Can art play tricks on your eyes, and can a still painting really appear to vibrate? The second lesson in a four-part series discusses the way our beautiful brains translate visual images. It highlights the style of optical art and...

Commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death with a packet of cross-curricular literacy lessons and activities centered around two of the Bard's most popular plays, Macbeth and The Tempest. Class members look for...

Discover the ways America has opened its borders to international refugees, and the ways other countries have been more or less welcoming, with an informational passage about United States and international policies on refugees....

Middle schoolers discuss the characteristics of the biosphere, with a focus on the Tibetan Plateau. They participate in a question and answer period discussing biomes and climate patterns. They compare and contrast different ecosystems.

Students discover that material and energy uses by a city come from outside the city boundaries. They realize that the pathway of these material is linear instead of cyclical as they are in natural ecosystems.

Ancient coral beds give scientists clues to past ocean temperatures in much the same way that tree rings indicate historical weather conditions. High school scientists examine coral oxygen isotope ratios and plot the data as a function...

Carbon is in the air; should we care? Teach the class why it is important to pay attention to carbon levels and how the world population and various countries across the globe affect the carbon levels in the atmosphere. High schoolers...

All revolutions in science and technology have both pros and cons. Kids examine the advent of the green revolution, nuclear growth, use, and the countries that are considered nuclear powers. They'll construct three responses to each of...

How important is aviation? Using the background information, teachers provide the class with a brief history of aviation. The class discusses how airplanes are important to the area of transportation in the 17th installment of a...

Research various types of bridge designs. Your class will be asked to consider what it would be like without bridges while learning about how they work. They will construct a model bridge based on given parameters. They then calculate...

Ah, the numerous number of numbers. Individuals research different ways of encoding numbers. After conducting their initial research, they find classmates who have researched a different article and the pair share information. The...

While this lesson focuses on the birds and fish found on the Hudson River, it could be adapted for use in any classroom. Using a vocabulary list, learners explore the meaning of words like adaptation, habitat, barbel, and more. Then,...

Students examine the topic of subsistence farming. They research the future of subsistence agriculture, identify the types and locations of subsistence agriculture, and write about subsistence farming in regards to developing nations and...

Inform your class about the adaptations in fish eyes: cones, lens size, endothermy, and speed of vision. The adaptations are related to diving behavior. Junior marine scientists compare the adaptations of four different fish species to...

What killed the dinosaurs and how do scientists know? Your high schoolers can examine these fascinating questions with a geochemical lens using the engaging 33-minute video, the accompanying data interpretation, and some thoughtful...

Emanuel Leutze's painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. Alexander Gardner's photograph of Abraham Lincoln. What do these works of art tell us about the character of these American Presidents? After examining the techniques the...

Students define conservation, exploitation and preservation, identify legislation related to conservation and environmental issues, and identify leaders and organizations that were key to the conservation and environmental movements.

Through this series of terrific lesson plans, pupils learn about the extent of poverty in the state of Arkansas during the Great Depression. They read documents from the period which describe how hard times were, view an online photo...

Honing reading and communication skills through the theme of farm animals is the focus of this instructional activity. Students read a book about Scandinavian farm animals and complete prediction journal activities. They complete a...

Students investigate the history of Earth by creating a geologic time scale.  In this Earth History lesson, students practice sequencing events in their life as a way to get familiar with creating a time scale.  Students...

Students develop an understanding of the concept of matter. They l participate actively in the bubble raft experiment as described on the Center for Thermal Spray Research's website. They demonstrate dislocations and grain...

Sixth graders research the history of Pompeii and its destruction. Locate important geographical features of Rome. Gain insight into the past through archaeological interpretation. Synthesize historical information through imaginative...

Students examine world geography by viewing a documentary film in class. In this World War II lesson, students discuss the role Hawaii played in the great battle and what type conflicts happened among the island chain. Students view a...

Seventh graders discuss the history of the x-ray machine. In this social science lesson, 7th graders understand how a x-ray machine works. Students recognize that there have been many improvements to the x-ray machine over the...