Engage middle school students in a meaningful study of the lives of students from across the globe through the use of contemporary nonfiction and fiction. Students create personal autobiographies, sequence story events, and prepare well-crafted summaries while learning to use higher-level comprehension strategies such as Question-Answer Relationships and the Bio-Cube. Additionally, students conduct a critical study of the NCSS Notable Tradebook Nasreen̍s Secret School: A True Story From Afghanistan by Jeanette Winter, comparing and contrasting their own lives to Nasreen̍s and expanding their geographical knowledge of the Middle East.

Explore the definition of a portrait. Students discuss two of Dorothea Lange's portraits and create their own portraits of their classmates.

This site features Louisa May Alcott and Samuel Clemens. See excerpts from Alcott's girlhood journal and Little Women. Read Clemens' explanation of his white suit in Mark Twain's Autobiography and the last chapter of Tom Sawyer, where Huck Finn has fled the Widow Douglas's civilizing influence. Help students see that their own lives and views can be a basis for creative writing.

Students observe four different classroom setups with objects in motion (using toy cars, a ball on an incline, and a dynamics cart). At the first observation of each scenario, students sketch predicted position vs. time and velocity vs. time graphs. Then the classroom scenarios are conducted again with a motion detector and accompanying tools to produce position vs. time and velocity vs. time graphs for each scenario. Students compare their predictions with the graphs generated by technology and discuss their findings. This lesson requires assorted classroom supplies, as well as motion detector technology.

Take time to relax, recharge, and remember your strengths with these fun coloring pages.

Sayings include: I Believe in Me, Breath in Courage Exhale Doubt, I Can Do Hard Things, Don't Give Up! I Can Do This!, It's All Going to be Okay

Check out the great connected lessons that accompany the coloring pages, as well as many other resources.

Students create a postcard featuring a landscape that incorporates rubbings to create texture. Students write a letter on the back of the postcard describing the landscape.

This is a hands-on lab activity about seawater density, specifically the relationship between density of fluid, weight of an object, and buoyancy. Learners will develop hypotheses and observe a demonstration of density to understand its role in buoyancy. They will also examine the effect of salinity on density. Background information, common preconceptions, a glossary and more is included. This activity is part of the Aquarius Hands-on Laboratory Activities.

Where did the stars come from? What makes lightning and thunder? Pourquoi tales are narratives developed by various cultures around the world to explain natural phenomena. Students study three tales and learn about their cultures of origin, then work cooperatively to write and present an original pourquoi tale.

« Ton ketchup ne veut pas sortir de la bouteille? Laisse-nous te révéler les secrets de la viscosité de ce fluide non newtonien! »

*Texte, images, animation, vidéo:

-Comment les fluides s’écoulent-ils?
-Pourquoi le ketchup est-il si particulier?
-Quelle est la meilleure façon de faire couler du ketchup?
-Amorces de discussion

*Suggestions et liens annexes: articles, activités de compréhension « relation question-réponse » et « toile de définition du concept » (fiches reproductibles adaptées et téléchargeables), activité tableau en deux volets, projet/enquête Tomatosphère (germination de graines), vidéos divertissantes et informatives

« T’es-tu déjà demandé pourquoi les navires se maintiennent à flot? La réponse est dans la flottabilité! »

*Texte, images, vidéo, illustrations:

-Qu’est-ce que la flottabilité?
-Quel est le lien entre la flottabilité et la densité?
-Comment la flottabilité et la densité s’appliquent-elles aux navires?
-Amorces de discussion

Suggestions/liens annexes: activité « toile de définition du concept » (fiche reproductible adaptée), plusieurs expériences qui illustrent la flottabilité

PowerPlay Young Entrepreneurs is a highly engaging program that is designed for classrooms ranging from grades 4 to 8. Students have fun exploring their passions, talents and interests as they plan and carry out their own business ventures. They make real products, earn real money and donate a portion of their profits to charity.For more information about the program, visit powerplayforsuccess.com.

This lesson for English Language Learners (ELLs) introduces a source of energy that is both abundant and free, solar energy. In this lesson, learners will practice reading, listening, speaking and writing. All activities are automatically graded with feedback provided to the learner upon submission.

Students continue to explore the story of building a pyramid, learning about the simple machine called a pulley. They learn how a pulley can be used to change the direction of applied forces and move/lift extremely heavy objects, and the powerful mechanical advantages of using a multiple-pulley system. Students perform a simple demonstration to see the mechanical advantage of using a pulley, and they identify modern day engineering applications of pulleys. In a hands-on activity, they see how a pulley can change the direction of a force, the difference between fixed and movable pulleys, and the mechanical advantage gained with multiple / combined pulleys. They also learn the many ways engineers use pulleys for everyday purposes.

Students create their own monster trading cards using "powerful," vivid language to describe their creatures.

This is an activity about solar energy. Learners will first use computers to research and learn how solar panels convert sunlight into electricity. Next, they will calculate the surface area of solar panels board a satellite and their total power generated in various positions of the satellite, given the dimension of the panels. After, learners will organize and write a report summarizing the information about the MMS mission satellites. This activity requires student access to internet accessible computers. This is lesson four as part of the MMS Mission Educator's Instructional Guide.

This lesson provides students with an overview of the electric power industry in the United States. Students also become familiar with the environmental impacts associated with a variety of energy sources.

This plant-rooted program contains 6 distinct activities. Students will have the chance to exercise their creativity through botanical drawing and creating a classroom herbarium by pressing and preserving plant specimens. They will learn about plant journeys: from farm to table, and seed dispersal. Finally, they will get to know trees, inside and out, from species identification to age rings.

The Power of Plants is a collection of six complete lesson plans that raises awareness about the importance of biodiversity in everyday life.

o Lesson 1: Two classes - Students will explore these different art forms by creating two artworks using the same plant as a reference. Artists’ statements will express the intentions and design decisions inspired by the art form and floral specimen.

o Lesson 2: - One week - Students will collect and preserve plant specimens to create a class herbarium and explore the different uses for a herbarium.

o Lesson 3: Three classes - In this activity, students will explore some mechanisms used by plants to disperse their seeds by creating model fruit and evaluating the relationship between the fruit’s structure and its dispersal ability.

o Lesson 4: Five classes - Students will explore the concept of “food miles”, visit a farm, farmer’s market, or grocery store and write a newspaper article or editorial summarizing their findings.

o Lesson 5: Four classes - Students will examine the leaves, identify the species, make bark rubbings, measure girth, calculate age, and approximate the height of a single tree. Tree profiles are then collected to create a class encyclopedia.

o Lesson 6: One class - In this activity, students will examine tree rings and discover the secrets preserved within its growth rings.

To access this resource in French, visit https://www.biodiversityeducation.ca/ressources-francaises.html.

Long, fancy words designed to show off your intelligence and vocabulary are all very well, but they aren't always the best words. In this short playful video Terin Izil explains why simple, punchy language is often the clearest way to convey a message. A quiz, thought provoking question, and links for further study are provided to create a lesson around the 2-minute video. Educators may use the platform to easily "Flip" or create their own lesson for use with their students of any age or level.

Street art fosters and explores the relationships between art, audience, location, and politics.

This inquiry unit has students explore that relationship.