Penguin Books
Educator's Guide: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code is filled with secrets. Help readers find the clues, solve the riddles and puzzles, and unwrap the mysteries with a six-page guide that includes before, during, and after reading discussion questions and...
California Department of Education
Me and My Career
Scholars complete the California CareerZone's Quick Assessment to identify their dream job. The assessment calculates responses to provide a list of careers. Learners choose one from their list and discuss it with their peers.
PBS
Out and About
Field guides are a like a window into an ecosystem. Young scientists collaborate to create their own field guides by recording observations from a local ecosystem. Ideally, they collect information over time to create a more complete...
PBS
House Warming
Things should heat up during a hands-on lesson exploring solar energy. An enlightening activity challenges young scientists to design a structure that collects solar energy efficiently. They keep track of temperature data over time and...
PBS
Plants Count
Changes to habitats mean changes to resources. Groups examine aerial maps to predict areas of low and high plant resources. After formulating a plan, they visit the areas to collect data about the plant resources and then share their...
PBS
Color Code
Don't let your brain play tricks on you! Learners test brain reaction rates while it is receiving multiple stimuli. They time each other reading a set of color words written in different colors and again when they are written in black....
PBS
Breaking Point
Leaf toughness can add to its herbivore appeal. Learns design an experiment to quantify leaf toughness and then perform their procedures. They follow the experiment with a set of questions that ask them to think about how leaf toughness...
PBS
Bird is the Word
Tracking area birds can tell a lot about an ecosystem. Learners use that understanding as motivation to observe and record bird populations in their area. They use journaling to store their information and ultimately choose one bird as...
PBS
All Tangled Up
It is a tangled web the ecosystem weaves. Learners begin an activity on ecosystem interactions by building a food chain and then a food web with yarn as a group. To finish, they research local environmental changes that may impact the...
PBS
Super Sleuths
There's no such thing as the perfect crime! Your class of sleuths are ready to investigate the trace evidence at a crime scene and compare it to a list of suspects. They use their investigative skills to record physical properties of the...
PBS
Print Hints
It would be a crime not to give the lesson a chance! An inquiry-based lesson has pupils assume the role of crime scene investigators as they make observations about shoe prints. They look for patterns in the prints such as distance and...
PBS
No Slip Grip
The force will be with you during an inquiry-based lesson focused on friction. Young scientists explore the effect of different surfaces on friction. They use rubber bands to measure the amount of force needed to move an object on the...
PBS
Insulation Station
It's all about the material. Learners experiment with different substances as they try to keep an ice cube from melting. They draw conclusions by answering a set of questions about the types and amount of material that had the best result.
PBS
Season Seeking
It's a time of change. A hands-on activity engages young scientists in a lesson highlighting the change of seasons. They brainstorm indicators of season changes in nature and then look for them. Next, they record observations in a field...
PBS
Cloud Clues
It's cloudy with a good chance of learning! An inquiry-based lesson begins with an exploration of transparent, translucent, and opaque materials. Young scientists then connect their learning to the different cloud types as they take the...
Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers
Justice for All - Educating Youth for Social Responsibility: Grades 6-8
Teach middle schoolers how to develop healthy relationships with activities and lessons designed to create a kind and inclusive
classroom. Pupils create guidelines to develop a safe and civil learning environment. They learn how to...
EngageNY
Analyzing the Features of an Informative Consumer Guide
Analyze, strategize, synthesize! Scholars analyze informative consumer guides to determine what features to include in their own guides. Next, pupils select charts and images to use in their guides.
EngageNY
Mid-Unit 3 Assessment Part 1: Researching Information about Buying Fish Caught Using Sustainable Methods
Sustainable seafood is not an oxymoron. Pupils watch a video about how consumers purchase seafood responsibly. Then, using resources in their assessment research folders, they complete a graphic organizer to record factual information...
EngageNY
Researching Case Studies of Depleted Fish Species
There's something fishy going on in the ocean. Using the resource, scholars engage in a jigsaw activity, researching a case study of a depleted fish species. After completing their research, each triad partners with another group to...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: Comparing and Contrasting Two Texts: Simulated Research
Shoo fly. Scholars read DDT Spray Scares Mosquitoes Away, Study Finds and You Think You Have It Tough? to complete a mid-unit assessment. The learners compare and contrast author presentation and conduct a credibility check on each...
EngageNY
Researching Digital Sources, Part 2: Guided WebQuest
Go surfing for the facts. Scholars continue their work using their Digital Resources on DDT sheet to find information by searching websites. After collecting information, they mix and mingle to hear information discovered by classmates.
EngageNY
Researching Digital Sources, Part 1: Guided WebQuest
We are living in a technical world. Scholars learn how to examine digital resources for their research on DDT. They explore a list of websites using a Digital Resources on DDT sheet. Learners examine their research notebook to determine...
EngageNY
Resource Materials and Gathering Information: Reading Another “Choice” Text from the Research Folder
Look it up. Scholars use a dictionary and thesaurus to verify the meaning of the research vocabulary words they defined in the previous activity. They then use sticky notes to write a synonym for each word. Finally, individuals choose a...
EngageNY
Research Tasks: New Words, Relevant Information, Revision
Word builders. Scholars participate in a mini lesson about affixes. They then complete a research vocabulary organizer and share their definitions of the words with the class. They gather more evidence for their research from the...