This teaching packet is for grades five through eight, and it is organized around geographic themes: location, place, relationships, movement, and regions. There are four full lessons that are complete with posters, weblinks, and...

Your learners will be tantalized by this inquiry-based, collaborative activity as they discover how to write an equation that represents the height of an ice cream cone. Given the scenario based on the poem, "Eighteen Flavors," and...

Young mathematicians dive into the number line to discover decimals and how the numbers infinitely get smaller in between. They click the zoom button a few times and learn that the number line doesn't just stop at integers. Includes...

Was the fatal crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 cause by mechanical failure or was it an act of sabotage? The crux of the debate and the subsequent controversy centers on translation of an Arabic phrase uttered by the pilot. The New York...

Why is lactase important? Biology scholars explore enzyme function in a structured inquiry lab. The activity tasks lab groups with observing how temperature and pH affect enzyme activity, as well as determining which milk products...

Young scholars reach out into the community and learn about different environmental science careers in this inquiry-based instructional activity. Beginning with a short research assignment, children gain background knowledge about...

What can bulldozers and screen doors have in common? Use this lesson on fluid power to find out. It begins with some simple teacher demonstrations, includes a couple of videos, and culminates with an inquiry-based activity to investigate...

Scientists need to figure out how to measure interplanetary magnetic fields, but the magnetic field of the spacecraft is interfering with their readings. Scholars attempt to solve the problem that has perplexed NASA scientists for years.

Through inquiry and exploration, 4th graders will learn and understand the functions of open and closed circuits. They will break into 2 groups, define vocabulary, hypothesize how to light a bulb, then test their hypothesis 4 different...

Lights, shadows, action, and inquiry await your artistic scientists. They explore the way light travels, absorbs, reflects, and transmits through shadow play. They create folktale-inspired shadow puppets, explore the science of light,...

Students design, build, and test their own ramps. They are introduced to a variety of materials and explore putting them together. Students engage in an inquiry-based learning experience to reinforce math, science, and technology...

Young scholars define the different methods used for optimizing a particular element of a problem. In this optimization problem lesson, students optimize appropriate details of a problem using data collection, algebra, technology, and/or...

Students conduct inquiry-based research for basic information about microbes, infections, and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. After gathering answers to their questions, students develop a presentation to post on their school's Web site.

Fifth graders explore the California Gold Rush. They explore the lure of gold and the Wild West, how pioneers traveled to the West, and the hardships and people they encountered along the way. Activities be authentic, hands-on, and...

Puzzle your way through to a new understanding of area. Scholars learn about the area of polygons through equidecomposability, the idea that polygons that can be decomposed into the same set of pieces have the same area. By using...

Students view artwork and navigate the Internet, and read books to learn about the Aurora Borealis.  In this Northern Lights lesson, students complete a KWL and separate the facts from the myths about the Northern lights....

Students use a microcomputer connected to a light sensor and temperature probe to explore the reflection and absorption of radiation for different surfaces. Students follow instructions in this guided inquiry based lab and are then asked...

Young scholars construct a paper glider. In this physics of gliding lesson, students first learn about Borneo and it's rainforest habitat. After young scholars discover the way animals in Borneo glide from tree to tree, they use their...

Check out a lesson plan that starts with force of gravity and moves through the concepts of mass, weight, volume, and density. Learners calculate density, test the buoyancy of objects, and then demonstrate understanding by altering the...

Whether your young biologists realize it or not, humans play a significant role in marine ecosystems. To help them understand this fact children first create graphical representations that show homo sapiens' place in marine...

Hook your class up to an online home energy usage calculator so that they can estimate the amount used per month by their families. Then give them Watt meters with which they will measure the power consumption of several small...

Students will develop goals for inquiry. They will also improve content area reading and research skills. The context of studying dinosaurs will help learners to distinguish from organisms that live presently and those from the past...

Students conduct experiments designed to detect the presence of CO2 by using a BTB that changes color (blue to yellow) in the presence of CO2. First, students experiment with the CO2 from combining vinegar and baking soda. In part two,...

Students share their opinions about public education by responding to one-question interviews. After reading an article, they discover new recommendations for the No Child Left Behind Act. They prepare a three-part reader response to...