This interactive activity demonstrates the Electoral College to students from primary grades to middle school students, as well as students with special needs. Students create their own election with or without teacher assistance based on their questions regarding our most recent election in which one candidate won the popular vote and the other one won the election by winning the most electoral votes. The goal of this activity is to help students understand how this happened and why, as well as who created this system and when. An activity involving three rounds of voting to help students understand what happens when the votes in states with smaller populations are given the same weight as states with larger populations in the Electoral College, giving all states equal powers to choose the President. This activity can be individualized to address questions asked during inquiry. Or the activities can be used to create inquiry following each cycle of voting, or all of the questions can be asked at the end of all three voting cycles. Links to two videos explaining how the Electoral College works that can be used to help explain the process to middle students or gifted students in lower grades are also included. Hopefully, these activities will help students understand the confusion after our recent election about who won and why, as well as the importance of voting to have their voices heard.

Goal Students will be able to research facts about rabbits and compare fact with fiction, then use their creativity to create their own bunny stories or plays. Objectives 1. Students will learn that rabbits do not lay eggs, but give birth to living children 2. Students will learn how rabbits became part of Easter traditions. 3. Students will use information gathered to decide if they want to have a rabbit in the classroom. 4. Students will work together in groups to research the following information about caring for rabbits a. What is the best place to house a rabbit? b. What rabbits eat and how much? c. How to breed a bunny and care it's babies. 5. Students will use their creativity to act out or write stories about rabbits 6. Students will use cover illustrations of rabbit stories to create their own. 7. Students will browse the library for stories and/or books for more rabbit stories. The following video can be used to demonstrate how rabbits are born, but it may not be appropriate for some children. Use discretion. Watch "Rabbit giving birth-baby bunnies" on YouTubehttps://youtu.be/9ohMZF5C-i8

A Story is a Great Way to Engage Students. This story is an old one that was handed down through many generations, told usually while sitting on a front or back porch. The goal for this lesson is to allow students to discover the role language, math, history, science, and art have in storytelling and to get them to create their own stories using skills they learn in the classroom.

Goal: To facilitate understanding of solar energy and its uses and develop an appreciation on how animals depend on humans during cold weather, as well as undertaking an engineering project and conducting an informal scientific study Objectives: 1. Students will learn how to use passive solar energy to melt ice in a bird bath so the birds can have a water source for drinking during the winter 2. Students will create the schematics to use in constructing a passive solar bird bath with assistance and/or guidance from an adult expert. 3. Students will use the schematics to build the passive solar bird bath with expery adult assistance. 4. Students will install the passive solar bird bath with expert adult assistance and present the project to parents, peers, and school staff. 5. Students will conduct and present the results of an informal scientific study. This unit project can be used at any grade level; however, the informal scentific study should be conducted by older children and gifted students Younger children and students with special needs can learn to observe and count/record data with teacher assistance.

Goal: This unit teaches students in grades K-1 (2-4 remedial) about ones, tens, hundreds, etc. Objectives: 1. Students will understand that ten pennies are equal to one dime or ten cents. 2. Students will make and defend choices regarding spending and saving. 3. Students will generalize the relationship between pennies and dimes to that between dimes and dollars, pennies and nickels, and nickels and dollars. 4. Student inquiry questions and discussion will be used to determine student understanding and need for individualized instruction when applicable. 5. Students' knowledge will be assessed before and after activities using open-ended questions and friendly debates. (NOTE: GRADES 2-4, use dimes and dollars)

This history unit follows Harris Stone's advice and takes students on virtual tours of national landmarks and attractions, provoking curiosity and inspiring students to learn the history of each architectural site. From the website: Virtual Tour of 15 Historic Places: Take a Virtual Tour of Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg – Take a virtual tour of Colonial Williamsburg. Select a location on the map to read a description, watch a video, see a timeline, or look at pictures. Additionally, various teacher resources, such as lesson plans and pre-visit activities, are available to enhance your class’s learning experience. Gettysburg – Take an interactive battlefield tour of Gettysburg. View 21 battlefield panoramas! Mount Vernon Mansion – Take a virtual tour of the estate of Mount Vernon. Not only will you experience 360 degree views of each room, but you can also select objects in the room to learn more of their history. White House – Take an interactive tour inside the White House. Select rooms to view pictures and descriptions. You can also explore the White House at home by watching the Inside the White House video series or the Google Art project. Take a virtual tour of the Supreme Court Take a virtual tour of the Supreme Court Supreme Court Building – Stand on First Street in front of the Supreme Court Building. Select statues or the portico frieze to view details and learn of their symbolism. Take virtual tours the Great Room, the courtroom, and see the chambers of the Justices. Library of Congress– View photos of the Thomas Jefferson building and details of the interior and exterior. Descriptions accompany each photograph for further information. United States Botanic Garden – Tour the United States Botanic Garden before you visit Washington D.C. Explore 360 degree views of 9 locations at the botanic garden, including the jungle, orchid, and desert rooms. It’s feels like you are there! Smithsonian Museum of Natural History – View panoramas inside the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Take virtual tours room-by-room of the whole museum. United States Mint – This slideshow of the coin-making process provides an overview of how the United States designs and manufactures coins. Facilities in Philadelphia and Denver are featured. The Kennedy Center – Get a glimpse of the awe of the Kennedy Center on this virtual tour. Descriptions are included for each room and terrace. Freedom in America – A partnership between the National Park Foundation and Ball State University, Freedom in America is an electronic field trip where students and teachers can explore the American search for freedom. Meet characters throughout history as you play a virtual board game and watch interactive webisodes. The site is divided into a student and teacher sections.

