America was founded by dreamers, and the American dream still resonates in our country today. Track the American dream from its Puritan beginnings to its optimistic descendants with a instructional activity that focuses on speeches...

Eighth graders read about and reflect upon a variety of events that occurred during World War II. They conduct research on the Holocaust and Anne Frank's life, the attack on Pearl Harbor, American life during this time and the...

Have your older students assist young children with writing in this community service and literacy lesson plan. Middle schoolers become partners with a local elementary school. They assist the grade school children in writing a pattern...

Students study the ancient African kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. They brainstorm what they know about ancient African kingdoms before investigating the trade and barter situations, and researching one of the kingdoms for an oral...

Learn how to distinguish between curriculum and instruction. Utilize concept mapping strategies to organize a philosophy of elementary social studies education. Your class will be able to explain the process they underwent to organize...

Which famous people do you admire? Researchers explore the lives of famous people in state history by practice research skills, following step-by-step directions, writing a personal narrative, and participating in a role-play. They can...

Want to use sequence maps in your narrative writing unit? Young writers work to create personal narratives about their summer vacation. They write a narrative of their vacation and create a display using summer clothing shapes made from...

Conduct research on the Internet about labyrinths and mazes to learn about proportions and ratios. Inquisitive minds design their own maze, one maze is chosen and proportionately enlarged to 20 feet by 30 feet. This is a fun challenge...

Who wouldn't want to create their own holiday? Use the 12 elements of a holiday to have learners of all ages create their own holiday. These days, it seems like we make any excuse for a holiday! Consider having some fun with your kids...

Students work in a group to prepare a poster about a new number system. They research a variety of number systems, create new symbols for their original number system and develop a tutorial for the class.

Students study the criteria for evaluating web sites and use information found in authoritative web sites to create questions for a game of Jeopardy. They evaluate three different web sites, some with minor errors and some with major...

Fifth graders study the geography, culture, government and economy of Latin American countries. They work in groups to fill out a profile describing their Latin American country. They listen to a reading of Latin American folktales and...

Learners apply knowledge of soil, environmental impacts, economics, multiple human demands, and use given data for a proposed scenario in making land use decisions. They debate land use issues and/or scenarios and discuss a case study.

What a great way to explore the scientific process! Learners conduct an experiment in which they use sugar and water to illustrate the concept of solutes and solvents. With this hands on approach, they are bound to remember what they...

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...

Children gain first-hand experience with Native American agriculture while investigating the life cycle of plants with this engaging experiment. Focusing on what the natives called the Three Sisters - corn, beans, and squash - young...

Individuals or groups select an environmental issue, then spend time researching and creating a presentation to share in class. By allowing learners to choose the issue that matters most to them, you will motivate them to do...

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...

Groups research participatory democracies and compare the role and rights of citizens in ancient history with those in recent U.S. history. Guided by a series of questions, individuals compose a persuasive essay in which they discuss the...

Your parents were both in different countries. You were born in the US. Documents and application forms ask you to identify your racial or ethnic classification. Which box do you check? Class members collect documents...

How hard can it be to split something in half? Learners investigate how previously learned concepts from angle bisectors can be used to develop ways to construct perpendicular bisectors. The resource also covers constructing a...

Help young scientists connect with nature and learn about trees with a fun life science activity. Heading out into the school yard, children choose a tree to adopt, taking measurements, writing descriptions, and drawing sketches of it in...

You don't have to travel far to learn about rocks, just step outside, pick up a stone, and begin investigating. After taking a class walk around the school grounds collecting rocks, young scientists practice their skills of observation...

Give your young learners the chance to discover more about countries in their world community with a research project. Class members write reports on an assigned country and include such major features as geography, important historical...