Blow your class away with a gust of humor as they watch this video about air pressure and wind. Along the way, they find that the density of air (as determined by temperature, altitude, and water vapor content) leads to air pressure...

Using the San Francisco Children's Orchestra web site, first graders build listening and instrument identification skills. Each child wears head phones, listens to ID, and finds various instruments on the included worksheet. 

What a great lesson, upper graders are sure to love. They explore costume design and the relationships between theatre, culture, and history. They research three time periods, write a response about two of them, then create a composit...

It's assessment time! Determine your young mathematicians' understanding of elapsed time with this brief, five-question quiz.

Whether or not your school has adopted the Common Core standards, this 18-page language arts unit design template is worth a look because it asks instructors to consider all the key elements of a strong English language arts unit. In...

Many problems in life have more than one possible solution, and the same is true for advanced mathematics. Scholars solve seven problems that all have at least two solutions. Then three higher-level thinking questions challenge them to...

Thirty at the party won't cost any more than twenty-five. The assessment task provides a scenario for the cost of a party where the initial fee covers a given number of guests. The class determines the cost for specific numbers of guests...

Designers in Prague are not diagonally challenged. The mini-assessment provides a complex pattern made from blocks. Individuals use the pattern to find the area and perimeter of the design. To find the perimeter, they use the Pythagorean...

Looking for an assessment that reveals how well readers understand complex text? Check out an assessment module based on "The Gettysburg Address." Pupils are asked to craft an essay that demonstrates their understanding not only of...

Take flight with a fun activity focused on graphing data on a coordinate plane. As learners study the data for Granny's hot-air balloon trip, including the time of day and the distance of the balloon from the ground, they practice...

The class gets their mean and median all in a row with an assessment task that uses a population of ducklings to work with data displays and measures of central tendency. Pupils create a frequency chart and calculate the mean and median....

Technology has undoubtedly improved the lives of people around the world—but has it improved communication? Seventh graders read two informative passages about the rise of texting and emailing versus in-person conversations before...

Challenge writers to compose an essay detailing their stance on, and the history of, voting. Three assignments, each broken down into three parts, requires fifth graders to take notes, read and complete charts, write paragraphs, compare...

When told to describe a line, do your pupils list its color, length, and which side is high or low? Use a worksheet that engages scholars to properly label line graphs. It then requests two applied reasoning answers.

Most problems can be solved using more than one method. A worksheet includes just nine questions but many more ways to solve each. Scholars must graph, solve, and justify quadratic problems.

Challenge the class to utilize their knowledge of linear and quadratic functions to determine the intersection of the parent quadratic graph and linear proportional graphs. Using the pattern for the solutions, individuals develop a...

It is difficult to articulate how growing up feels as accurately and beautifully as Sandra Cisneros does in her short story "Eleven." After seventh graders read the story and note the author's use of figurative language, they respond to...

Let's partition rectangles into equal parts. Assess learners on their ability to divide shapes into equal parts, and their ability to explain their thinking.

Feeling the pressure to confirm is something any adolescent can relate to. Explore an essential theme with a response to literature assessment that prompts learners to identify main ideas with evidence and supporting details.

Looking for a performance assessment that asks individuals to demonstrate their competency in writing about informational text? Use Frederick Douglass' essay "On the Dred Scott Decision," and an excerpt from Abraham Lincoln's 1857 speech...

A three-part writing assessment challenges scholars to think critically about schools of the past and present. Learners read informative texts, answer questions to prepare for a discussion, research in small groups, complete a Venn...

Someone finds a time capsule 100 years from now, and it includes your family photo album. What would the photos tell that person about you and your place in history? Scholars investigate how artifacts tell stories. Using photos, maps,...

A 3-day exam assesses readers' comprehension. After hearing a passage from the story Kittens First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes, scholars work with a partner to discuss and sketch what they found memorable. Peers share their final products...

Here is a great resource for vetting your next project-based learning idea and considering all the major components that you should incorporate.