Readers of Nineteen Eighty-Four engage in a close reading exercise that directs their focus to the key details Orwell provides in the opening paragraphs to introduce his dystopian society. The included worksheeet is divided into three...

If you're looking for a way to structure your unit on Jack London's White Fang, use a well-organized guide to bring the intrigue of the novel to your middle school classroom. Covering a biography of the author, main background and...

Select a theme together to guide and inspire works of art. Class members view images of art and discuss the images of cities. After choosing a theme, individuals create posters that reflect and contribute to the theme. They can use paint...

How do plants and animals survive in habitats with very little water? Explore arid ecosystems and the way their inhabitants have adapted with a lesson and science experiment. After kids listen to a presentation about adaptation, they...

Here is a resource with a descriptive approach to explaining the scientific method. It's simple, but effective for both introduction and reinforcement of this concept. 

Why do artists create? To solve a problem, of course. Young artists work individually and then in groups to create observational, imaginative, and narrative drawings in response to an assignment that requires them to employ all 16...

Spring into elastic potential energy with a lesson that provides background information on determining the elastic potential energy of springs and other elastic materials. General energy equations emphasize the conservation of...

Extra! Extra! Read all about past and present energy use in a classroom-made historical newspaper. Useful as a cross-curricular assignment between science, history, and language arts, the project is sure to get young journalists...

It's not so straightforward — lines can model a variety of applications. Pupils experience linear relationships within the context of science, including Hooke's and Ohm's Laws. Class members got a taste of motion and speed from the...

Is the sun the only celestial body with magnetic fields? A guided discussion on the weather in space is designed with a mix of questions, discussions, explanations, and applications. Additionally, the resouce includes an...

Log some practice with logarithms. A PowerPoint presentation provides a tutorial on the change of base formula involving natural logarithms and solving exponential equations with logarithms in the fourth installment of a seven-part...

What happens when a non-native species is introduced onto an island? Santa Cruz Island, part of the Channel Island chain located off the coast of southern California, provides the perfect laboratory for young environmental scientists to...

After viewing the documentary The Last Roundup, a documentary about the transitioning of Santa Rosa from a privately own island to a National Park, class members debate the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment that permits the...

West of the West's documentary Arlington Springs Man introduces viewers to the remarkable finds on Santa Rosa Island. Archaeologist have discovered on this small island that is part of the Channel island chain, human and pygmy mammoth...

Big news isn't necessarily newsworthy everywhere! How do journalists decide what to cover with so much happening around them? A instructional activity on media literacy examines the factors that affect the media's choice of stories to...

Explore a trailblazing way to talk about innovation. Using the Scratch coding program, young computer scientists create innovations and write stories to accompany them. They include some of the add-ons they mastered throughout the unit.

After completing an online activity about the Mayflower, scholars draw a picture about what they know of the Thanksgiving holiday, including a one-sentence summary. A reading of If You Were at the First Thanksgiving by Anne Kamma is...

The battle over same-sex marriage is a prevalent issue in the United States, and a valuable topic to be discussed in your social studies classroom. Here is a basic outline of introductory questions, focus questions, vocabulary, and media...

Read a designated chapter of the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and discuss the chapter summary in small groups. Groups present their summaries and answer questions specific to their chapter.

It makes sense that people who choose a career that matches their interests are happier than those who don't. But the big question is, how does one find a career that matches their interests? High school seniors explore career options by...

Analyze the writing of Edgar Allen Poe by reading and then writing in a similar style. Budding authors learn about the life of Poe and read one or more of his famous works online. Partner groups create an original piece of writing using...

Examine the power of persuasion and have learners consider how it influences events in their own lives. After reading and analyzing informational texts to understand the author's purpose, class members take a written test and craft a...

Sixth graders estimate surface area of a pond using a random number table.

Pupils practice summarization by creating a story map. After reading Freckle Juice, students working in groups, create a story map of the main events of the story. Groups use their story maps to summarize a chapter of the story and...