It's all connected. Scholars use pages 24-26 of The Most Beautiful Roof in the World to identify the relationship between the plants and animals in the rainforest. They answer and discuss questions about the relationship with a...

Did you the message? Scholars listen to a read aloud of The Wings of the Butterfly to summarize and determine the message of the text. They discuss the folktale and vocabulary in groups, then use a double bubble map to compare the story...

Lights, camera, action. Scholars use page 33 of The Most Beautiful Roof in the World to create a readers theater. They work in triads and use sticky notes to mark and create their own speaking parts from sections of the text. They...

Can I ask you something? Scholars read about the night walk on pages 37-39 of The Most Beautiful Roof in the World. After discussing the text with their group, they work together to create interview questions they would ask Meg...

Not all heroes wear capes. An impactful lesson focuses on the life and activism of Fannie Lou Hamer during the civil rights movement. Scholars read her speeches and other material, participate in group discussion, and complete a jigsaw...

Here's a new twist in the egg drop competition. Using only six inches of tape, four straws, and 2 pieces of newspaper, teams build a structure that keeps an egg from breaking when dropped. What's different about this project is that the...

Employability skills are difficult to measure but are essential in the workplace. Introduce high schoolers to employability skills with the Human Knot activity. Groups of six grab hands to form a human knot and untangle themselves. The...

The Resolving Conflicts module begins with a lesson about tolerance and learning to appreciate differences among people. Through a series of activities and games, middle schoolers learn that conflicts arise when people have opposing...

A "Fist to Five" routine asks participants to indicate how they feel about an opening question, like how ready they are to start learning, how well they understand instructions, etc. Groups then suggest strategies to get learners ready...

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...

Use this group test-writing and review strategy for any subject. It has groups writing 15-question tests at the end of a unit on WWI. Each group generates test questions using knowledge and materials from the unit. They also create a...

Students examine the connection between the foods on the food pyramid and agricultural products. They identify the food groups, discuss foods from each group, complete two handouts, and construct a desktop food pyramid, placing foods in...

Read a designated chapter of the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and discuss the chapter summary in small groups. Groups present their summaries and answer questions specific to their chapter.

Here is an ongoing activity intended to build interest in local, national, and world news. The class is divided into four groups of approximately five students each. The groups are responsible for monitoring the daily news. They compose...

Middle schoolers explore the five food groups and design a graphic organizer to organize the data researched. A one day food diary kept by students assists them in self-monitoring and self-evaluation of their eating habits.

Exploring bias and stereotypes, students dress up as members of "outgroups" (groups of people who are often judged). Though the lesson plan specifies that it should be "respectful and not mock the outgroup in any way," this activity...

Students pretend to be citizens of a new space colony and have been elected to the Intergalactic Senate to consider adding a Bill of Rights to the Constitution. They break into groups and discuss what seems unfair and fair about the...

Over the course of a week, class groups interview one another, search for similarities and differences within the group, and then prepare a PowerPoint introduction of their group for the entire class. An interesting way to incorporate...

Eighth graders work together in groups to introduce themselves to the six types of simple machines. They are to record what the machine does, its mechanical advantage and identify real world situations in which they are used. They...

Fourth graders become aware and comprehend number relationships among those numbers most commonly found in geometric applications. They work in groups, 4th graders arrange themselves in order form the least to the greatest number in...

After a class discussion that reviews the concept of antonyms, learners get into groups of four. Their first task is to come up with as many antonyms as they can. One person writes an antonym pair and passes the paper to the next...

Learners research the types of technology and weapons used in World War I. They form groups representing countries and simulate an arms auction each bidding for the weapons of their choice. They compare their research to the auction...

Learners of all ages participate in a unique review activity. They work in a small group setting on individual review questions designed by the teacher. Each individual answers a key review question on a notecard or sticky note and...

Students use common and unusual objects to make observations of details, design, and functionality. They describe and draw each object while working in small groups. The differences between observation and perception is covered as part...