J.K. Rowling's world of wizards and magic focuses on some topics that relate to our own society, especially in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Have kids complete a KWHL chart (what they know, what they want to know, how...

Explore functions with non-constant rates of change. The first installment of a 12-part module teaches young mathematicians about the concept of a function. They investigate instances where functions do not have a constant rate of change.

To gain an understanding of Imperialism, class members read Rudyard Kipling's poem, "The White Man's Burden" and Mark Twain's essay, "To the Person Sitting in Darkness." Groups compare these perceptions of non-white cultures with the...

Spark interest in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer with an anticipatory exercise that begins with a brainstorm around the words heroic and good boy. Pupils then complete an anticipation guide, discuss the results in groups, and...

An educational lesson focuses on the idea of conservation of matter through a demonstration of the water cycle, a discussion of digesting food, and the path of carbon and oxygen atoms as they change form. 

How did Native Americans react to the arrival of the Lewis and Clark expedition? Here, learners review excerpts of journal entries that chronicle the arrival of the Corps of Discovery to the Shoshone and Blackfeet tribes. Your young...

Should identifying a tragic hero be based on a universal definition or a definition based on the morals and values of a specific culture? As part of a study of Things Fall Apart, class members read Sylvia Plath's "Colossus" and then...

Students study the concept of legislation as it relates to passing a bill in the House of Representatives. In this legislation: passing a bill in the house of representative lesson plan, students identify why and how bills are introduced...

Give budding historians a guided exploration of the Declaration of Independence, historic photos, videos, and more as they deepen their understanding of the American Revolution and the attitude of the colonists leading up to...

Review concepts and terms after reading Running Out of Time. Learners each come up with a few terms that they think are important and then participate in a list-group-label exercise, paying close attention to the two main years featured...

Who were the absolute monarchs of Europe and what effect did they have on their countries? Young historians begin by naming qualities they believe are important for a monarch to possess. They then take notes on four key factors...

Is there such a thing as fate/luck? Can one fight destiny? As part of their study of Chinua Achebe's purpose in writing Things Fall Apart, class members answer these questions from Achebe's point of view and then from William...

Wow! Here is a most-impressive series of lessons and activities that revolve around the classic story, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The purpose of the lessons are to provide an agricultural theme in the reading, writing, and science...

Teach young historians about the historical legacy of Rosa Parks with a multi-faceted lesson plan. Pupils follow stations and use journals to explore prominent events, analyze primary resource documents, and engage in interesting...

Do governments have the right to authorize individuals to perform illegal acts during times of war? Did the US government really employ pirates? Use the War of 1812 as your vessel to answering these questions through class discussion and...

An intersection is more than just the point where lines intersect; explain this and the meaning of the intersection to your class. The 26th segment in a 33-part series uses graphing to solve systems of equations. Pupils graph linear...

How do you make a penny grow to $5,000 in just 15 days? Use the examples in this lesson to explore the concept of exponential growth and its comparison to linear models. Pupils come to understand that exponential growth eventually...

In this sixth of seven activities revolving around the concept of density, physical science fans figure out if anything can be done to change the density of an object. Demonstrate by placing a can of regular and a can of diet soda into a...

Students complete a variety of discussion and writing activities that highlight the concepts of time and narrative voice of Benjy by iam Faulkner.

Readers locate unfamiliar words in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and teach these words and their meanings to class members.

Work on deciphering the point of view of various pieces of literature. As readers review the concepts of first, second, and third person perspective, they apply what they know to different passages.

For 13 days, the United States stood on the edge of nuclear War. The Soviet Arms buildup in Cuba is the focus of an activity that asks groups to analyze how the governmental role each of John F. Kennedy's advisors played went on to...

Explore the concept of polynomials and determine the value and number of zeros for a given polynomial using the Rational Root Theorem. Then graph the polynomials and relate the number of zeroes to the degree of the polynomial.

Incorporate technology into a literature instructional activity with an innovative language arts instructional activity. Middle schoolers read an electronic version of original stories or fairy tales, and after determining the point...