During the 1994-95 school year, the Eisenhower Regional Consortium for Mathematics and Science Education at Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEL) conducted the Scope It Out project to provide training and technical assistance to educators in using the microscope as a learning tool in a standards-based curriculum. This publication is a…

This is a prewriting activity for personal memoir or autobiographical writing. Grade 6-8 students brainstorm for important memories, create graphics or symbols for their most important memories, and construct a life map on tag board or construction paper, connecting drawings and captions of high and low points with a highway. During four 50-minute…

Presents a lesson plan for teaching abstract science concepts to gifted middle school students. The lesson integrates a physical education component into science instruction to reinforce the abstract notion that electrons emit energy in the form of visible light. (CR)

Describes a middle school lesson on the Holocaust. Tells how students concluded that it happened in baby steps, yet very fast, and thus that each person has to act when they first notice something is wrong. Relates how, shortly thereafter, two girls took a brave stand on the school bus in defense of a boy being picked on. (SR)

The purpose of this lesson on classifying triangles is to aid students' discovery of the different characteristics of equilateral, isosceles, and scalene triangles through computer explorations using Geometric Supposer or GeoExplorer software. (MKR)

The Contemporary Health Series is intended to help teachers address critical health issues in their classrooms. It is designed to provide educators with the curricular tools necessary to challenge students to take personal responsibility for their health. This learning module, directed at middle school teachers, focuses on several health and…

Presented is a lesson plan to be used in middle school social studies courses to help students assess whether a statement made by an alleged authority is credible. The plan also shows how teachers can use information processing strategies to design lessons to promote learning of other critical thinking skills. (RM)

By coupling the creative synergy of a school's staff with some field-tested planning strategies, any advisory program can be improved and focused on students' concerns. This article describes a middle school's efforts to link thematic units for learning with advisement opportunities. Step-by-step lesson plans for exploring stereotypical…

This book is a collaborative project between the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). It has two complementary goals: to provide classroom-tested lessons that effectively model the vision of the NCTM Standards and to focus on the exciting problems that arise out of NASA's…

This curriculum unit introduces intermediate grade and middle school students to the work of Stephen Sondheim, one of the most talented composers of the contemporary American musical theater, and teaches them about the process of writing an original musical. The unit notes that in his musical "Into the Woods" Sondheim incorporates (and…

This document is a collection of activity-based mathematics lessons for grades 5-8 from the "Ideas" department in "Arithmetic Teacher: Mathematics Education through the Middle Grades." Each lesson includes background information, objectives, directions, extensions, and student worksheets. A matrix is included which correlates…

This resource guide for science and social studies classes explores the world of U.S. Navy submarines and other submersibles. The guide consists of background information on the history and development of submarines and a list of cross-curricular activities to challenge, educate, and entertain students. Students learn the inherent challenges that…

Presents an activity in which students in grades 5-8 learn about snail reproduction by observing and charting the activities of land snails, freshwater snails, and slugs. Instructions to implement and extend the activity are provided. (MDH)

The six lessons contained in this guide provide students with a basic understanding of the scientific and environmental principles that govern modern package design and development. By completing the activities that accompany each of the lesson plans, students will be able to: (1) define a package and describe its functions; (2) differentiate…

This paper describes a short course for middle school students that was sponsored by the Higher Education Council of Columbus, Ohio, and undertaken to promote the development of self-expression capabilities by using public speaking as a communicative channel. The class was designed to be completed in three class meetings of three hours each,…