All Activities

Students learn about and discuss the importance of conserving and sustainably using the world's oceans and then create advertisements to persuade others of the importance of oceans.

First, children paint a seascape with water, waves, and a beach. Then, on separate paper, they draw sea animals: fish, crabs, dolphins, sharks, and so on. Next, children cut out the animals, arrange them on their background, and glue them down. They discuss the design element of balance.

The work of Shakespeare presents both a challenge and an opportunity to middle school student-actors. In this activity, students work in groups to practice and perform a short selection from a Shakespeare play. They recognize that the works of Shakespeare portray universal themes that apply to modern life.

Children in primary grades are familiar with basic geometric shapes, such as circles, squares, and rectangles. However, they may not recognize that these shapes are ideal constructions that may not be duplicated perfectly in the world around them. In this activity, children identify familiar shapes that are hiding in plain sight in the environment and accept that irregular shapes are generally more common.

The Founding Fathers established the electoral college in the Constitution, in part, as a compromise between the election of the president by a vote in Congress and the election of the president by a popular vote of qualified citizens. Every state gets at least 3 electoral votes because a state's number of electors is identical to the total number of its senators and representatives in Congress. Seven states have the minimum 3 electors. Washington, D.C., also has 3 electoral votes because of the 23rd Amendment, which gave the nation's capital as many electors as the state with the fewest electoral votes. California has the most electoral votes with 55. Texas is next with 38. New York and Florida have 29 apiece. The founders were concerned that average Americans would lack enough information about the candidates to make intelligent choices. So informed "electors" would stand in for them. Has the electoral college become obsolete in the age of mass communication and a more educated citizenry? We will look at that question in this lesson.

Public speaking can be challenging and overwhelming at first, but the more you practice, the easier it gets. Students get a taste of public speaking as they present a how-to project.

Students create animal figures by using clay and their hands. Also, students learn about the symbolic meanings that animals bring to all cultures, especially the Mayans.

Students learn one technique for sculpting human bodies. Students will also learn important clay making skills.

What skills do workers need to develop for success in the twenty-first century? Students research and synthesize ideas about the working conditions and environment in which they will work in the future.

PowerUp Skip Counting Hip Hops - increase knowledge of multiples through movement and math integration.

Students practice their handwriting by writing a letter to a friend or family member. They can then either mail these letters (“snail mail”) or hand them to a friend.

In this activity, groups of students discuss social media privacy issues. Then they conduct a privacy survey. They graph the results in their groups, and then compare their results with the whole groups’ results.

Students learn about the geography of South America by participating in 2 scavenger hunts. First, they work in teams to find and label countries, islands, and physical features on the continent. Then, they look up key facts about assigned locations and take a “tour” of South America, keeping track of their route on maps.

Students work in small groups to research the southern region of the United States and then write each other "pen pal" letters based on their research.

In this activity, students are organized into small teams to play a game in which they must identify both correctly spelled words and incorrectly spelled words. The teams win points for corrections and lose points for incorrect answers. Teams are challenged to work together and strategize to score the most points to win.

Spelling Survivor is a spelling bee with a twist. In this spelling bee students can use a lifeline to get a friend’s help and may be lucky and get a free pass on their round. Students will participate in a spelling bee to see who will be the last one standing, or the spelling survivor.

Students work in small groups to learn about a state and then create a presentation to give in front of the group.

Students learn about and discuss situations in which the first two limbs of yoga philosophy, the yamas and the niyamas (or restraints and observances), can be useful in daily life.