Divide your chemistry or environmental science class into two groups. Each group tests water samples from a river for the concentration of phosphorus using a different method. With chemists, you can use this activity as they learn to use...

So, what does the Declaration of Independence even mean? Learners of all ages paraphrase the Declaration of Independence in modern terms. They work as a group or class to paraphrase the language of the Declaration of Independence. There...

Ninth graders examine the causes and major events of the Cold War. They listen to a lecture and fill in the blanks on a handout, and in two groups develop a proposal to deal with the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Students become familiar with the historical and sociological aspects of the boarding house phenomenon in America. As students work in groups, they read and analyze documents that will help them gain a deeper understanding. To...

Nothing says 21st century learning skills like an Internet-based collaborative learning lesson plan focused on using technology to compile and synthesize information. An embedded video shows you what collaborative learning in high school...

Examine and distinguish between words that have similar definitions but different connotations. Middle schoolers define connotation and denotation and participate in a "shades of meaning" contest in small groups. Groups use the...

Young biologists identify parts of the body, sort humans from other animals, and list the difference they see. Learners are split up into groups of three, and each group must find pictures in magazines of humans and other animals. They...

Second graders investigate decision making skills that they can apply on a daily basis. In this decision making instructional activity, 2nd graders listen to a read aloud of Pinocchio and make a list of times when decisions have to be...

A fast and fun way to practice shooting basketball. Small cooperative groups help each other tally up the most baskets made in a certain period of time. There are a couple ideas included to increase or decrease the difficulty of the...

Dedicate one or two class periods to creating a class glossary of geometry terms. Many geometry terms also appear in our every day vocabulary, but they have very different meanings. For example, the word gross in geometry is very...

Learners will have fun creating a parachute to collect data with. They will construct the parachute in small groups, measure the materials, and create an observation sheet. Then they drop the parachute and make predictions about how long...

Fifth graders determine how freedom comes with rights and responsibilities through literature and poetry about World War II. In this World War II lesson, 5th graders use the letters in the word "infamy" to write an acrostic poem. They...

Based on the documentary film Savage Acts: Wars, Fairs, and Empire, this lesson explores concepts of National interests and imperialism. They view sections of the film and share which images exemplify the meaning of each vocabulary term....

Working in groups, the class will use what they know about whole number operations to solve a real-world problem involving a number line. They will focus on using the number line to correctly label the placement of whole numbers,...

Critical thinking and social justice are central themes for this resource on bias and crime in media. The class views and discusses an incisive PSA that highlights assumptions based on race. Small groups read newspaper opinion pieces...

Are there more apples or pears? Learners count images of familiar objects, and write the number below. Then, they color the object group with the most in number. There are four sets of objects to compare. Consider having learners circle...

For beginners, present multiplication as repeated addition to give them a familiar context. They examine grouped sets of objects and add up the groups to get a total. Then, learners translate the addition sets to a basic multiplication...

What can young scientists discover from dissecting an owl pellet? Explore the owl food chain, beginning with an introduction to these predatory birds. Suggested strategies here include creating a podcast and purchasing a poster, however...

Bruce Springsteen’s “My Hometown” and Billy Joel’s “Allentown” motivate young lyricists to craft poems about their own home town. Groups compare the two songs, identifying details, symbols, and conflicts. Individuals then picture a place...

Pogrom, schlepped, meshuga. Kapo, reich, Wehrmacht. As part of a unit study of Maus I and II, readers use a list-group-label (LGL) strategy for vocabulary drawn from Art Spiegelman's famous graphic novels. The focus of the activity is...

Here is a well-designed science lesson that shows learners that everything that organisms do in ecosystems, including running, breathing, burrowing, growing, requires energy. After a thorough discussion of their own eating and drinking...

Here is an interesting science lesson plan/activity which has learners working in groups in order to simulate experiments done at the Jefferson Science Lab. In this one, groups use a pie tin, a Hula Hoops, a marble, and a magic marker to...

Marbles to learn math? What fun! Discuss the rules of multiplication and division when applied to whole numbers, decimals, and fractions. Small groups use6 marbles to design different types of multiplication and division problems, and...

Students are introduced to the lives and contributions of the first seven presidents of the United States. They, in groups, conduct further research on one of these president and his political platform and design a presentation for the...