Momoyama and Edo are periods in Japanese history that can be defined culturally and artistically. Learners explore and discuss how the samurai used sword guards and grip enhancers. Pupils read the story "The Inch-High Samurai," examine...

Who is Wassily Kandinsky? Introduce your young artists to the wonders of abstract nonobjective art through music. They'll listen to music as they cut, paste, and paint emotional works of art. The activity suggests the use of soothing...

An activity focused on tolerance encourages class members to consider how they might respond when they or someone else is the target of oppression and discrimination. After researching how some key figures responded to the...

Discuss as a class some problems that you would like to see changed in your school or community, and then take action! After your young citizens determine the appropriate steps they should take to accomplish their objectives, they will...

Step into the role of a zoo director with several activities about animal training and running a zoo. Kids calculate the amount of food each animal needs, design a habitat for penguins, decide how to breed bottlenose dolphins, and train...

This optional instructional activity introduces the class to the idea of a minimum spanning tree. The activity focuses on determining an algorithm that will find the most efficient path in a network to transfer data. 

Use a feelings journal to help kids sort through their emotions during the day. Each page features a different graphic organizer for them to describe and explore the way they feel.

Determining whether or not something is living can be more difficult than it seems. Put your young scientists to work defining their own criteria to identify life, then work with three samples to see if they are alive or...

Everyone knows giraffes have longer necks than humans, but how do our neck bones compare to theirs? Learners examine a human vertebrae X-ray, counting the bones and predicting how many might be in a giraffe neck. They use a research site...

How could you decide which of your late mother's possessions are important enough to take to college with you? Decide which items would be the most valuable to you with an activity based on Kyoko Mori's Shizuko's Daughter. After...

Provide your class with the opportunity to view our carbon cycle close up. Young scientists research the cycle of oxygen as it completes the tasks of photosynthesis and respiration. They explore the importance of carbon in an ecosystem...

Get to the know the common house mouse and the Norway rat with an activity that reinforces reading comprehension skills. Scholars read a three-page document detailing key information about mammals, specifically rodents, and use their...

Pupils analyze group data to identify significant differences. They use simulation to create their own random assignment data for comparison. 

Are complex numbers and binomials similar? This stack of slides provides an introduction to complex numbers and shows how to operate with them. The worked examples show a connection between operating with binomials and operating with...

Eighth graders examine the American immigration experience. In this immigration lesson plan, 8th graders watch a video about Ellis Island and discuss the processing that took place there. Students write letters in the voice of American...

Second graders examine different types of magazine writing, and discuss how to develop topics into information that is suitable for short magazine articles. They write, edit, and compose a monthly classroom magazine.

First graders examine and describe the characteristics of the four seasons. Using a computer, they write one sentence about each of the four seasons and draws an illustration to accompany it. They present each drawing and sentence to the...

Students read and analyze an extended definition in preparation for writing an extended definition of a CHARACTER TRAIT. They use analogy as a definition strategy to tailor writing to a particular audience. Finally, students SHARE...

Students participate in learning proper interview techniques to interview people in our community. They engage in this project in order to develop interviewing skills, to develop a better understanding of various jobs in our community...

Students work together to brainstorm using a software program. Individually, they decide on a topic to write about and begin their pre-writing activities. They write about their topic using the pictures they previously drew and...

Second graders discover that oral and written communication can be improved, and made to sound more eloquent, when the following questions are addressed; Who? What? Where? When? Why? students use word processing to copy a poem using clip...

Students examine the basic functions of the online Visual Thesaurus, exploring how simple words may sometimes have multiple meanings. In small groups they select words and explore the Visual Thesaurus, and write a short play using the...

Students research the Titanic using fiction, nonfiction, images, and Internet based resources. They determine if it is appropriate to raise and save the Titanic and its artifacts before planning and writing an opinion piece which defends...

Students use poetic devices to discuss political issues. In this cultural diversity activity, students listen to the president's State of the Union address and write poetic pieces that express their opinions about issues the president...