Challenge young learners to cut the clutter with this fun engineering project. As employees of a home and office supply company, young engineers are asked to develop devices that organize everyday items. After participating in a...

The second segment of a seven-part series reviews the challenge of determining whether gargling with salt water helps a sore throat. Individuals journal what they know about the challenge and what they are trying to figure out to...

A terrific instructional activity focused on the design process. It begins with a presentation, "Design: Solve a Problem," which lists the steps of the process and then introduces the specific challenge: to build a device that...

How diverse are the benthic organisms found in local streams? Using the information learned in previous lessons on identification of macroinvertebrates and on calculating stream index values, groups determine the health of local...

Seventh graders create an original narrative story in a diary or journal format involving a fictional character with conflict, plot, resolution and falling action within the story line. They follow the steps of the writing process with...

Teams select a society to investigate and create a chart comparing and contrasting the status of girls in that society with their own. They then craft and illustrate a personal narrative written from the point of view of a girl living in...

Explore the Ukraine through a reading of The Mitten. Readers will determine the sequence of events, cause and effect, make predictions, and find the main idea of the story. They also use math skills to make charts and graphs. Finally,...

Learners write a business letter with information regarding specific writing mechanics. In this writing lesson, students learn to write a business letter and they focus on one area of concern. Learners follow a business letter...

If you could bring back one extinct animal, what would it be? That is the question your class will ponder. Your budding scientists read a passage, follow a cloning timeline, and review a diagram about the process of reviving a woolly...

Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...

Eighth graders, after viewing a website on Civil War Time, explore and analyze the lifestyles of Civil War times as well as those of the soldiers through the writing of a composition of a narrative letter and story through the eyes of a...

Students use Windows Movie Maker to complete a how-to description activity. In this how-to and technology lesson, students create a slide show using Windows Movie Maker. Students bring in the materials for the demonstration, draw a...

Students create newspapers. In this technology skills lesson plan, students create a newspaper layout using a word processor program. The newspaper features stories regarding the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

This Discovery Education activity provides the information needed to understand the basics of flight. Before taking off, young pilots learn the eight stages of the engineering design process. Small groups then design and build...

Take a virtual trip to see other countries and cultures! After learning about different cultures and populations, English learners think about a place they'd like to visit. Small groups or individuals plan a trip to a country...

Eighth graders identify the 5th step of the writing process and apply the process to student autobiographies. While in the computer lab, they continue to type their autobiographies, and create covers for their autobiographies.

Help create confident and competent Internet users for research purposes. Middle schoolers conduct Internet research and compose a paper on the computer. They learn how to properly cite Internet references and explore net etiquette.

Provide Ant-Man with a flying device to aid in fighting crime. The first installment of a five-part unit has learners designing and building a flying device for Ant-Man. They write a narrative essay describing the engineering process...

Students examine paragraph structure, the writing process, and then design a model for the process. In this writing skills lesson plan, students explore paragraphs using the SmartBoard. Students create a class T-chart about paragraph...

In this writing on the computer learning exercise, students study the steps to follow when writing a letter on the computer. Students read 20 sentences and fill in the proper verb from the word bank.

Pupils identify and use the four types of brainstorming techniques used in essay prewriting. They select an appropriate attention getting statement to attract the essay reader. Students explore the purpose and methods of selecting...

Students explore political persuasive writing. In this government and persuasive writing lesson, students work in groups to write text and create graphics for a  brochure describing and promoting a predetermined political candidate.

Building an accelerometer app for your Android device. Groups develop an app that uses the accelerometer on an Android device. The purpose of the activity is to reinforce the programming design. The post activity assessment challenges...

Small groups use the knowledge learned about the heart to design and build a prototype of an artificial heart valve. The teams demonstrate the functionality of their valve. They are also responsible for creating a pamphlet that describes...