Elementary schoolers discover how engineers use solar energy to heat buildings. They take a close look at some of the materials used: sand, salt, water, and shredded paper and evaluate the efficiency of each material. An incredible...

The twelfth instructional activity of this unit builds on the skills developed in the previous instructional activity, as fourth graders continue their quest to become experts on colonial trade by listening to interviews with historical...

In the tenth instructional activity of this unit, young scholars learn to categorize information as they continue researching their colonial trade. During guided practice, the teacher models how to read informational text slowly while...

Did you know that honey bees dance to communicate information? Do you know why bees use hexagons to build their hives? The Honeybee Man, Brilliant Bees, and Show me the Honey provide background information on how honey bees communicate....

Passive solar heating is a technology that's been in use for thousands of years. Here, elementary schoolers are exposed to this type of heating, the materials that are used in passive solar heating, and they study how engineers design...

“What is the theme of this story?” Now there’s a question all pupils dread. Rather than encountering a sea of faces that look like they were painted by Edward Munch, face a classroom filled with smiles and confidence. Show your readers...

The Odyssey is the core text in this unit study of the hero's journey motif. Along the way, kids research Greek and Roman history, mythology, art, and epic poetry. The 104-page packet is perfect for homeschool or classroom situations and...

Students create travel brochures of China's nine regions and make a bulletin board display with them.

Students create good arguments by exploring the basic structure of an arguments. They determine premises and conclusions for analyzing the effectiveness of arguments. In addition, they explore the differences between arguments and...

Teach your middle schoolers to use their ears to their highest potential! Pupils practice active listening skills and reflect on how careful listening might prove to be important in and out of the classroom.

Foster reader confidence when encountering complex text and reinforce the skills readers have acquired to build and extend their understanding of text. The plan uses a section of Douglass’ narrative as an exemplar text. Directions for...

Build upon and stack up data to get the complete picture. Using the applet, pupils build bar graphs. As the bar graph builds, the interactive graphically displays the mean, median, and mode. Learners finish by exploring the changes in...

In this mind-bending activity, young engineers explore this question of whether or not light actually bends. Using holographic diffraction gratings, groups design and build a spectrograph. The groups then move on research a problem...

Fifth graders build increasingly larger squares and triangles using pattern blocks. They record the growth patterns on a chart and look for corresponding numerical patterns. Students describe the patterns they find and use them to...

Students explore the composition and practical application of parallel circuitry, compared to series circuitry. They design and build parallel circuits and investigate their characteristics, and apply Ohm's law. They recognize that...

What kind of text features help children build a strong vocabulary? Class members use text features such as headers to unpack new vocabulary words. They create vocabulary journals in which they will write what they think the definition...

Combat cyberbullying with information. During this plan, learners watch a couple of videos, consider online behavior scenarios, brainstorm long- and short-term consequences, and discuss how to react to bullying in order to build up to...

How is the wind up there? The class builds a topography model using materials available in the classroom, then place wind flags in different locations on the landscape. Using a fan as a wind source, pupils collect data about how wind...

Can my windmill pick up a weight? Given the same set of materials, groups design and build the most efficient windmill. On the first day, groups concentrate on getting a windmill to spin, while on the second day, they modify their...

I get a charge out of this. In order to learn how a generator works, groups build and test one in this ninth lesson of the series. The generators are tested at low speed and high speed to determine the watt output and whether they have...

There's only one way to multiply, right? Not when it comes to polynomials. Reach each individual by incorporating various representations to multiplying polynomials. This lesson approaches multiplying polynomials from all angles. Build...

With the help of the Area Officers and Perimeter Patrol, you learners will develop a better understanding of area and its relationship to perimeter. First, they view a video clip from Cyberchase, and then they visit a website to...

Some things are hard to resist. Small collaborative groups build circuits and calculate the voltage using Ohm's Law. Budding engineers explore the connection between the voltage across different resistors and linear...

What better way to introduce the idea of a sequence than with robots! An educational lesson explains the classic Fibonacci sequence before pupils build and program a robot to move. Additionally, the lesson challenges individuals to...