After a class discussion about where their food comes from learners construct a farm from a print-out (embedded in the plan). They work in groups, and trace a food source from the beginning. For example, they discover how a farmer grows...

Students sort and compare/contrast the lengths of various whales. They sort pictures of whales in order of smallest to largest, and given a rope marked with the lengths of the whales, they compare the actual lengths of the whales.

Young explorers examine the route that Marco Polo and his father traveled to reach China. They examine online maps of the Silk Road and harsh terrain of Afghanistan to determine challenges that may have been encountered during travel.

Here is a fabulous, cross-curicular lesson on seeds. Elements of science, writing, math, agricultural practices, and art are all brought into this incredibly thorough plan. Additionally, a fun whole-class game is presented, and there is...

More of a math lesson plan than physics or space science, high schoolers take a set of data and plot it on a log-log coordinate system. The write-up for day two was never completed, but day one, "Stars and Slopes," is complex and...

Sixth graders create a spreadsheet on the favorite ice cream flavors of their peers. They interview their classmates, documenting their findings on a "Favorite Flavors" spreadsheet. Students graph and analyze the data.

Students use primary sources to analyze advertisements, prices, and styles of Lincoln Logs from Carson Pirie Scott catalogs from 1952 to 1960. Students then compare modern-day toy to Lincoln Logs of the 1950s by analyzing differences in...

Fourth graders prepare two spreadsheets each with an embedded line graph that displays data about the growth of the bitter rot fungus on apples and on petri dishes that were stored in the refrigerator and the classroom. They prepare a...

Students survey people to find out what roller coasters they like, conduct Internet research to find information on dangers in amusement parks, contact experts on subject, and write feature that shows pros and cons of coasters.

Differentiate between the various genres in the visual arts world, particularly in Western painting. Your class can view and discuss, in small groups, paintings published on the National Galleries website. Then each student individually...

Eager ecology learners read about characteristics of the Lake Erie water snake and the round goby fish. They find that the goby is an invasive species, introduced to Lake Erie in 1990, and has since had an impact on the water snake...

A video leads off this activity on fables, introducing the class to this important form of traditional storytelling. The group defines fable and hears an explanation of the origin of this type of folk tale. They summarize the story they...

A beautifully written lesson plan delves into a beautiful topic: stellar population. Engage aspiring astronomers with activities that examine human populations and then transition onto the stars of the universe. Data and photographs for...

First graders place some specific types of objects (e.g., shoes, favorite food) on concrete graphs and pictographs. They listen and respond to others in a variety of contexts (e.g., pay attention to the speaker; take turns speaking in a...

Put on those forest ranger hats for an engaging and informative lesson. Eager scientists study the makeup of a local forest ecosystem and then write a forest management plan. They consider many parameters including identification of both...

Young scholars discover that volcanic eruptions are geologic events that take place within the upper part and on the surface of the Earth's lithosphere. They explain how volcanoes are related to the Earth's lithosphere. They focus on the...

Students observe two demonstrations to conclude why bulge developed on the north flank of Mount St. Helens and conclude that when the "cap" was removed the pressure inside the volcano was suddenly released causing the violent eruption.

Learners examine four objects and identify each as longer or shorter than their hand. They order the four objects from shortest to longest and respond to a test prep question. A good worksheet for in-class work, or for a homework...

The focus of this writing worksheet is to have writers revise and edit a three-paragraph passage to eliminate wordiness and repetition. The paragraphs are quite long, and this should take most students quite a while to complete.

Explore scientific notation in this mathematics lesson. Young mathematicians explore multiple representations of large number in scientific notation through the use of models, visual representation and expanded form. The lesson provided...

There is more than one way to represent data! Learners explore ways to represent data. They examine stacked graphs, histograms, and line plots. They conduct surveys and use stacked graphs, histograms, or line plots to chart the data they...

Students research the English Renaissance era. In this research instructional activity, students complete this activity before reading the story The Prince and the Pauper to learn about the history. They pick topics and work in...

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...

This is a practical sheet with the instructions to draw a set of ellipses. After following the diagrams, there are ten questions to complete, with calculations expected for alternate orbits and comparisons related to actual planets in...