The school band or orchestra analyzes their own performance after exploring musical terminology. They listen to a classical piece and describe it using only words. They look up musical terminology and then use those words to compare and...

Students use tools in a painting package to design tiles and create repeating patterns. They design a single tile using a 4 x 4 grid and experiment with changing the alignment of some of the tiles by rotating different areas.

Pupils work in cooperative groups to explore communication needs of our world. They are assigned a demographic area and asked to create ways to solve communication problems with innovative ideas. They also explore areas that can help...

Direct your class’s attention to the elements that make their community unique. After examining sample travel brochures, groups select something from their community to use as the subject, and then research, create, and publish a...

The Apaches: People of the Southwest offers readers a chance to employ the “Ready-Set-Go-Whoa!” strategy (an adaptation of the KWL) to test what they know and summarize what they learn as they read Jennifer Fleischner’s nonfiction...

Nanotechnology is described for emerging engineers. Instructions for converting nanometers to meters is provided. Finally, the step-by-step laboratory procedure for measuring the size of an oil molecule is walked through. What a terrific...

There are so many authors of short stories, and your class can have the chance to study quite a few. This seventh lesson plan in a series of fourteen continues the decision-making process for the final assessment: a short story author...

How should pupils read short stories? Set them up for this unit with an introductory lesson that goes over the main characteristics of a short story and starts learners off reading their first short story of the unit. In order to get a...

What is a white elephant, and what does it have to do with Ernest Hemingway? Study "Hills Like White Elephants" in-depth by following the procedures outlined in this lesson, the fifth in a series of fourteen. Learners start the day with...

It's important to make sure houses can withstand winds. A hands-on activity has learners create a structure out of household materials. They use a fan to simulate hurricane-force winds to see if their structures can withstand the...

Does the lens of history portray George Washington as a good leader? A three-lesson unit looks at Washington's early military career as the commander of the Virginia Regiment, his role in the fight for independence...

Investigate herbal medicine in the science or health classroom with this lesson from the New York Times. After a discussion about class members beliefs about and experiences with herbal medicines, pupils read an article that might...

Students read and analyze Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union Address. They listen to recordings of speeches by F.D.R., answer discussion questions, and participate in a debate.

A discussion of the Supreme Court’s Opinion of Tinker v. Des Moines generates a discussion of the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment. Although the key elements of this lesson are based on a video that is not included, the activities...

Learners examine African cultural ideas about death and the afterlife by reading and answering questions about passages from Beloved.

Students work in a cooperative groups to create a free standing tower of straws and pins in ten minutes. They watch a video of the cooperative groups working, discuss the process and list the things they could do to improve the cooperation.

Students survey free jazz and fusion. They explore how free jazz and fusion reflected American culture and society in the 1960s and 1970s.

Use this instructional activity to reinforce the effect of passive and active voice in writing. First, middle schoolers write several sentences, and then use the attached worksheet to identify whether the sentences are written in active...

A super lesson plan that integrates technology and career exploration! High schoolers use graphic organizers and brainstorming to first analyze Time Magazine covers, then they think about what they want to be doing in 10 years. They...

The first president of the United States was ... John Hanson? Scholars investigate the notion that the initial leader of the nation was not George Washington. Using research, articles, and open discussion, individuals create a quest for...

Students investigate who the Mongols were and where their empire was located. They research Kublai Khan and the region he ruled. They study the major products of 13th Century China.

Students examine Marco Polo's route from China to Sumatra. They investigate the geography and climate, the religions and architecture of modern Indonesia. They study the use of spices and why they were so important in medieval times.

Students study the route from Hormuz to Constantinople that was traveled by the Polos. They explain the importance of Constantinople in medieval time and discuss its location, and outer wall structure.

Learners investigate Marco Polo's life as a young boy in 13th century Venice. They analyze maps, explore various websites, complete a chart and answer discussion questions, and create a travel brochure about visiting 13th century Venice.