Idea Sheets

Match the antonyms on these left and right hand cutouts.
Subjects: Language Arts

This hanging fish is a great activity for teaching aesthetic awareness and an appreciation of different cultures and art forms.
Subjects: Social Studies, Art

Mix a healthy amount of different ingredients into a bag of trail mix that sells for a set price!
Subjects: Math

Students will enjoy creating these fun yarn leis! Use them in a unit on Hawaii, wearable art, Island cultures, or even as a great addition to the "dress up" trunk.
Subjects: Social Studies, Art

Find multiples & factors on a 100-grid board. See how the numbers relate to each other.
Subjects: Math

Learn about the size of the human heart, how much blood is in the average child and adult, and how much is pumped by the heart per minute by using bottles of "blood".
Subjects: Physical Science, Life Science

Construct your own high sea adventure math word problems along a vertical number line! Become the captain of positive and negative numbers in this maritime setting!
Subjects: Math

This easy-to-create hinged mirror allows students to explore simple geometry and the science of light and reflections.
Subjects: Physical Science, Math

Learn how to make this multifunctional battery holder that can power a variety of electrical circuits. Folded Foil Wires will connect easily with this battery holder.
Subjects: Physical Science

Students can quickly and easily construct this paper model that illustrates the electromagnetic spectrum, with visible and invisible components.
Subjects: Physical Science

This model demonstrates how the Moon's phases occur as the Moon orbits the Earth.
Subjects: Earth/Space Science

Investigate the effects of inertia and friction on the path of a falling object.
Subjects: Physical Science

Explore nesting shapes in this activity that shows why the hexagon appears so often in nature, including honeycombs, soap bubbles, and mud cracks.
Subjects: Math

Combine movement with art or science in this easy to make self-balancing mobile.
Subjects: Art

Create opposing magnetic fields using a coil of magnet wire and a ring magnet. Take the challenge to make the coil do continuing performances on its own! What can be changed to make the coil bounce higher or faster?
Subjects: Physical Science

Convection is a method of energy transfer that occurs in fluids. In this activity, students use preform tubes to experiment with hot and cold water, observing what happens when fluids of different temperatures (densities) meet.
Subjects: Physical Science, Earth/Space Science

This nifty gadget is a useful tool to cut Styrofoam (TM) and an example of a circuit.
Subjects: Physical Science

Explore how a hovercraft can glide smoothly along by constructing this quick-to-assemble four-piece model. Once the hovercraft is built, test it on any smooth, flat surface.
Subjects: Physical Science

How many penny images (reflected and refracted) can be seen?
Subjects: Physical Science, Life Science

Reaction time is key to many things we do: operating a car, flying a plane, riding a bike, or playing sports. In space, astronauts test physical fitness with reaction tests.
Subjects: Life Science

When they play this game, children will develop their numerical thinking skills by counting carrots onto rabbit cutouts.
Subjects: Math

This active game allows young learners to explore their environment and to discover that shapes that are all around them.
Subjects: Math

This simplified monaural stethoscope will allow students to hear the "lub-dub" of their heart a-pumpin' blood.
Subjects: Physical Science, Life Science

This activity gives pre-school age children an opportunity to explore rhythms using castanets, or clackers played with the hands. All people learn in different ways. This activity appeals to both auditory and tactile learners.
Subjects: Physical Science, Art

Use a "mini mountain" of ice to observe how lakes, rivers, streams, and ice caves are formed. Students can make observations of erosion and other patterns found in nature.
Subjects: Physical Science, Earth/Space Science

Explore images formed by a pinhole and a lens. See what the eye really "sees" - an inverted image!
Subjects: Physical Science, Life Science

In this dice game, students race to land on states, naming them to get points and win the game! This simple game provides an interactive way to learn or reinforce U.S. Political Geography, and it can be expanded or modified to suit the needs of teachers and students at many different levels.
Subjects: Social Studies

