Students They engage in a positive group building experience that requires extensive trust and communication between participants. They explore basic spelunking, study appropriate first aid and review general rules for safety in caves.

Fishing is fun because you can share what you catch. Learners test their addition skills to see how many fish are caught by each person. Another total is given, but all the fish have to be distributed equally. Hope your learners...

Seventh graders study geometric shapes around the classroom. In this geometry lesson plan, 7th graders discuss their answers in groups to the Anticipation/Reaction guide handout. Students complete the reaction side of the guide and...

Young scholars identify musical instruments.  In this musical instrument instructional activity, students groups instruments into brass, percussion, string or woodwinds. Young scholars complete a worksheet. 

Which of these things doesn't belong in the group? Figure out which item is out of place in groups of four items, including school supplies, winter clothes, and sports equipment.

You mean the electricity does not come from the switch? As a class and in small groups, learners explore the sources of energy used to generate electric power. Worksheets guide groups into choosing a future electricity generating...

Factoring practice of binomials, trinomials, and four-term polynomial expressions is included in this worksheet. Questions are either multiple choice or short answer.   

Step-by-step, arrow-by-arrow, viewers are walked through the rock cycle. In the end, you have a simple, yet complete diagram of the process. Pictures appear to show samples of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. The presentation...

Wait, is it flowir or flower? See how adept your youngsters are at spelling by asking them to choose the correctly spelled words in 16 different groups. All of the words are related to spring.

Want to get your students motivated in science class? Given only a piece of aluminum foil, assign groups the task of designing a "barge" that will support the weight of a bunch of pennies.  The group who is able to put the most...

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. 

Students, in groups, create a display showing a "train trip" to a destination of their choice from a teacher-made list. They also answer a series of questions related to their trip. Groups present their displays.

Sketch out weekly plans for reading, writing, math, and small group instruction, noting standards that will be addressed, materials to be used, and the lesson focus, on a one-page form. A great way to see the week at a glance. Eight...

Turn your classroom into a music studio as groups work together to determine why music sounds different when performed live versus a recording. After listening to some different music, each group picks a poem, creates a recording, and...

Eighth graders examine the role of intended meaning in Ralph Earl's portrait of Andrew Jackson. They, in groups, research periods in Jackson's life and use gathered information to create their own portraits of Jackson.

Working in groups, young historians review a war poem written by Stephen Crane. After reviewing the poem, they present an oral interpretation of the poem and hold a panel discussion about their analysis. The panel is made up of five or...

The dynamics between the economies and politics of the United States and the Middle East are here to study. Upper graders read and discuss scenarios relating to OPEC and the current oil crisis, then in small groups role-play members of...

"The Hare and the Water," a Tanzanian folk tale, lends a global perspective to literary analysis. Learners spend the first two days reading and storyboarding. On day three, they examine folk tale elements (worksheet included), and design...

Brian Jacques’ novel Redwall provides the focus for a series of lessons involving the analysis of folklore. Adopting the persona of a character, groups write letters in the voice of their character, assemble a collage using Microsoft...

What are the effects of an air quality alert? Expert groups receive one component of air quality information resources to study. Pupils then jigsaw into new groups and share their knowledge. Finally, they draft a statement of what they...

Students create a storybook about Texas missions including the history of why they were built. They research and create pictures depicting how and why the missions were built. They write and illustrate the primary groups of people found...

Third graders demonstrate the ability to identify personal health needs. They classify foods from the school lunch menus into the correct food groups. A database file is created. They determine if the school lunch menu offers a balanced...

What do the homecoming experiences of soldiers who fought in WWII, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan reveal about the politics and culture of the US during the time period of each war? Young historians view The Way We Get By, which tells...

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...