How can you predict the weather without any technology? Young scientists learn to forecast the weather using traditional Native American techniques. Based on their observations of the weather, as well as talking to their classmates, they...

Mrs. Flynt has designed a 12-day moon observation activity that is best assigned when daylight hours are shorter. Middle school moon experts record several factors, including the altitude above the horizon, the azimuth, the phase, and...

Keep your eyes peeled for pests! Here, scholars inspect their campus for signs of living things such as insects and rodents. Upon observation, class members record their findings and present the information to their peers.  

On Earth, a candle flame points up, but on the International Space Station, it forms a sphere. Young scientists practice their skills by recording observations before, during, and after a candle burns. Chemical and physical...

Beginning with a brief history of our 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt, then followed by a discussion of his interest in nature, young scientists take to the outdoors to locate and observe local plants and insects....

By overlapping combs and window screening and by looking at a printed set of consecutively larger circles, learners observe Moire patterns, which provide a visual of what happens during wave interference. 

Kindle knowledge of how light travels by using this activity in your physical science curriculum. By setting up a candle flame or flashlight bulb and viewing it through a slit, observers of light see evidence of its wave characteristic....

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,...

Who knew plants could be so competitive? Join your class as they observe plants competing for space and nutrients. Middle and high schoolers describe possible effects of introducing a new species into an already established...

You can learn a lot from a robe, especially if that robe is from the Qing Dynasty. Examine the beauty and symbolism that covers a functional and piece of clothing entitled Winter Dragon Robe. The class will consider and analyze all...

Curious physical scientists follow a lesson on the properties of water with this lesson on distillation. They observe a miniature water cycle model that filters dirty water into clean water. These two lessons combined are an enriching...

Which option would most children choose: One marshmallow now, or two marshmallows in 10 minutes? Learners watch the social experiment on video and discuss their observations. They then read articles and work in small groups to analyze...

Observe a flatworm as it regenerates its own head. A laboratory exploration asks learners to cut a planaria worm at different locations and then observe it regenerate. Using data collected during the exploration, they make conclusions...

Don't be so dense! Using food coloring, pupils conduct two experiments with the difference in densities of hot and cold water. In the first experiment, learners add dyed hot and cold water into room temperature water and observe how the...

Cross-comparison, the technique of focusing on two different texts with the same themes, motifs, events, etc., is employed in an exercise that asks groups to examine two different translations of “The Ruin,” a poem, written in Old...

If you are attracted to activities dealing with diamagnetism, here is a rare find that you will appreciate. With a neodymium magnet and a few common materials, move a pair of juicy grapes without touching them. Though the fruit is...

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.

No one will be saying "Not I" with a lesson that combines The Little Red Hen with the life cycle of a wheat stem! After reading the story in your class, pass out wheat stems to your learners and have them examine the plants closely,...

Young scientists get their feet wet as they learn about the water cycle in this series of activities. Whether they are observing how evaporation causes puddles to dry up, or how plants put water into the atmosphere through...

Celebrate the circle of life with this fun hands-on activity. After cutting out, gluing together, and assembling this visual model, students are able to spin through and observe the life cycle of penguins.

What was Shakespeare's intent? That is the question at the heart of a summer assignment designed for AP English Literature. Class members focus on five scenes from The Tempest and compare the interactions of Prospero, Caliban,...

Understanding the life cycle of a mosquito helps us understand how to prevent the spread of diseases they carry. A lab investigation provides learners with the opportunity to track the two-week life cycle of the mosquito. Scholars make...