Students develop critical thinking and awareness about the complexity of natural resource use, wealth distribution, population densities, poverty, and the environment. They think about people living in different parts of the world and...

Students brainstorm a list of science discoveries and inventions that they think are important. They work in small groups, students examine 1-3 science discoeries more closely. Each group needs a recorder, and they answer three...

Middle schoolers determine the relative size and distance of the planets in the solar system. They use ratios in their mathematical calculations to make models of the planets after discussing the relative sizes of the planets. They keep...

Students identify artwork by Romare Bearden and to explain his techniques. They look for cut and pasted papers and images, paint, ink and pencil designs, shapes and spaces and the rhythms therein. They listen to music by looking at...

Students investigate a local forest ecosystem and discover the biotic and abiotic parts of the forest. Students observe the groundcover, understory, and canopy layers as well as collect leaves and bark in order to identify trees in the...

Students will analyze four historical events: The Annexation of U.S. Southwest, The Mexican Revolution, The Great Depression, and World War II. They determine how each event affected immigration to the U.S. from Mexico and Central...

Students engage in a study of measuring distances between geographical locations on a map. They are able to define and use the map scale in conjunction with the metric system. For this lesson they make their own maps and measure the...

Eleventh graders examine why major tribes were involved in the French and Indian War. They write a short paragraph about the causes and answer an essay question based on text and Internet research, citing sources. They research text...

Fourth graders use their knowledge about fossils to arrange fossil pictures in sequence from oldest to youngest. They explain how fossils can be used to make inferences about past life, climate, geology, and environments and discover...

Students participate in a human rights discussion and define the concepts of justice and injustice. They research the concept justice in order to create a Wisdom Wall identifying human rights issues. Students also participate in an Image...

Learners design a candy container that contains a specific amount of candy. They demonstrate how an engineering problem can be solved with math and that there are multiple answers to the problem. They compute volume of spheres.

Students brainstorm and discuss the concept of cryptography, the science of secrets in today's world and then focus on a system for sending secret messages used by Julius Caesar. They make a Caesar wheel assessing encrypting and...

Students explore the basics of electricity using common everyday items as well as demonstrate how parallel and series circuits can be used in electronics and electrical devices. They explore how common items in their world can be wired...

Students illustrate the chemical differences between surface and tap-water. They investigate the common chemical and physical parameters relevant for water quality and gain hands on experience with water quality testing. They enhance...

Seventh graders recognize the characteristics of a scientific question and investigate, make predictions, conduct tests, and record and share their observations. They discuss and plan how to investigate the question. Studets explore how...

Students participate in an activity in which they place placards listing geographic features, landmarks, etc. in the correct place on a large fabric map of a given country. They also examine artifacts, photos, sounds/music, etc. from...

Students explain how safety belts prevent injury. They identify three other safety features in a vehicle. Students discuss how fast 40 miles per hour is. They discuss how high a five story building is. Students discuss other types...

Students investigate the properties of force and gravity and their effects on everyday life. In groups, they test various balls by bouncing them on different surfaces and observe the properties. In another activity, they test marbles and...

The characters in The Grapes of Wrath come to life through an activity that asks groups to craft a dramatic monologue for a character in John Steinbeck's National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winning novel.  Writers are...

Students research questions related to sports medicine. They write an essay from the questions and create professional email accounts to email a professional in their field of interest. In addition, they interview their professional and...

Students, in a program entitled "Strategies for Success," examine ways to change public perception of their school. In this project-based lesson, they explore local social and environmental issues, develop a conflict resolution...

Students explore the world of nanotechnology by synthesizing ferrofluids in a series of chemical reactions. In small groups, they follow the procedure to create the ferrofluids using precise measuring techniques. They test the resulting...

Students identify that yeast are a single celled fungi that are a great model organism for studying respiration in the classroom. They also fill the bulb of a disposable pipet (eyedropper) with yeast, then submerge the pipet in a test...

Students investigate safe laboratory procedures, classroom management guidelines, and group roles and procedures. They study a set of safety guidelines with their parents, and to sign a contract stating that they understand the...