Who done it? Class groups adopt the role of crime scene investigators and examine exhibits (primary source documents) to determine who attempted to assassinate the members of the Medici dynasty.

Are your pupils going to enjoy this game? Definitely! Small groups practice conversational skills and the future tenses by asking and answering the questions provided on the game board.

Explore the effect of outliers through an analysis of mean, median, and standard deviation. Your classes examine and compare these measures for two groups. They must make sense of a group that has a higher mean but lower median compared...

"There comes an end to all things" and ending a study of horror fiction with a multimedia project is "like starting a stone. . . away the stone goes, starting others. . ." In this case, groups start with a question generated by Dr....

Youngsters are up and moving in an exciting relay race designed to help them better understand where common foods fall on the MyPlate nutritional guidelines. Working in teams, they identify images of foods and name what food groups...

Talk about a menu! Who would have thought SAT prep could be so delicious? Treat your class to a full course of SAT words with a timed activity that asks groups to create clues for dishes on their bill of fare. Distained veggies anyone?...

What energy conversions occur in the operation of a device? Small groups investigate devices and the energy conversions that occur. The groups create energy flow diagrams with added conversion processes for each of the devices...

If you could pick characteristics you would want your child to possess, what would they be? To better understand Okonkwo, one of the key characters in Things Fall Apart, class groups engage in an activity that asks them to consider this...

Set up beginning readers into choral reading groups to aid with fluency. Scholars each have a copy of the text, and one begins reading as the rest of the group choral reads along. They each take a turn being the first reader, allowing...

Explore the habitats around you with an activity that takes kids out of the classroom to learn about the local variety of habitats and the living things that call them home. In small groups, scholars investigate their surroundings,...

To establish a context for an assessment or a study of pioneers and the American frontier in the 1800s, groups examine photos and record observations about clothing, housing, and travel.

What words begin with an r-blend? Group each picture card into the correct category according to its initial consonant blend. After they complete the list, have kids write words into each box in the worksheets. Fun and educational for...

Explore the measures of central tendency through a challenging task. Given values for the mean, median, mode, and range, collaborative groups create a set of data that would produce those values. They then critique other answers and...

The Space Race saw the Soviet Union and the US go from competitors to partners. Scholars read a letter regarding the first docking of the US and Soviet space craft. Young historians also complete a written assignment and participate in...

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. 

What makes this lesson stand out from others about our personal energy use is the myriad of high-quality materials that support it. Find clear images, well-designed worksheets, links to related websites, and a presentation rubric for the...

A tea party in Wonderland? An East Egg brunch with Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, and Nick? Breakfast with Miss Havisham, Lady Macbeth, and Abigail Williams? Or dinner with Andre, Hamlet, and Randle Patrick McMurphy? Class members select a favorite...

Packed with visual aids and multiple learning opportunities, an engaging exercise challenges individuals as they explore the role of producers, consumers, and decomposers. After discussing differences between food chains, food...

Two scenarios are presented for chemistry detectives to decipher. Both require the use of an infrared spectrometer and focus on the examination of polymer materials. In the first, lumps in polyethylene bottles are analyzed. In the...

An excellent activity that effectively pulls together the concepts of area, fractions, and equivalent fractions! Using 3x2 rectangular arrays, 3rd graders are introduced to the concept of area in terms of square units. Building on this...

Create a respectful classroom community and boost children's self-esteem with this collaborative activity. Working in small groups, children take turns filling in each other's tree of self-esteem with compliments, personal...

The last activity in a nine-part series has teams create a Google Earth map using the data they collected during a field trip. Using the map, groups analyze the results and make adjustments to the map to reflect their analysis. A short...

Second graders take a field trip to a nearby church or other historical building and examine it from a mathematical perspective. In groups, they calculate the seating capacity, describe the window patterns, differentiate types of...

What effects will global warming have on your community? This last installment of a six-part series focuses on the effects that global warming may have on a community. Brainstorming and discussion allow groups to independently develop...