An interview with Dr. Rosemary Beam de Azcona launches a study of the complexities of language and how meaning changes across languages and cultures. The investigation continues as class members view clips of the film, The Tailenders,...

How are skyscrapers built? What does it take to make a structurally sound building? How can one work within a budget to complete a building project? These guiding questions will be investigated and answered within a hands-on lesson....

Invite your first graders to compose and decompose two and three-dimensional figures with this fun, hands-on lesson. They investigate and predict the results of putting together and taking apart two-dimensional shapes with rubber bands...

Dazai Osamu’s short story, “A Sound of Hammering” is the focus of a three-day investigation of modern Japanese literature and life in post-World War II Japan. The events in Osamu’s story mirror those in his own life, and give a...

It used watt amount of energy? This resource investigates the power usage of small household appliances. Using a watt meter, groups measure the actual wattage used by an appliance and then calculate the energy used daily. 

What can bulldozers and screen doors have in common? Use this activity 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...

Project Paperclip, the Redstone Arsenal, and the Huntsville Space Center are all featured in a resource that investigates the contributions of Dr. Werner von Brawn and other German scientists to the US space program....

The release of Martin Luther King, Jr. from the Birmingham jail, the Children's March, and the bombings of the Gaston Motel and the home of Reverend A.D. King's home. As part of a study of the civil rights movement, class members...

Investigate the growth and development of New York City with the final lesson in this four-part series on skyscrapers. Learners first explore the concept of urban growth by looking closely at a series of three paintings made of Wall...

Investigate the properties of three-dimensional figures with this Arctic-themed math lesson plan. Beginning with a class discussion about different types of solid figures present in the classroom, young mathematicians are then given a...

Explore the food chains that support Arctic ecosystems. A class discussion on interdependence and the different roles plants and animals play in ecosystems provides students with the knowledge to complete a worksheet asking them to...

Explore Japanese society and national identity. Class members share ideas about the Japanese economy and then investigate a series of resources, including an article, a film, a lecture, and a poem, to learn about Japan's Bubble Economy...

This instructional activity is hilarious! To understand how to investigate a topic, collect data, and evaluate the results, learners research the effects of laughter on health. Each group is assigned a research task, which they will turn...

A silk rank badge was a symbolic emblem worn by high officials during the Qing Dynasty. Your class will get a chance to examine the details, symbolism, color, and design of such a badge as they make their own symbolic trading cards....

Support a class reading of the novel Song of the Trees by Mildred D. Taylor with this series of discussion questions. Covering a variety of topics from character and setting to historical accuracy and symbolism, these questions...

Elementary magnetologists investigate magnetic shields using a variety of materials in a "shielding sandwich." While the activity isn't novel, it is engaging, and this particular resource includes a brief explanation of the phenomena...

Do all languages have a common ancestor? Although no one yet knows the answer to that big question, the narrator of this short, animated video explains how linguists use migration patterns, geological features, and word clues to...

Travel back to 1787 as young scholars investigate the creation of the US Constitution. After first working in small groups to create sets of classroom rules, students go on to read a summary of the Constitution and watch a short video...

Discover the coldest animals in the world with a lesson about the Arctic habitat. Kids use a glossary and information sheet about animals found in the Arctic Circle to complete several activities, including tracking the lemming...

Take young scholars on a trip through history with this unit on the mathematics and architecture of the Mayan civilization. Starting with a introduction to their base twenty number system and the symbols they used, this eight-lesson unit...

Take young naturalists on an exploration of the world's tropical rainforests with this extensive collection of lessons and activities. Whether its creating leaf and flower prints or investigating the absorption spectrum of...

Happy Pi Day! This collection of games, experiments, and activities leads participants through an exploration of the many aspects and attributes of that mysterious quantity, pi. Activities range from using statistical...

Inquiry-based learning and investigations form the basis of a deep understanding of quadratic functions in a very thorough unit plan.  Learners develop recursive and closed methods for representing real-life situations,...

Circles are the foundation of many geometric concepts and extensions - a point that is thoroughly driven home in this extensive unit. Fundamental properties of circles are investigated (including sector area, angle measure, and...