Purdue University
Design of Music Instruments for a Rock Band
Can you create a rock band? Scholars learn about the creation and transmission of sound in a hands-on STEM activity. First, they explore the transmission of sound using a tuning fork. Then, they must solve the problem of missing...
Radford University
Koi Pond
There's nothing fishy about the activity. Future mathematicians design a koi pond from various three-dimensional shapes. They calculate the perimeter, area, and volume of the pond, and then create PowerPoint presentations. They also...
EngageNY
Inferring about Character: Analyzing and Discussing Points of View (Chapter 2)
Readers engage in discussion with partners to answer questions about A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. Next, they complete exit tickets, writing about how the author creates different points of view for her characters.
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Exposing Gender Bias
Young sociologists are asked to read two photographs, identifying how the photographer uses point of view, color, pose, light, and shadow to express a stereotype of women or to challenge those stereotypes. Partners then create their own...
Teaching Tolerance
News Consumers' Bill of Rights and Responsibilities
Believe it or not, people have rights as new consumers. Scholars read PEN America's News Consumers' Bill of Rights and Responsibilities and work in small groups to paraphrase chosen sections of the text. Next, they create and present...
California Academy of Science
Paper Cup Planetarium
Bring the night sky to your classroom! Using simple materials, learners create flashlight constellations on the wall. They then use their imaginations to create their own star patterns that tell a story.
Museum of Science
Fingerprints
Capture your unique print. Individuals ink a finger and create a print on a deflated balloon. By blowing up the balloon, pupils get a magnified view of their unique print. They see if they can identify any loops, whorls, and arches in...
Nemours KidsHealth
Colds and Flu: Grades 9-12
Flu fighters unite! To get the word out about the importance of getting vaccinated against the flu, groups create posters that persuade teens to get immunized. Also, scholars read articles about how to cope with colds, then create...
Nemours KidsHealth
School Lunch: Grades 6-8
School lunches are the focus of two learning activities. Activity one challenges small groups to create a lunch menu for an imaginary cafe. Activity two sheds light on one's afternoon eating habits. Asking scholars to record what they...
American Museum of Natural History
Make Your Own Dino Stationary
Scholars follow five steps to create dinosaur-themed stationery using basic computer skills.
Nemours KidsHealth
Bullying: Grades 3-5
Two activities spotlight the concept of bullying. The first activity begins with defining and identifying characteristics of bullying. Small groups then role-play scenarios in which they practice techniques to handle a bully. The second...
Health Smart Virginia
Mental and Emotional Health
The first lesson in a social and emotional health unit is designed to help seventh graders develop the skills they need to cope with disappointment and manage stress. Groups practice stress reduction techniques and share ideas for how to...
Health Smart Virginia
Caring School Environment Performance Task
In a school scenario, pupils stay home to keep from the teasing and bullying on campus. To combat unkind behavior, small groups survey learners in other grade levels, discuss and summarize their findings, then work together to create a...
Health Smart Virginia
Rule Development
A class discussion defines what it means to make the classroom a safe environment. To make their classroom safe, small groups work collaboratively to create a list of characteristics that make up successful learners. Groups share their...
Nemours KidsHealth
School Lunch: Grades K-2
Two lessons encourage scholars to make smart eating choices. The first lesson sorts food items into the MyPlate's food groups. Learners scour magazines to cut and paste examples onto a paper plate that showcases each group. Then, draw...
ReadWriteThink
Let It Grow: An Inquiry-Based Organic Gardening Research Project
How does your garden grow? An inquiry-based, organic gardening unit asks young scientists to research a vegetable or flower, create an environment for it, and then plant and tend to the seedling. Gardeners develop their own research...
Anti-Defamation League
Pink Collar Jobs: Gender Segregation and Pay Inequality in the Workplace
Cartoons showing women in the workplace spark a discussion about being a business executive and claiming the corporate ladder. Small groups analyze data and create graphs that display essential information from the handouts. The class...
Beyond Benign
The Final Floor
Finally, the final floor plan. The 11th installment of a 15-part series looks at floor plans for houses. Scholars try their hand at creating a scale drawing for the floor plan of their dream houses.
K20 LEARN
Water We Going To Do? Floodplains And Watershed Management
How has human activity affected Earth's watersheds? An action-packed lesson plan, part of the K20 Center, examines water's ability to go with the flow regardless of what is in its path. Scholars build model watersheds, examine time-lapse...
California Department of Education
Call the Tune: Music in Literature
I am dancing to the music in my head. Scholars learn to listen for music in their heads as they read literature and poems. After they identify and analyze poetic devices that relate to music, they create their own musical poems.
Radford University
Pirate Attack
Arr ye matey, it's time for some trig. Learners first read up on the 2010 attack on the USS Nicholas by a group of pirates and the testimony of one of the witnesses. They use right triangle trigonometry to determine if the account is...
Radford University
Swimming Pool Dilemma
Different shape, same volume—that's quite a challenge! Scholars design a pool for an imaginary client using three-dimensional figures. They must then create a second pool for another client with the same volume, but using different shapes.
Radford University
PHamily PHeud: An Exploration in Surveys
Get to know the class much better. Scholars brainstorm a topic of interest and then design and conduct a class survey. Using the top responses, they create a game similar to Family Feud and take part in a class competition.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Fly Your Kite
Encourage scholars to become a productive community member with a kite-themed lesson. Following a review and discussion, learners complete a Venn diagram that displays the connection between character traits needed to make a home and...