Learners explore who has photographed war and why. They examine Mathew Brady's process for photgraphing the Civil War. Students investigate how photographic equipment has changed and improved through time. They analyze primary source war...

The man who invented the earliest examples of chemical engineering was an American-born, French-educated, free man of color before the Civil War, and went on to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics. There is something of...

The mobilization of soldiers for World War II resulted in a worker shortage in the defense industries, especially in the fields of physics and other sciences. The Engineering, Science, and Management War Training program (ESMWT) was...

Physicists Herman Branson and Tannie Stovall provide young scholars with two very different perceptions of the status of African American physicists in the 1960s. After reading and comparing the bios of these two men, class members read...

Discover colonies! Young historians will listen to a primary source journal entry read aloud with a backdrop of wave sounds. They discuss the entry, add historical facts to a chart and personal insights to another. Then they listen to...

Young scholars write a journal entry about where there food comes from. In this Civil War lesson, students discuss journals, the crops grown within the U.S., the import/export process and what food preparation must have been like on a...

Learners explore the history of Montana's Native Americans by reading James Welch's Fools Crow. Set shortly after the Civil War, the novel focuses on a young Blackfoot Indian and his tribe. Over the course of several weeks, class members...

Students examine the economic, health and environmental risks of being a one-crop country. They explain the risks of relying on one crop. They also identify the factors that resist change.

Students examine the economic, health, and environmental risks of a one-crop economy in the developing world. They explain how or why it can be challenging for people of one culture to understand the lifestyle of a different society.

Students study black history, examine portraits and portrait making and create their own portraits, and  investigate their natural environment. This humanities instructional activity provides a text that can be used to teach lessons...

Students construct models of early gas balloons and gliders. In this balloon and glider lesson, students create models of early gas balloons and gliders, discover how the forces of lift and drag effect aircraft in flight, and put on...

Students examine the marine sanctuaries in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. They discover the interdependence of all living things and work together in groups to create a poster about what they have discovered during the lesson. They...

Students discuss developments in aviation.  In this reading comprehension lesson, students read an article that discusses ten aviation museums and developments in civil and military aviation.  Students find relationships...

Students delve into diverse marine ecosystems and the problems they face. They discover students the national marine sanctuaries found in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and off the coast of American Samoa.

Students examine spiders. In these spider lessons, students will view spider images and live spiders to determine physical characteristics, habits, and habitats. Students will examine fantasy and folklore about spiders to create and...

Students investigate the history of dinosaurs, as real animals. In this dinosaur lesson plan, students examine basic concepts that help them understand the history of all life. Included in this article is information on the world of the...

Amazing science can sometimes happen right before your eyes! The class gets cozy as they watch crystals grow. They use Epsom salts, rocks, and food coloring to create crystals. They'll observe the entire process, documenting every step...

Students draw on their previous studies of American history and culture as they analyze primary sources from Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s - 1960s in American Memory. A close reading of two documents relating to...

Seventh graders study the engineering projects that the US Army Corps of Engineers initiated during the development of Texas. They examine primary source documents that are in digital and print form, and identify US Army Corp of Engineer...

Students bring rocks and minerals from home to investigate in the classroom. In this rocks and minerals lesson plan, students observe all the rocks and minerals brought into the class and answer 7 questions about the features of the...

Students examine fossils to understand how they are formed and how they give information about geological history. In this fossil lesson, students research and write about fossils and make models of different fossil types.The PDF...

Students describe the complementary relationships between pollinators and the plants they pollinate, identify adaptations that flowers have developed to "encourage" pollination, and create and draw their own "designer" flowers.

Learners participate in multiple hands-on activities to explore reproduction and pollination. In groups, using a cotton swab and powder, students simulate being pollinators and plants. They name the parts of the flowers and the function...

Students investigate how size affects large and small animals differently. In this animal lesson plan, students determine how size affects different animals by constructing their own animal out of marshmallows. Once students create...