Students develop archaeological context skills through a simulation which places them in the year 2500. After listening to the teacher read, "Weapons of the Texanos," they record what they think the weapon is. Next, in groups, they...

Students participate in a class discussion about their family structures. Students also discuss the family diversity of their peers and others in the world. They investigate family habits, family history, values and traditions their...

Students examine the notion of terra nullius, the idea under which Australia was settled. Then they compare the economic and social outcomes for Australia's indigenous people under terra nullius with those of other indigenous peoples...

Middle schoolers use the six step scientific method to experiment with the differences in adhesives. Students test for tack, shear, and peel in these activities.

Young scholars see examples of other types of written stories. They are introduced to the ballad in literature. Students obtain ideas for their own family story. They discuss how ballads can relate true stories through music. Young...

Students discuss the rhyming pattern of various types of poetry. With a focus on limericks, they follow the specific rhyme scheme and create a limerick about Newton. They share their poem with the class and write another one related to...

Haikus by Basho, Buson, Issa, and Shiki are used as models for a brief lecture on the importance of poetry in Japan's history and the structure of this poetic form. Students then go on a nature walk, record impressions, and return to the...

The role women played in the Civil War, especially in relief efforts, is the focus of this seven-page resource. Groups examine primary source materials to determine how this work reflected and expanded the traditional roles women held in...

Besides serving as awe-inspiring monuments of human achievement, skyscrapers are built to perform a wide range of functions in urban communities. The second lesson plan in this series begins by exploring the history of the Empire State...

Similes and metaphors make writing more beautiful and detailed, but can be a little harder to decipher during a first reading. Use a passage from The Man Who Loved Words to show young readers how to think through passages that...

Fruit fusion or dippy divers, anyone? Here's a delicious way to introduce young cooks to aspects of safe food handling and the use of food handling tools. Groups create fruits and/or vegetable salads to share with the class.

Liability, deductible, premium ... what do these words mean, and how do they relate to insurance? Scholars complete a pre-test, matching vocabulary activity, and insurance timeline worksheet and become familiar with these terms. Next,...

Step into the role of a zoo director with several activities about animal training and running a zoo. Kids calculate the amount of food each animal needs, design a habitat for penguins, decide how to breed bottlenose dolphins, and train...

Practice using proper verb tenses in the spirit of Thanksgiving! Learners are given holiday photographs as prompts to create oral and written sentences in a targeted verb tense.

Start programming in event-driven style. Scholars learn to place buttons on the user interface and use event handlers. They also learn to recognize errors in code and debug as necessary. This is the second lesson in the series of 21.

Survival of the fittest isn't just for the movies! A five-part instructional activity explores several different species with known adaptations and analyzes them for their survival strategies. Using both video and research data, scholars...

Scholars write letters as if they were someone who heard the story of John Brown's raid. The resource, a standalone, covers information from primary sources that is important to West Virginian history: the Harpers Ferry Letters.

Does a ban on vending machines infringe on student rights, or do school officials have an obligation to monitor foods sold on school grounds? Your class members will explore the educational, health, and financial issues related to...

Help young learners identify and break down stereotypes with this these lessons and worksheets, which discuss expectations placed on others based on such factors as gender, race, and sexual orientation.

Why is a letter a better way to learn about a person than a different primary source? Explore Thomas Day's ideas and advice to his daughter in a letter from 1851, which details the struggles of the American South before the Civil War....

When it comes to all the ways money management and financial responsibility weave into our daily lives as adults, make sure learners are prepared to locate resources for managing their finances, such as a financial advisor. 

Does your bank pay you for allowing them to hold your money? Class members investigate three different ways money can make more money. Topics include certificates of deposit, statement savings accounts, and money market accounts....

A pool of brine in the deep sea can be up to four times as salty as the surrounding sea water. The deep sea ecosystem relies on chemosynthesis and the organisms that live there are often strange to us. The lesson focuses on researching...

Can a coral cure cancer? Take seventh and eighth grade science sleuths to the underwater drugstore for an investigation into emerging pharmaceutical research. The fifth installment in a series of six has classmates research the wealth of...