Your algebra 2 learners show what they can do in this assessment activity on shifting, reflecting, and stretching graphs. Given the graphs of various functions, they write the represented equation.

Students explore parabolas.  In this algebra and technology instructional activity, students construct the equation of a specific parabola, then take digital photos of real-life representations of these parabolas.  Students...

Learners examine how traits are passed to offspring.  In this genetic reproduction lesson students develop a model of dna and learn about its structure, replication and function.

Begin by showing a six-minute video, Changing Planet: Rising Sea Level as an anticipatory set. Pupils draw a topographic map of a potato continent. Finally, they will visit NOAA's sea levels online map and NASA's carbon dioxide...

Students determine what types of information can be determined by looking at fossils. In this fossil lesson, students examine facts about and images of the Tyrannosaurus Rex at an assigned web site. They apply their knowledge to develop...

What a great way to have pupils apply classroom learning to real-world skills! They complete problems involving the addition and subtraction of decimals related to banking-type questions, and then use a spreadsheet to display their results.

Explore the causes of ozone depletion and the effect on plankton, algae, plants, amphibians, and humans. Learn how the Montreal Protocol has possibly helped reverse the decline of the ozone layer. Warning: photos of skin and eye...

Make connections with past history and current events with this critical thinking exercise. Kids read background information relating to Alaska's statehood as well as information on oil drilling and Alaska's economy. They put it all...

Discover what life was like under each of the four main empires that ruled ancient Mesopotamia. Kids can read along or take notes on the Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Neo-Babylonian empires. Notes include dates, key rulers,...

Planes, trains, and automobiles. How many ways to travel are there? Scholars learn about modes of transportation in the past and how they have changed over time. Budding historians view a timeline, participate in group discussion, and...

Introuduce your scientists to the differences in air at varying altitudes with a colorful explanatory graph. After some discussion, they view unbelievable footage of mountain-climbing Leo Houlding and a narrative about how he might do...

With rising oil prices and increasing concerns over global warming, the pressure is on for engineers to develop alternative sources of energy. Among the new technologies being developed are hydrogen fuel cells, which young scientists...

Engineering design projects serve as great opportunities for collaborative problem solving. In this case, students work in small groups designing, building, and eventually testing a structure that meets a teacher-specified objective. It...

Use a series of extension activities to enhance your class reading of Chris Van Allsburg's holiday classic, The Polar Express. From a biography of the author to filmed book reviews and research about the railroad, kids can take...

Reading about history is nothing like experiencing it firsthand. Encourage your eighth graders to do the next best thing with a historical narrative prompt, in which they describe the experience of a first-time traveler on the...

What is the relationship between a hemisphere, a cone, and a cylinder? Using Cavalieri's Principle, the class determines that the sum of the volume of a hemisphere and a cone with the same radius and height equals the volume of a...

Slavery in India, Sudan, and Mauritania? What about in the United States? Groups research modern slavery in these four countries, collecting factual evidence (What), determine their feelings about this evidence (So what),...

Challenge your classes to complete an experiment from beginning to end. Learners make their own hypotheses, collect and analyze their own data, and make their own conclusions. They are on their way to becoming statisticians! 

Young scientists present their experimental designs from the previous experiment. The ninth lesson in the series outlines what learners should present, what class discussions should happen, and the solution NASA came up with for the same...

While a woman didn't invent the parasol, three women received patents for their improvements to the original design of umbrellas. In the first of a two-part series on inventive women, class members investigate the patent system to...

Students explore a series of Web pages designed to illustrate the interconnectedness of a tropical rainforest ecosystem. They discuss their research, create maps and research a local ecosystem.

Students compare and constrast a wide variety of minerals and rocks. They test them for streak, luster, color and other characteristics. They view an exhibit and compare their answers to them.

Students gain an understanding of humans need to explore. They create a "journey map" depicting the accomplishments of artistic explorers, and research the influences that caused the artists to embark on these "explorations."