This activity guide, developed to provide hands-on environmental education activities geared to Hammocks Beach State Park in North Carolina, is targeted for grades 6, 7, and 8 and meets the curriculum objectives of the standard course of study established by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Three types of activities are…

This guide presents a brief history of the Pueblo Indians of the Southwest, their traditions, and their art. Focus is on painting, a traditional art form that continues to be practiced, and on ceremonies and beliefs that are important elements of contemporary Pueblo society. The guide is designed for students of ages 10 through 14, but can be…

These curriculum materials have been designed to challenge the ignorance that causes prejudice and racism. They have been produced for use in a variety of educational settings and in conjunction with other curricula for students in Key Stages 3 and 4. They target students in British counties that are predominantly white, such as Norfolk (England),…

An art activity introduces intermediate grade and middle school students to optical illusions. Students practice drawing geometric shapes such as cubes, cylinders, cones, and pyramids, then combine these shapes to create the illusion of their choice. Graphic outlines for each shape are provided. This document is one of a collection of materials…

This lesson plan based on "Freak the Mighty" by Rodman Philbrick includes the modeling and practicing of specific reading comprehension strategies, vocabulary and word study, a figurative language activity, and a selection of final projects which can be used for assessment with the accompanying rubric. During three 60-minute sessions for four…

In today's culture, students are bombarded with movies based upon literature. Instead of assuming that students will watch the movie rather than reading the book, this lesson plan takes advantage of this phenomena by asking students to compare and contrast books with their movie counterparts and write for variety of authentic purposes. During five…

Traces the history of Arthurdale, West Virginia, a homestead community established by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Division of Subsistence Homesteads in 1933. Includes Arthurdale's community projects, activities, and schools. (RW)

Describes the work of a meteorologist, the history of meteorology, and links to mathematics. Contains reproducible student activity worksheets on weather data. (MKR)

Using this inquiry-based process allows the teacher and librarian to assign mystery topics to individual students so they can conduct independent research on high-interest subjects. The book provides the tools and strategies teachers and librarians need to help students think and rethink methods of gathering and organizing information to solve…

This curriculum module, one of seven in Infusion Project, offers information and lessons on drug use prevention for integration into an existing seventh grade middle school health curriculum. The module, based on a type of interactive learning called infusion learning, contains 10 lessons each providing objectives, a list of resource materials,…

With many annotations written or edited by students, this booklist contains 3,100 citations of fiction and nonfiction publications for adolescents. Most entries were published within the past few years, although well-written older books are also included. The annotations, which include appropriate age ranges, are categorized as follows:…

This annotated bibliography, for junior high and middle school students, describes nearly 2,000 books to read for pleasure, for school assignments, or merely to satisfy curiosity. Books included have been published mostly in the last five years and are divided into six major sections: fiction, drama, picture books for older readers, poetry, short…

The 14 activity-oriented units described in this study skills guide for students in the fifth, sixth, and seventh grades are designed to assist in the development of necessary study skills at most levels of competence and to reinforce already existing skills. The units in the guide also attempt to incorporate as much student activity as possible,…

The writing and art program described in this lesson plan employs scientific observation, descriptive writing, sketching, reading, investigation, and poetry writing to train middle school students to use their senses and focus their attention. During the four 45-minute lessons, students will: make careful observations of natural objects; write…

This guide contains classroom-tested problems designed to introduce and reinforce mathematical concepts in a quick, "fun" way. Activities emphasize the logic and reasoning skills needed to build a strong foundation in mathematics. The problems are thinking activities and require only upper elementary level mathematics skills. Activities are…