Students collect pennies and sort them in ascending order of dates. For the year on each penny, students research key events in history and pick a single event, explaining its historical significance. Then students use these events to...

Students discuss the different kinds of faults in the earth's crust and examine photos of the San Adreas Fault. Working in groups, they experiment with fault making by placing fabric in a pan and filling the inside with wet dirt. When...

Students investigate the concept of agriculture and how it is part of the ecology and economy of the United States. They participate in a number of different classroom activities intended to raise agricultural awareness. The activities...

Middle schoolers examine the sequence of events that led up to the annexation of Texas to the United States. They create a timeline of significant events, analyze primary source letters from this time period, and write a letter from the...

Young scholars turn cardboard boxes into outdoor dramatic play. In this early childhood visual arts lesson plan, students explore cooperative and dramatic play outdoors by challenging children to create a train from cardboard boxes.

Students examine World War I and its consequences. In this World War I instructional activity, students watch the Discovery video "World War I and Its Aftermath." Students then research how nationalism contributed to the spread of the...

Learners view a slide show featuring famous athletes and educational institutions that have played a part in the history of basketball. They participate in a game in which a basketball is tossed from person to person as facts and...

Middle and high schoolers study significant people who shaped the 20th-century history and are introduced to database tools. Researchers use the Internet to research five 20th century history makers. They write a short biography of five...

Analyzing and understanding word problems is extremely important. Pupils learn that in money problems, earn usually means you add and spend usually means you subtract. They will solve a series of money-related word problems, label coins,...

Have your class learn about the formation of the Grand Canyon using this activity. After listening to a variety of stories about the Grand Canyon and erosion, learners complete worksheets related to the geology of this area. What a...

"I all alone beweep my outcast state." After a discussion of the "Shakespeare in American Life" segment in which Maya Angelou's relates her reaction to Sonnet 29, class groups create and perform a scene about an outcast that includes the...

Start a lesson on poetic voice with a peer to peer discussion on what characterizes the strength in the voice with which a writer chooses to express himself/herself. In pairs, readers are tasked with reading and creating T-charts for...

Discover the life of Abraham Lincoln with help from the story Abe Lincoln Remembers by Ann Turner. After listening carefully, scholars reflect on what they deem as Lincoln's most influential life event and how it relates...

Scholars examine the first Thanksgiving through books and interviews while they complete a KWL chart. Pretending they are part of the feast, learners craft a scrapbook page that features images related to their experience. Pupils reflect...

For this nature art lesson, students take a nature walk and collect items with different sizes, textures and colors. Students use the items they collect to make a collage.

Students recreate the order of animals they read about in a book. In this relative positions lesson, students color and cut out pictures of animals in the book. Sudents glue these onto construction paper and line up like the animals...

Students act as a public relations firm representing the school district and use photography to develop positive attitudes toward all programs. They brainstormed alternative methods to use photography and selected the photographic essay.

Students explore ideas about journalism ethics as they relate to Watergate and discuss various issues related to an anonymous source being revealed. They write letters to the public editor of The NY Times about credibility and anonymous...

Second graders explore careers in mathematics. In this careers lesson, the teacher leads a discussion about occupations that require math, then students create a short skit about a job that uses math. Lesson includes extension ideas.

Students examine issues of gun control, the right to bear arms, and the overwhelming seriousness of gun related violence. They examine what can, and has been done to redress the situation using the Million Mom March as a reference point.

Students discuss philanthropy. In this fair trade instructional activity, students discover the meaning of fair trade. They are given the definition and work in small groups to read further on the topic and answer questions. This...

Third graders participate in a demonstration of the moon's phases. In this moon phase instructional activity, 3rd graders watch as the teacher demonstrates moon phases with a bright light and a Styrofoam ball. They answer questions...

Students examine the Cuban exile community's response to the ceding of power to Fidel Castro's brother. They read and discuss an article, conduct research on Cuba, and in small groups create a Powerpoint presentation.

Students examine their own First Amendment rights as students. They read and discuss a news article, discuss the Supreme Court case Frederick v. Morse, take an online quiz and conduct Internet research, and create a brochure outlining...