Students work in groups to discover how to move an object down a zip line.  In this engineering design instructional activity, students find how to use a cup to move a marble, the most efficient way.  Students...

Written to introduce pupils to buoyancy, this activity has collaborative groups work to design a floatable clay boat. They first observe that a stick of clay sinks in water and then are given their own stick to reshape into a floating...

Groups are each given a pack of engineering cards and a worksheet to complete together. The cards depict different roles an engineer might play and can be purchased from the eGFI website. Because the lesson plan revolves around these...

In this temperatures worksheet, students read 7 clues and use their answers to fill in the temperature chart. All problems pertain to the rise and fall of temperatures in five cities.

Young scholars recognize that the Russian government has ordered the British Council to close their operations in Russia, probably due to worsening relations between the two countries. They act as negotiators for either the British...

Sixth graders investigate John Brown's fight to end slavery. In this slavery lesson, 6th graders read Harpers Ferry, The Story of John Brown's Raid and then research his life as well as the life of slave Osbourne Perry Anderson. Students...

Young scholars investigate the murder case of Emmett Till and identify the missing pieces from the case. Through research, they then work to fill in the gaps to create a basis for examining how justice might be served anew in this...

Students examine the constitutionality of various forms of expression; they then take part in a mock trial on the issue of cross burning. Divide the class into three groups; Supreme Court Justices, and two groups that don't agree on this...

Students revisit issues of civil rights in the U.S. They use the recent national discussion of retiring Senator Strom Thurmond's 1948 Dixiecrat Presidential campaign as a starting point.

Students research past, present and proposed climate change policies. They develop timelines based on different predictions of climate change effects and assess the likelihood of each timeline playing out in reality.

Students examine affirmative action and study the diversity of their own classrooms and communities, then of a particular college or university. They write essays examining how colleges should increase the diversity of their student bodies.

Students reflect on the value of a penny. They examine how working families endure economic hardships with the help of charities. They create their own philanthropic event to raise money for a charity.

Learners look back at this year in history and evaluate important events, discoveries and people from 1998. They, in groups, create 1998: Year in Review. While 1998 has come and gone, the idea and intent for this lesson can be used now.

Students assess germ warfare and debating related ethical issues in the social studies classroom

Students evaluate the changes made in the Palestine National Council charter and their potential impact on the future of Israeli-Palestinian relations. They write a brief essay focusing on an article from an Israeli or Palestinian...

Students explore the concept of human rights by examining the arresting of prominent Chinese dissidents who are members of the China Democratic Party. They develop and defend their own Bill of Human Rights and write a reflective essay.

Students, in groups, design and develop Web sites dedicated to special skills traditionally taught by humans rather than by technology. They write Web site reviews that describe and assess their group's envisioned Internet site.

Students act as teams of product managers for personal electronics companies. Each team evaluate new electronic devices in different product categories (such as handheld devices and portable music devices), and create product...

Students use the European Union's struggle with Mad Cow Disease as a starting point to study the spread of infectious diseases across geographical boundaries.

Students examine the recent partial face transplant in Ameiens, France and the ensuing public debate on extreme plastic surgery. They participate in a fishbowl discussion on the ethics and implications of future face transplants.

Students analyze the symbols presented in a Maya artifact. They create collages that depict a theme related to contemporary life in their community, and write brief analyses explaining the symbolism of the images they chose.

Students share opinions about athlete endorsements. They write articles that provide an economic profile of an athlete for submission to their school newspaper.

Students explore Nobel Prize winning economist Thomas C. Schelling's strategic egonomics theory as it applies to making new year's resolutions. They make their own resolutions and develop plans to keep them using Schelling's strategies.

Celebrate Kwanzaa with a game of Kalah, also known as Mankala or Owara. Using an egg carton and a set of beans, players take all of the beans out of one of his or her cups and move to the right, dropping one bean into each of the...