Imagine that golf balls are radioactive and that they must be moved without touching or dropping them! This is what collaborative groups experience in this challenge. Each group is given a variety of materials with which to construct a...

Students participate in various activities to become more successful as a team member.  In this team building instructional activity, students discuss team jobs versus individual ones.  Students must work together to complete...

Walk in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark as they discover the wonders, beauty, and dangers of the American frontier. After gaining background knowledge about Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, young explorers use primary...

Teams of learners integrate reading, writing, math, social studies, and science in this simple, yet effective lesson. They work in groups in order to solve a ten-step problem which requires internet research, the use of a calculator, and...

Excavating cake? Why not! Kids spoon into some layers and artifacts during this tasty hands-on activity. The cake, a simulated archaeological dig, is the object of observation and discussion.

Students explore where electricity comes from and how it is used in their everyday lives. Through discussion and hands-on activities, they define electricity and explain how it travels to our homes. Students make informed choices based...

Discuss how political postcards affected everyday people's thoughts and beliefs. Pupils continue a unit on the Dreyfus Affair as they engage in class discussion, watch a video, view a PowerPoint presentation, and fill out worksheets to...

After reading about the history and recycling of paper, creative crafters collaborate to think of a new process for making recycled paper. A complete teacher's guide and student worksheets are included. There is no written procedure for...

Young scholars investigate the ways in which ancient technologies - six types of simple machines and combinations - are used to construct modern buildings. As they work together to solve a design problem (designing and building a modern...

Take this simulated archaeological dig one layer at a time with your young pupils to encourage observation, critical thinking, and careful attention. Using a transparent box full of layers of sand and artifacts, pupils examine the...

Students apply the mechanical advantages and problem-solving capabilities of six types of simple machines (wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane, screw, pulley) as they discuss modern structures in the spirit of the engineers and...

Students discuss and define communication and identify different ways of communicating with people. Students then practice team building and non-verbal communication skills as they work silently in small teams to put puzzles together.

In a simple but unique lesson, youngsters learn about the history of voting systems. They then collaborate in groups to develop a new honest and consistent voting method. A class-wide poll is taken, evaluating the designs of other...

Lights, camera, action! Math educators consider how to improve their instruction by examining a model of the five-practice problem-solving model involving a movie theater. Participants examine cognitive demand in relation to problem...

Students examine how archaeologists use artifacts to explore other people and their cultures. They discuss types of artifacts, analyze receipts for clues, and discuss how what the items bought reflect about people.

Students review the journal of Juan Bautista de Anza. They reflect on his first exploratory expedition into present-day California.

Students explore, explain and experience the importance of good character traits in everyday life by assessing the challenging journeys traveled on the Oregon Trail. They study the daily accounts of perseverance and courage along the trail.

Students study how drums produce sound by building and playing a simple drum. They measure the diameter of their can, then mark a circle two inches larger in diameter on their piece of plastic with the marker or chalk, and cut out the...

Fifth graders examine the role of bridges in commerce and transportation. They create a schedule for building a bridge and how much money it would take to build one.

Pupils form a Political Campaign Agency and try to secure the job of crating a studenT book about politics through the eyes of Students.

Ninth graders study the plants and animals Lewis and Clark discovered on their expedition. There is a plant illustrator, a plant recorder, an animal illustrator, and an animal recorder. They research the plants and animals and the ...

Students discuss visits to national parks, the differences between national parks and other parks, and plan an ecologically friendly trip to several parks that emphasizes conservation and national heritage.

Students take a field trip to historical Jamestown. Using artifacts given to them, they must identify them and discover who would have used them and for what purpose. They create a database to organize the information and share it with...

Students research the characteristics of cities in two different geographical areas. Using the internet, they take notes on the information they collect and record their observations on the two cities. They discover how the location...