Students use their tactile sense and their problem solving skills to find a specific item - without being able to see what they are doing
Subjects: Physical Science, Language Arts

Students commonly think that heavy balls will always roll down a ramp faster than light ones! Explore this misconception by filling hollow balls with different substances and make surprising observations. Set inquiring minds to work to figure out what is going on!
Subjects: Physical Science

This very simple version of an infinity mirror is easy to make and illustrates the principle of the reflection of light.
Subjects: Physical Science

Money deposited in a savings account will earn interest and grow. Model the difference between two interest rates. Over time, does a small difference in interest rates really matter?
Subjects: Math

This visual demonstration illustrates how our concepts of "empty" and "full" are relative. It's all about perspective.
Subjects: Physical Science

A journal for self-examination and discovery
Subjects: Language Arts, Art

This quick to assemble greenhouse can help sprout seeds and grow small plants. A greenhouse traps warmed air but does not demonstrate the "Greenhouse Effect"!
Subjects: Life Science

Students create a journal out of reused materials, and then collect observations and reflect on their trash attitudes and actions.
Subjects: Earth/Space Science, Language Arts

This fun activity uses pony beads and string to create a beaded gecko. Although this might just seem like a fun craft, it is actually a lesson in following visual directions to create a 3-dimensional, patterned object from 2-dimensional instructions.
Subjects: Math, Art

Matter exists naturally on Earth in 3 phases: solid, liquid, and gas. These models help students visualize what is happening on the atomic or molecular level in each phase.
Subjects: Physical Science

This pair of simple-to-make kaleidoscopes is perfect for exploring symmetry, simple geometry, and the science of light and reflections.
Subjects: Physical Science, Math

Soap is such an everyday part of our lives that we tend to take it for granted. Most students do not know that the basic ingredients needed to make soap are fat (such as lard) and lye (the active ingredient in many drain cleaners). Because students are so familiar with it, teachers can use melt-and-pour soap as a springboard to help students learn about many academic concepts, such as physical properties and phase changes.
Subjects: Physical Science, Social Studies, Art

Build student curiosity about motion, the center of mass, and inertia with this fun activity! Use this activity as a staring point to discuss the characteristics of "life".
Subjects: Physical Science, Life Science

Games are wonderful ways to motivate students; they enjoy themselves and do not always realize that they are getting practice with skills like critical thinking and logic. This ancient island game, similar to checkers, is easy to learn, and fun to play for people of all ages.
Subjects: Math, Social Studies

Games are wonderful ways to motivate students; they enjoy themselves and do not always realize that they are getting practice with skills like critical thinking and logic. This ancient island game, similar to checkers, is easy to learn and fun to play for people of all ages.
Subjects: Math, Social Studies

This simplified version of an ancient braiding technique ties together art, history, and mathematical patterns in a fun activity suitable for all ages.
Subjects: Math, Social Studies, Art

Young learners will enjoy practicing different patterns with sewing cards and cord.
Subjects: Physical Science, Math

Primary learners can sort animals into 2 categories in this activity: those that live on the land and those that live in the water.
Subjects: Life Science

During a landslide or an avalanche, materials sort according to grain-size and density, creating layers. This activity models this sorting phenomenon using simple RAFT materials, including a CD jewel case and masking tape.
Subjects: Physical Science, Earth/Space Science

This activity is a creative way to introduce and enhance one-to-one correspondence leaving room for the teacher to build on future mathematics concepts.
Subjects: Math

Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants combine carbon dioxide, water, and solar energy to create sugars for support and for food, releasing oxygen as a by-product. This activity reveals the pigments in leaves that enable plants to harness the Sun's energy, and gives students valuable hands-on experience using a common laboratory technique.
Subjects: Physical Science, Life Science

Fill quilts with an equal number of colorful square patches. Any leftover patches are kept, and the winner is the player with the most leftovers at the end of the game!
Subjects: Math

Explore convex and concave lenses with these easy to "handle" and use plastic lenses.
Subjects: Physical Science