As part of the U.S. government's commitment to Let Girls Learn, First Lady Michelle Obama and the Peace Corps have formed a powerful collaboration to expand access to education for adolescent girls around the world. Educating girls is essential to healthy and thriving communities but, globally, 62 million girls are not in school, and barriers to adolescent girls completing school are particularly significant. In some countries, fewer than 10% of teenage girls complete secondary school. This programme will address that challenge by empowering local leaders to put lasting solutions in place. Peace Corps Volunteers who live and work at the grassroots level will serve as catalysts of community-led change, and every American can get involved and make a difference. https://letgirlslearn.peacecorps.gov/ FOR SCHOOLS FOR GIRLS AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES SPECIFICALLY FOR GIRLS Let Girls Learn STEM: Technology From Ancient Technology to the Technology of the Future Goal: Students will learn that technologies have been developed throughout history and that ancient technologies influenced present ones Objective: Students will learn about ancient technologies, how they created present technologies, the impact of technology on humans and how we live, and develop their own 22nd century technology design and prototype. This lesson is for students in middle grades and students with learning disabilities in higher grades. Outcomes: 1. Students will understand how ancient technologies influence present technologies 2. Students will identify modern technologies that developed from ancient ones. 3. Students will design and create an artefact of a future technology.

As part of the U.S. government's commitment to Let Girls Learn, First Lady Michelle Obama and the Peace Corps have formed a powerful collaboration to expand access to education for adolescent girls around the world. Educating girls is essential to healthy and thriving communities but, globally, 62 million girls are not in school, and barriers to adolescent girls completing school are particularly significant. In some countries, fewer than 10% of teenage girls complete secondary school. This programme will address that challenge by empowering local leaders to put lasting solutions in place. Peace Corps Volunteers who live and work at the grassroots level will serve as catalysts of community-led change, and everyone can get involved and make a difference. https://letgirlslearn.peacecorps.gov/ FOR SCHOOLS FOR GIRLS AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES SPECIFICALLY FOR GIRLS Let Girls Learn STEM: Elementary Science States of Matter: This science lesson is for young students and older students with learning disabilities. Ice, Water, and Steam Goal: Students will learn about the states of matter through observation and engagement. Objective: Students will physically interact with matter at three different states - solid, liquid, and gas - by identifying snow or ice as a solid, water from melted snow or ice as a liquid, and steam from melted snow or ice as a gas. Outcomes: 1. Student provide information to create a concept map on a white board or other display area showing the three states of matter, using the students’ pictures and/or photographs, and images from the video. 2. Students work collaboratively in small groups or pairs using their collective pictures/photos showing the states of matter to create a “states of matter” timeline. 3. Students make their own picture or video books referring to the concept map and their group discussion timeline.

Language, Science, Math, and Art Plus Any Other Subjects That Can Be Added to This Fun Unit to Start the School Year Introducing Specific Skills, Collaborating with Peers, Investigating and Researching Online, and Including Family in Creating an Artifact for Display Students will learn how to investigate a topic that involves multiple subject areas and gain understanding about the topic and how the various subjects covered relate to each other.

This science project for students interested in particle physics, specifically the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN Laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland, can be investigated by one student or a group of independent learners and/or students who need support from expert peers. Although it is an ELA lesson that includes constructing an argument within a formal letter, this is primarily a science project using technology-based learning tools. Teachers' roles are as facilitators and resources of information, but mainly to provide assistance with writing the letters, the major artifact of this project. Letters should present and support an argument, in alignment with CCSS. They should also follow the protocols for well-written formal letters.

