EngageNY
Counting Rules—Combinations
Discover how combinations are different from permutations. In the third installment of a 21-part module, scholars learn how to determine combinations of objects. They learn to distinguish between situations where order is important and...
Messenger Education
Can You Hear Me Now?—Communicating with Spacecraft
Radio signals transmitted to Pluto take five hours to reach their destination! In these two activities, young scientists explore data communication in space. In activity one, pupils learn how data is gathered and sent back to Earth....
Messenger Education
Cooling with Sunshades
Messenger's sun shade measures 8 ft x 6 ft and will have temperatures reaching 700 degree Fahrenheit on the outside while maintaining a cool 70 degrees underneath. In the third activity of four, groups discuss the basic properties of...
Messenger Education
Sensing the Invisible: The Herschel Experiment
The electromagnetic spectrum includes everything from very powerful gamma rays (which are used to treat cancer) to much weaker radio waves (which include microwaves). Through a hands-on activity, scholars explore the temperature...
EngageNY
Statements of Order in the Real World
Positive and negative numbers are all around us. Groups read short story contexts and identify a rational number that represents the values in the context. They order the rational numbers and interpret statements of inequality.
Polar Trec
Touring the Poles
Would you want to vacation in the Arctic or Antarctic regions? Scholars research both regions and produce a travel brochure trying to convince tourists to visit. The project focuses on the geography, climate, flora, fauna, and indigenous...
Curated OER
How To Write a Social Studies Outline
One of the keys to success in school is organization. This resource leads learners through the process of creating an outline for a chapter from a social studies text. In addition, they review facts they have learned in their class...
Museum of Disability
Taking Visual Impairment to School
What is the world like when you can't see, or when your vision is impaired? Learn about how Lisa communicates with the world around her with Taking Visual Impairment to School by Rita Whitman Steingold. Learners answer...
PBS
Regional Patterns of Climate: Pacific Northwest
Climate systems involve sunlight, ocean, atmosphere, ice, land forms, and many other factors. Scholars explore each of these variables related to the Pacific Northwest rain forest. They use an online interactive to investigate the polar...
Curated OER
Nature's Perfect Recycler
What a great way to start a recycling lesson! Introduce your students to the dung beetle! They will get a kick out of "nature's perfect recycler," when they learn about the scarab beetle's way of life: eating dung and rotting...
TED-Ed
Getting Started as a DJ: Mixing, Mashups and Digital Turntables
What do Paris Hilton, Avicii, Diplo, and Cole Plante all have in common? They're DJs! Seventeen-year-old Plante is featured in a short video in which he demonstrates his art and encourages others who might be interested in pursuing a DJ...
Messenger Education
Snow Goggles and Limiting Sunlight
Why would someone need contact lenses that offer UV protection? With a 28-page packet full of instruction and worksheets, students discuss solar radiation and its potential harm to eyes. They make snow goggles similar...
Messenger Education
My Angle on Cooling—Effect of Distance and Inclination
When exploring Mars, spacecrafts are exposed to 5-11 times more sunlight than when near Earth. Groups of pupils complete a hands-on activity to explore how distance and angle of the sun affect temperature. Through discussions, they then...
Messenger Education
Star Power! Discovering the Power of Sunlight
It takes less than 10 minutes for energy from the sun to travel 90 million miles to Earth! In the first installment in a series of four, groups measure the amount of solar radiation that reaches Earth. They then discuss how this is...
Poetry4kids
Five Ways to Overcome Writer’s Block
Every writer knows how terrible writer's block can feel. Use these five writer's block-busting techniques to help young writers get out of their rut and into a better state of mind.
BioEd Online
Good Stress for Your Body
Stress the importance of the different types of pressure our mind and body experience in a lesson about how certain types of stress are actually necessary and good for our bodies. As astronauts and people with injuries can attest, not...
Curated OER
Portrait Proportions and Flesh Tones
Using the provided blank face template, learners of any age draw to learn how to create proper facial proportions. This lesson plan focuses on two dimensional facial proportions, how to estimate those proportions, and drawing techniques....
Curated OER
Paper Cranes
Paper folding is a great art form that can be incorporated into cultural, mathematic, and art lessons. This resource includes the full instructions needed to fold a paper crane, as well as a Haiku poetry idea. Tip: This activity would be...
Curated OER
The Adverse Effects of Birth Control on the Female Anatomy
Focus on terminology of the female anatomy and the various functions of each organ with a study on the pros and cons of birth control effects. This lesson plan provides a list of strategies to teach this concept for both female and male...
Curated OER
Wrap it up!
Sometimes the conclusion of an essay can be the most important part. Whether your writers are ending with a proposition, lesson learned, or persuasive argument, teach them how to "end with a bang" with this helpful PowerPoint! This...
Curated OER
Symbolism
Start your language arts lesson with this quick PowerPoint that defines symbolism. Following the definition is a sentence describing the American flag as a symbol to the United States. Tip: After reading these slides, have students write...
Curated OER
Musical Terms
Are you starting a recorder lesson with your elementary students? Use this helpful slide-show, perfect for introducing basic music terms such as tempo, dynamics, pitch, and duration. Each slide provides a definition and example of the...
Curated OER
Stream Consciousness
Actual stream water is analyzed in this environmental science activity. Participants measure water temperature and pH, and then survey the macroinvertebrates living in their samples. The data worksheet, troubleshooting tips, and...
Green Learning
Build Your Own Solar Oven
This is not exactly a lesson plan, but rather a six-page document detailing how to build a solar oven. A bit of background information, materials list, diagrams and photos, and clearly-written procedures are all included. There are no...