Discoveries of Chinese porcelain, engraved glass from the Middle East, and metal ornaments from West Africa provide evidence that Great Zimbabwe participated in a comprehensive trade network during the 13th and 14th centuries. Gold was probably its chief export and East African cities especially those along the coast that had overseas connections were most likely its primary trading partners.
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Reading
In this lesson, students will learn about the lifestyle of the wealthy elite and then expand their view of medieval society by exploring the lives of the peasants, craftsmen, and monks.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
Columbus has an idea, a plan, and an amazing accident!
Material Type: Unit of Study
This is a task from the Illustrative Mathematics website that is one part of a complete illustration of the standard to which it is aligned. Each task has at least one solution and some commentary that addresses important asects of the task and its potential use. Here are the first few lines of the commentary for this task: Materials A large set of dominoes to affix to a whiteboard or place in a pocket chart, or a regular set to use on a document projector. One set of domi...
Material Type: Activity/Lab
How do we know about the past? Did a giant flood actually occur? Or were the stories of Gilgamesh and Noah folk tales intended to provide moral guidance?
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Reading
Examine a collection of primary source documents about railroads in the United States.
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Primary Source, Reading
In this folktales unit, second graders explore Spider, or Anansi, folktales from Western Africa. Folktales have been used for generations to teach important lessons about human nature and the consequences of good and bad behavior in a way that is clear, convincing, and easily relatable. Through reading and learning about Spider, students will be able to debate and analyze what it means to be a good person and the importance of hard work and cooperation. Studying the actions of Spider, a character with whom it is easy to connect and empathize, allows students to begin to develop a sense of moral behavior and understanding of the world around them by learning from the actions of others. It is our hope that this unit, in connection with others in the sequence, will help students begin to develop a strong moral compass and understanding of what constitutes'right' and'wrong.'
Material Type: Lesson Plan
The ancient Greeks loved competition of all sorts. Each year, the various city-states of Greece sent athletes to festivals of games, which were held to honor the gods. The most important and prestigious were the games held at Olympia to honor Zeus, the king of the gods. These Olympic games took place in the summer only once every four years.
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Reading
Using a 2-liter bottle, students can build water bottle rockets. This project takes 2 weeks.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
NASA Stem Engagement. This contains all the information needed to help you design a lesson about rockets utilizing water bottle rockets.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
2007 from the National Physical Laboratory. The mathematical explanations including physics formulas are very useful. "Michael de Podesta hereby asserts his right to be identified as author of this booklet. The copyright of this booklet is owned by NPL. Michael de Podesta and NPL grant permission to reproduce the booklet in part or in whole for any not-for-profit educational activity, but you must acknowledge both the author and the copyright owner.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
This is an integrated lesson which is introduced using the book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle. Butterfly metamorphosis is explored through art, math, and writing.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
Full course with supplemental materials based upon the OpenStax Astronomy textbook.
Material Type: Full Course
This class introduces the student to the use of small telescopes, either for formal research or as a hobby.
Material Type: Full Course
"2010 marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo's astonishing sightings of features on the moon, stars, and moons around Jupiter that no one had seen before. Recreate these new ways of seeing and exploring from the materials and techniques Galileo had on hand, while you reflect on the times and works of Galileo. What was it like to improvise new ways of seeing and exploring from the materials and techniques on hand? What do we notice? What surprises us? How can we relate to past experience and ideas? What are we curious to research? How does our experimenting grow into our learning? Let your own curiosity drive your explorations."
Material Type: Full Course
In this activity, students familiarise themselves with the concept of a map by observing and describing maps, and drawing a map from an aerial photograph. They understand that any location on Earth is described by two numbers, latitude and longitude. The notion of scale and ratio is also explored.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
In this lesson, students are introduced to global climate change. They explore the ramifications of global climate change for Michigan, as well as individual actions that can decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
In this lesson, the Internet is used as a resource for students to access daily (and hourly) information about air quality.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
A complete model for describing 1-D accelerated motion (descriptive, motion maps, graphs and kinematic equations). Begins with a paradigm lab of motion on an incline. The lab utilizes Vernier Logger Pro motion detectors the way I implement it, but can be done with other methods of data collection.
Material Type: Unit of Study
How do strong and weak acids differ? Use lab tools on your computer to find out! Dip the paper or the probe into solution to measure the pH, or put in the electrodes to measure the conductivity. Then see how concentration and strength affect pH. Can a weak acid solution have the same pH as a strong acid solution?
Material Type: Simulation
