduction to blood and the circulatory system.

Learners utilize various vocabulary strategies. They use vocabulary logs to record strategies they have been taught, such as the Frayer Model (definition, picture, examples, non-examples), writing their own definitions, and using...