Browse lesson plans

Change over time

In Critical thinking in science, page 6

Students will use satellite images, population data, and local city data to study human impact on the environment.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies)

By Daniell DiFrancesca.

Chuck Yeager and technological design

In CareerStart lessons: Grade six, page 3.2

Chuck Yeager's career in aviation spans over 60 years and includes such notable feats as becoming the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound. This lesson for grade 6 introduces students to Yeager's accomplishments and to careers in aviation.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6 Guidance)

By April Galloway and Christine Scott.

Commemorative landscapes

These lessons for elementary, middle, and high school were developed in collaboration with The University of North Carolina Library Commemorative Landscapes project to introduce and promote student understanding and writing of North Carolina’s history through commemorative sites, landscapes, and markers.

Format: lesson plan (multiple pages)

Critical thinking in science

This unit of inquiry-based lessons teaches eighth-grade students to utilize and develop critical thinking skills. Students will create testable questions; design and perform experiments; collect, organize, and analyze data; and use these results to decide on the next step in the scientific process.

Format: lesson plan (multiple pages)

Exploring monuments in North Carolina's capital

In this lesson, students will research a Raleigh monument and then locate and explore the monument on a field trip to Raleigh.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts, Information Skills, and Social Studies)

By Stephanie Dixon.

Good medicine

Students will examine changes in technology, medicine, and health that took place in North Carolina between 1870 and 1930 and construct products and ideas which demonstrate understanding of how these changes impacted people living in North Carolina at that time. To achieve these goals, students will employ the eight intelligences of Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies)

By Leslie Ramsey.

History of astronomy scavenger hunt

A unit on astronomy inevitably and rightfully begins with a look at the history of astronomy. This activity provides students with an opportunity to learn the basic facts of the history of astronomy by using the internet.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Science and Social Studies)

By Mark Clinkscales and Carrie Palmer.

NASA spin-offs

In CareerStart lessons: Grade six, page 3.7

NASA spin-offs are technologies and processes that were created by or for NASA but have been applied to everyday life. In this lesson for grade 6, students learn about NASA spin-offs and how they relate to various careers.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6 Guidance)

By April Galloway and Christine Scott.

Simplicity: A literature-based Paideia seminar

Students will apply their knowledge of how developments in the history of the United States, as well as the world, can impact the lives of people today. The lesson is based on the picture book entitled The Simple People, written by Tedd Arnold and illustrated by Andrew Shachat. (Summary: The simple people enjoy the simple life until one of the character's inventions is used to make life more complicated. As a result, everyone forgets the simple things in life.) After a Paideia seminar discussing the book, students will select a modern invention, research the history of its development and how it impacts society, and create a multi-media presentation.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5–6 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Krista Hannah.

Stay still

In this lesson students will learn about stability. They will design and build an earthquake-proof house that takes into account the forces acting upon it and the materials with which it will be built. The house will be tested in a “shake table.” Students will be assessed by the product itself as well as their analysis of the results of the test.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Science)

By Erin Denniston.

Studying simple machines with Rube Goldberg

Using a copy of a Rube Goldberg cartoon, show how the famous cartoonist drew weird and wacky machines to complete a simple task. Students will develop their own Rube Goldberg-type cartoon, using five types of simple machines, to accomplish their selected feat.

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 Science)

By Cynthia Corley.

Technological artifacts and the evolution of the student desk

In CareerStart lessons: Grade eight, page 5.2

In this lesson, students discuss a variety of definitions for the word technology and the relationships between technology, science, and society.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Science and Social Studies)

By Tammy Johnson and Martha Tedrow.

Technology and stress on the environment

Students will build a bubble-powered rocket and “blast it off.” Students will examine the stress to their immediate environment, alternative choices, and the cost of repairing the damage. They will list other types of technology and possible environmental stress.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Science)

By Mark Clinkscales and Carrie Palmer.

That was then, this is now

Students will explore various career topics and study technological changes over last 30 years.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Guidance)

By Cary Lane Cockrell.

Where have we been? Tracing family through a timeline of national history

In this lesson, students are introduced to examples of how wars and technological developments have impacted the movement of people throughout United States and world history. Using a timeline, students will begin to connect historical events with the people they impacted. They will then investigate where their families fit into history in both time and place.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Social Studies)

Resources on the web

American Experience

Over 75 features that accompany the PBS series The American Experience, that document people and events that shaped United States history. Find video, audio, maps, images, and other resources that explore Presidents, Biographies, War and Politics,... (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: PBS

American Geological Institute

A site devoted to providing information and resources related to the geosciences, with a focus on earth science in education. Includes activities, lesson plans, links to relevant websites, and a section for online Earth science professional development for... (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: American Geological Institute

ArtsEdge

Linking the Arts and Education through Technology: ARTSEDGE provides resources and exemplars for teachers to teach in, through, and about the arts. The site includes lesson plans, advocacy and professional development resources, and up-to-date information... (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: ArtsEdge, The Kennedy Center, Washington D.C.

Asia for Educators

Features classroom materials and teaching guides on Asia for use by educators and students in world history, culture, geography, art, and literature. (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: Columbia University

ASPIRE: Astrophysics Science Project Integrating Research and Education

Interactive science labs and lessons for teachers and students. (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: University of Utah