In this activity, students determine their own eyesight and calculate what a good average eyesight value for the class would be. Students learn about technologies to enhance eyesight and how engineers play an important role in the development of these technologies.

This activity is designed for a primary classroom (outdoors & indoors) investigation where students collect and investigate soil samples and describe the soils, looking for similarities and differences. Students develop a method of recording the data colleted and can present the information gathered.

Bring the vocabulary of film to life through the processes of filmmaking. Students learn terminology and techniques simultaneously as they plan, film, and edit a short video.

Unit Summary
This unit on thermal energy transfer begins with students testing whether a new plastic cup sold by a store keeps a drink colder for longer compared to the regular plastic cup that comes free with the drink. Students find that the drink in the regular cup warms up more than the drink in the special cup. This prompts students to identify features of the cups that are different, such as the lid, walls, and hole for the straw, that might explain why one drink warms up more than the other. 
Students investigate the different cup features they conjecture are important to explaining the phenomenon, starting with the lid. They model how matter can enter or exit the cup via evaporation However, they find that in a completely closed system, the liquid inside the cup still changes temperature. This motivates the need to trace the transfer of energy into the drink as it warms up. Through a series of lab investigations and simulations, students find that there are two ways to transfer energy into the drink: (1) the absorption of light and (2) thermal energy from the warmer air around the drink. They are then challenged to design their own drink container that can perform as well as the store-bought container, following a set of design criteria and constraints.
This unit builds toward the following NGSS Performance Expectations (PEs) as described in the OpenSciEd Scope & Sequence: MS-PS1-4*, MS-PS3-3, MS-PS3-4, MS-PS3-5, MS-PS4-2*, MS-ETS1-4. The OpenSciEd units are designed for hands-on learning and therefore materials are necessary to teach the unit. These materials can be purchased as science kits or assembled using the kit material list.

Unit Summary
In this unit, students develop ideas related to how sounds are produced, how they travel through media, and how they affect objects at a distance. Their investigations are motivated by trying to account for a perplexing anchoring phenomenon — a truck is playing loud music in a parking lot and the windows of a building across the parking lot visibly shake in response to the music.
They make observations of sound sources to revisit the K–5 idea that objects vibrate when they make sounds. They figure out that patterns of differences in those vibrations are tied to differences in characteristics of the sounds being made. They gather data on how objects vibrate when making different sounds to characterize how a vibrating object’s motion is tied to the loudness and pitch of the sounds they make. Students also conduct experiments to support the idea that sound needs matter to travel through, and they will use models and simulations to explain how sound travels through matter at the particle level.
This unit builds toward the following NGSS Performance Expectations (PEs) as described in the OpenSciEd Scope & Sequence: MS-PS4-1, MS-PS4-2. The OpenSciEd units are designed for hands-on learning and therefore materials are necessary to teach the unit. These materials can be purchased as science kits or assembled using the kit material list.

Students will use a perceived weak material to construct something that is surprisingly strong.
Students can experiment with different shapes and configurations to see what holds the most weight.
The cube size is defined, what each student places within each 4x4 square, is up to them.

Students will be able to ask and answer questions about key details in a text. Students will be able to compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.

A+ Click is an interactive collection of more than 3700 math problems and answers for K-1 K-12 school program. It defines the personal level of math knowledge. You move up into the next level if you give 5 correct answers in a row. Practice makes perfect.

Adapting the song "A-Hunting We Will Go," students put a "whale" in a "pail" and even "take a little "bear" and hug it if we "dare"."

Direct teaching of vocabulary can help improve comprehension only when taught in meaningful context. Through the use of technology, students can develop their academic vocabulary in an engaging and fun way.

Andrea Mulder-Slater (creator of www.KinderArt.com ) designed this lesson to be
used with children ages 5 and older. However, this lesson can be easily adapted to
work with individuals of all ages as a way of identifying and expressing emotions.
Participants will gain an understanding of how much of a role emotion plays in
art-making as they create paintings based on feelings.

Aboriginal Hand Print
(art + history; art + social studies)
"One old man in Arnhem Land remembered being carried as a child on his father's shoulders as his father climbed up a log leaning against a rock wall. His father then sprayed his hand with red ochre against the rock, leaving a stencil he could still recognize many years later. The main function of the stencils was to record people's presence and association with a site." — Aboriginal Art Online

The stenciled hand print and aboriginal style drawings help children to relate to the man from the Australian Aboriginal Culture stated above, while helping them to understand the use of line in art. A black paper with white splattered paint was used, but white paper with red (ochre) splattered paint would make a nice impression also. Construction paper crayons make bright, bold, linear designs around the hand stencil.

Grade Levels K-4

Students form literature circles, read "Esperanza Rising" or "Becoming Naomi Leon" by Pam MuĐoz Ryan, use a Critical Thinking Map to discuss social issues, and use a class wiki.

In this unit, students will become familiar with fables and trickster tales from different cultural traditions and will see how stories change when transferred orally between generations and cultures. They will learn how both types of folktales employ various animals in different ways to portray human strengths and weaknesses and to pass down wisdom from one generation to the next. Use the following lessons to introduce students to world folklore and to explore how folktales convey the perspectives of different world cultures.

Build a translucent suncatcher to learn about light and the difference between transparent, translucent, and opaque objects. 

This document details a simple way for anyone to create an interactive digital adventure game with zero programming. This activity can be done as an individual or with a team. Use a cloud-based PowerPoint program to get started (Google slides recommended).  

Build your very own terrarium with Kayla from the Baltimore County Public Library. 

Collection of K-12 learning resources curated by Hillsboro School District for the 2019-20 school year.

This is an activity that leads students to reflect on how some gender stereotypes can affect their lives which are either held by people of their society or by themselves. For that, they can manifest their opinion about them in a poem.