Names come with all sorts of nuances and can influence how we see ourselves and how others see us. To gain insight into the power of names, class members journal about their names and then read a short essay about a girl and her feelings...

Here's a great way to build community during the first days of the new school year. Participants read personal narratives, then craft and share their stories with others.

Visionaries create images out of dots to demonstrate the eye-brain connection. Through this activity, they learn that the brain interprets data collected by the eye into recognizable information. Search online for "Jacques Cousteau in...

Elementary magnetologists investigate magnetic shields using a variety of materials in a "shielding sandwich." While the activity isn't novel, it is engaging, and this particular resource includes a brief explanation of the phenomena...

Everyone wants to feel heard and valued. Provide learners with an opportunity to share their thoughts and have them heard with this closing routine. Participants use an exit card to share their response to prompts that ask them to share...

Scholars continue their exploration of the concept of community by first completing an anticipation guide and then engaging in a Four Corners activity to share their responses. They analyze an essay in which the author defines community...

In a perfect marriage of social studies and science, groups work together to research and create a travel guide presentation to share with the class. Not only do kids learn about the climate and geography of a biome, but also the...

Individuals or groups select an environmental issue, then spend time researching and creating a presentation to share in class. By allowing learners to choose the issue that matters most to them, you will motivate them to do...

As an introduction to the major themes of Robert Cormier's Tunes for Bears to Dance to, class members complete an anticipation guide and share their responses in groups.

Build a strong classroom community with a closing routine that asks each participant to share something they appreciate about their classmate(s), issue an apology if they may have hurt someone's feelings or an "aha" moment when they...

The future can be yours to see with a bit of planning. That's the takeaway from a routine that asks participants to first brainstorm a list of personal and academic goals. Individuals then select one to focus on for the week, identify...

If you could frame something important to you, what would it be, where would you hang it, and why would you choose this particular thing to frame? These questions launch a lesson designed to help class members get to know each other....

In the post-pandemic classroom, it's more important than ever to begin the school year by building a strong sense of trust and community. Using the Make Meaning and Big Paper teaching techniques, groups develop a definition of community...

Provide parents with the tools they need to bridge the summer learning gap with this collection of fun activities. Whether it's creating an alphabet poster with illustrations for each letter, playing a game of sight word concentration,...

Students work together to gather information from the internet and print sources about the Ancient Greeks. They discover what everyday life was like in Ancient Greece. They develop a newspaper to share the information they gathered.

Students examine different global issues and share their learned information with others. Students choose a topic to research, write a research essay, conduct a survey about knowledge and attitude toward chosen topic, and create an oral...

A variation of the Walkabout Review process, carousel brainstorming directs groups to rotate through a series of stations posting ideas on the topic or question posted at each stop. 

Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...

Yes, Virginia, there really is a reader's theater script for "The Night Before Christmas." The exercise is a great way to productively channel pre-holiday energy.

Students complete a selection of activities based on the books by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell. In this author study lesson, students are introduced to eight books by the authors, then complete worksheets to find synonyms, make...

Scholars register an account with the website then complete an interest survey. Using the results, pupils choose three of the recommended professions to compare and contrast.

Does a tennis ball have energy? What about a bowling ball? Demonstrate concepts of different forms of energy forms and states with a variety of objects. Using the equations for potential and kinetic energy,...

Play a game of telephone, Dr. Seuss style! Kids can use the suggested phrases listed on this page or choose any silly sentence that the famous cat wearing a hat says. See the materials for two more activities.

Learn the ins and outs of hurricanes through a series of lessons answering, "What is a hurricane? How does it travel? How is one formed, measured, and named?" Information is presented through informative text and images, while...