Why do schools and government offices close one day every January to honor the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? Young learners discover the achievements and lasting significance of this influential figure in American history...

In a comprehensive unit of activities, learners explore the five senses. Youngsters discover the many different body parts and their functions that allow humans to have sense of sight, touch, smell, taste, and hearing. The best way to...

Primary sources are valuable for understanding the context of historical events, but the diction and dialect in these documents can be difficult to understand. Middle and high schoolers participation in a transcription process in which...

What would it take to live on the lunar surface? Small groups build model rockets in order to simulate launching a habitat into space and rebuilding it. Divide the class into groups to design and build a model of a lunar habitat. The...

What will it take to explore space? Teams of pupils determine the needs of a lunar outpost and research the required systems. The pupils then learn about the past space exploration vehicles. The third and final lesson challenges project...

Small groups use the engineering design process to build and test a vehicle capable of carrying 250 grams a distance of five meters. The design must allow for the storage of potential energy and turn it into motion,...

Did the image I drew match the image you saw? By simulating a satellite and a ground station, teams of two transmit data in the form of pixels in order to recreate an image. They use four different levels of brightness, creating slightly...

Jupiter has 67 moons! As the seventh in a series of 22, the exercise shows learners the size and scale of Jupiter and its Galilean moons through a model. They then arrange the model to show how probes orbited and gathered data.

The final activity in a unit study of immigration and human rights asks class members to design a project for their school that builds support for immigrant classmates. To prepare for this project, individuals use what they have learned...

Jazz and the City, Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement, Jazz and Gender, Jazz and Literature, Jazz and the Arts, Jazz and Film. Here's a packet of unit plans organized around themes that reflect American culture. Each unit examines how...

Fascinate young life scientists by showing them how their brain learns. By using prism goggles while attempting to toss bean bags at a target, lab partners change their outlook on the world around them, producing amusing results....

It's electric! Young anatomists use Virtual Neurons software to build, control, and analyze complex nerve circuits within the body. Colorful and packed with content, class members enjoy interacting with the nervous system...

Is it possible to change the color of clouds? A three-part activity explores the scattering of light by the water droplets that make up clouds. After observing a demonstration, curious scholars conduct their own investigations of the...

When you're putting together a great story, you've got to consider the source! Scholars discover the dangers of errors in reporting during the 14th activity in a 16-part Social Media Toolbox series. Groups collaborate to create a source...

Tools for school—and beyond! Introduce your sixth graders to online tools to plan their academic and professional futures. The fifth and final lesson in a series of career and college readiness activities focuses on a scavenger hunt to...

So, what's the plan? Seventh graders begin their college and career journey in the first of six lessons. After creating their online profiles on a career resource website, individuals conduct extensive research to determine the courses...

What do people's social media profiles say about them? Explore diverse perspectives and digital citizenship in an activity designed with self-identity in mind. Pupils reflect on their own profiles, then collaborate to examine...

Should people take vitamins or get the needed minerals through diet? Experts disagree based on many different factors. Scholars compare study findings and discuss the differences. They learn the importance of comparing results across...

Vive la résistance! Provide young historians with a list of important people and events during the French Revolution and Napoleonic periods.

What role did yellow journalism play in bringing the United States into war with Spain? As part of their study of the Spanish-American War, class groups examine newspapers of the times and other texts and then produce their own...

Explore the consistency of the earth's layers and soil through modeling. By conducting an engaging experiment, learners develop a model for the earth's layers and a soil profile using edible materials. Each material is chosen based on...

MacGillivray Freeman's film Arabia presents viewers with remarkable images and insights into this ancient and mysterious land. An educator's guide is designed to provided teachers with the materials they need to support a...

Ever made solar s'mores? Or recreated the solar system using peanuts? Astronomers young and old investigate all things solar using a variety of activities. Explore how the sun works, types of light it emits, and methods of charting the...

Outer space may be a lot closer than you think! Science scholars model the layers of the atmosphere using transparencies to gain insight into the scale of space. The resource includes ideas to tailor the activity to the skill level of...