Goal: To help students compare and contrast political personas and positions and recognize media bias Objectives: 1. Students will observe memes of political figures giving opposite views on the same age and being portrayed positively and negatively in the media. 2. Students will answer open-ended questions requiring critical thinking to discuss the differing opinions and images as shown in the media of known political figures. 3. Students will address a point of view attributed to one of two political figures and research ctedible sources to expand on the statement or opinion. Grades 5-7 recommended, also gifted 3-4, special needs High School

Goal: To give students an historical view of the food pyramid and it's effect on the eating habits of Americans at home and at school Objectives: 1. Students will study the history of the food pyramid and how it has changed. 2. Students will investigate how the food pyramid is used to promote good nutrition in school lunches and meals at home and elsewhere and how food is part of culture. 3. Students will create their own "healthy food" posters based on eating foods from outdoor markets, fast food, food trucks, restaurants, taco stands, vending machines, bakeries, vegan eateries, etc. 4. Students will contribute to a healthy snack food pyramid for their classroom. 5. Students will compare and contrast the traditional food pyramid with the recent "my plate." 6. Students will create a food pyramid for fictitious and real foods featured in a popular movie. 7. Students will create a new concept for a food chart and create a graphic of it as an ad promoting their new and improved food chart with a catchy name, 21st century "app" logo, with hypothetical nutritional information for each for food item, as well as recipes and suggestions for complimentary foods.

Goal: To engage students with snow and other powdery media as artists Objectives: 1. Students will learn to use powdery substances like snow as an art medium. 2. Students will preserve their snow art and use it for decorative effects. 3. Students will show off photographs of their work in a gallery showing. All images are from Google Images

WARM-U.P.S. Warm (Us with Portable Shelter) Goal: To make students aware that not all people have warm clothes for the winter and how they can address this need Objectives: 1. Students will become aware of the lack of warm for clothing people living on the street. 2. Students will address this need through a class project after seeing how some people are addressing it. All images are from Google Images

This Language Arts lesson provides students to 'compare and contrast' individual experiences at a Chili's Restaurant using various parts of speech, Students would then 'compare and contast" the experience two police officers had at a Chili's Restaurant in Kansas City, Kansas, to the experience a disabled vet had at a Chili's Restaurant in Dallas, Texas. Emphasize that the negative experience received more media coverage than the positive one. A good follow up to this Language Arts lesson might be to go to lunch at a nearby Chili's Restaurant with parents and see how many parts of speech could be used to describe the ambience, food, and service.

THE ONGOING DEBATE ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF THE FIRST DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR THE UNION SOLDIERS THAT GAVE THEIR LIVES TO PRESERVE THE UNION AND END SLAVERY http://usslave.blogspot.com/2011/05/slaves-started-memorial-day.html DISCUSSION FOR K-2 Explain why the compelling question is important to the student. Read the article to students in K-2, then have them listen to some of the songs mentioned while marching as if they are in a parade. Have them use inquiry to understand the article. DISCUSSION FOR 3-6 Explain why compelling questions are important. Instruct students in grades 3-5 to read the article in pairs and allow time for them to ask inquiry questions to further understanding. Use open-ended questions to assess students. *Use the article to make your own plan for celebrating Memorial Day or reenact the first Students in Grades 7-12 will research two articles that supports one of two debate topics, prepare for debate by developing questioD1.1.3-5. Explain why compelling questions are important ns and prepare arguments, and participate in the debate. COMMON CORE STANDARDS: D1.1.K-2. Explain why the compelling question is important to the student. D1.1.3-5. Explain why compelling questions are important D1.1.6-8/D1.1.9-12. Explain how a question represents key ideas in the field.

After watching the History Channel video about Christopher Columbus, have students watch the following video and discuss the similarities and differences in the two videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF_unlvjccA Link to Columbus Day Resource: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/10/11/why-is-columbus-day-still-a-u-s-federal-holiday/?utm_term=.96db7274ccc2

This unit lesson will lessen the difficulty students with special needs have learning about and understanding history. By researching family history, students with special needs will realize that history delves in the past and that everyone has a history that can be passed down to families, friends, and historians. The goals and objectives provide teachers with an outline of this approach. The suggested activities, starting with each student investigating the history of someone in his/her family which will be displayed and presented by the student to the class. This will provide a foundation from which to explore historical events by having each student identify any event in the local, state, national, or world history their relative might have witnessed or with which s/he was involved. The teacher then arranges these historic events into a timeline to acquaint the students with how to research and display historical events.

After watching dozens of adults totally miss the English contribution to this simple little game, I thought this would be a great way to teach students how to recognize the difference between what words describe and what numbers calculate. Toward that end, I created an exercise to show how “English vs Mathematics” solves the puzzle within this game. I’ve also listed activities that can be used at each grade level from PreSchool to grade eight to help students make the distinction between language usage and mathematical language using manipulatables in the lower grades, as well as more intellectual ideas about the differences in language and mathematics which they all unknowingly use every day (another resource to come).