If the methodology is skewed, the results will be skewed. That's the takeaway from an exercise designed to get class members thinking about research methods and statistics gathering. Instructors manipulate the testing environment to...

What does your class think about big business bailouts by the U.S. Government? Find out with this activity, where learners analyze a political cartoon comparing the "Big Three" automakers with the Greek Myth of Sisyphus. Background...

Know safe spots. Tell a parent. Stay with a buddy. Youngsters learn the fundamentals of personal safety and what to do in an emergency through discussion, worksheet activities, and collaborative learning.

A teacher's guide for Kindred provides instructors with a wealth of materials to enrich either a full-class reading or independent study of Octavia E. Butler's popular science fiction novel. The activities are designed to...

How did ancient peoples determine the height of really tall objects? Young scientists and mathematicians explore the concept of using shadows to measure height in a hands-on experiment. Paired pupils measure shadows, then calculate the...

What are the pros and cons to having either permeable or impermeable materials for building? How do they affect the environment? Use this role-play and the extension activities to get your environmental scientists thinking about the...

Turn the class into the next episode of Law & Order! Scholars work together to create a mock trial over the course of several weeks before going before a judge for the case performance. They take on different roles, go through...

Life is not always fair. Who's heard that before? This same concept moves to a larger scale using prejudice and bias. Pupils discuss where prejudice attitudes derive and how they develop throughout life. Reading comprehension...

Introduce your class to map projections and coordinates, the basics for the work done in a GIS, with an activity that uses Google Earth to challenge learners to think about the earth's shape. 

"Promises Denied," the second instructional activity in a unit that asks learners to consider the responsibilities individuals have to uphold human rights, looks at documents that illustrate the difficulty the US has had trying to live...

Why do readers need to know an author’s purpose? How do you figure out what that purpose is? Guide your pupils through a series of activities that show them how to identify various techniques and structures used in persuasive writing....

Students study classic paintings by masters like Monet. In this art history lesson, students listen to the story Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert and sing flower songs with the rest of their class. Students examine the painting The...

Asking questions about the text is an important way for kids to become critical readers. Use a QAR activity based on The Devil's Arithmetic to help learners decipher between questions that are right there, between the author and the...

Sometimes it's helpful for kids to predict what is coming next when reading a story. Show your learners how to use evidence from the text they are reading to predict what happens next in five short passages.

Young scientists study light reflection and refraction as they determine the critical angle, the rainbow angle, and color separation in rainbows. Teams record the data they collect in a shared spreadsheet and discuss results with the class.

Do history books tell the full story of Helen Keller? The sanitized version of Helen Keller found in most textbooks leaves out her most provocative ideas. She was a socialist, fought for workers' rights, and advocated for the use of...

Looks don't tell the whole story. Young experimenters explore reactions with substances that look similar. They observe the reactions that take place when combined with baking soda and use indicators to conclude they react differently...

Is the Star-Spangled Banner an actual account of a gripping battle, or is it just a catchy tune? Young scholars compare eyewitness descriptions of the War of 1812 battle that inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner." They also examine images...

Fifth grade reader/writers create an alternate ending to an episode in Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach in which our protagonist "loses" the chance to magically solve all his problems. Prompts students not only to write creatively...

Get your high schoolers thinking about the factors that lead to birth defects. They examine how environmental factors and personal choices can cause birth defects in unborn children. They discover the effects of various handicaps such as...

Pupils confront age-related stereotypes, explore how stereotyping impacts their lives, and discuss how they can make changes to reduce over-generalizations, unfair assumptions, and critical judgments about people groups. They use a...

Fifth graders get critical and political while they begin thinking about human and animal rights in relation to the US Constitution. This hand out includes answers to several questions regarding Cesar Chavez and his work to secure rights...

Learners explore British cooking vocabulary. In this ELL vocabulary instructional activity, students identify and describe various foods, match foods with adjectives, discuss their opinions about British cuisine, then read food critic...

Help English learners tell the difference between the past tense and the past perfect tense with a grammar worksheet. As kids read twelve sentences, they change the given verbs to the correct tense based on context clues.