Curated OER
Paper Structures
Students demonstrate that material strength varies with shape and arrangement.
Curated OER
Energy Defined
Fourth graders complete activities to study the sources of energy and forms. In this energy lesson, 4th graders discuss the origin of energy and define it. Students participate in several experiments to further study energy including a...
Curated OER
Blast's Cosmic Carnival
Learners, after analyzing the history of a concentrator, model how a Genesis spacecraft concentrator works by playing a game. In groups of three or four, after being given materials to work with, are challenged to roll the rubber balls...
Curated OER
Learning About Our Five Senses
Learners study the sense of touch and various degrees of heat. They design a model that displays how the human hand reacts to heat using a touch sensor.
Curated OER
Optical Illusion Machine
Students explore optical illusions. Using Legos, they construct and motorize a machine that has an axle that's geared up and geared down, complete a worksheet, and answer discussion questions.
Curated OER
Can You Make A Penny Float?
Students explore the concept of density by trying to make a penny and other materials float.
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Away You Go
Students build Lego cars which have two different types of tire surfaces. They roll them down ramps that have both rough and smooth surfaces to determine how friction affects the car as it rolls.
Curated OER
Parachute - Land and Weather
Students use different parachute activities to study weather and land patterns and formations. Tornados and hurricanes can be discussed as students make large waves (move from very high to very low) that mimmick these two weather...
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Seashore Limitations
Students demonstrate the movements and behaviors of creatures from different parts of the ocean.
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Life of Thomas Edison
Students research the life of Thomas Edison. In this Thomas Edison lesson, students explore major life events of Thomas Edison. Students investigate the inventions of Thomas Edison. Students discover how various fields of study interact...
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What's it Like Inside the Sun?
Students perform experiment in which they model convection as it occurs in our Sun. They also explain that convection acts where the effect of gravity and heat are present (low density fluids can rise and cool, and high density fluids...
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Food Webs
Fourth graders discover how organisms depend upon each other in an ecosystem. In this ecosystems activity, 4th graders use food webs to discuss the interdependence between organisms in an ecosystem.
NASA
Pop! Rockets
Off they go — launching rockets is fun. The lesson plan contains templates to build paper rockets that can be launched from a PVC pipe launcher. Individuals or groups build the rockets and determine the shapes for their fins. Included...
NASA
Foam Rocket
When going for distance, does it make a difference at what angle you launch the rocket? Teams of three launch foam rockets, varying the launch angle and determining how far they flew. After conducting the series of flights three times,...
NASA
Launch Altitude Tracker
Using PVC pipe and aquarium tubing, build an altitude tracker. Pupils then use the altitude tracker, along with a tangent table, to calculate the altitude of a launched rocket using the included data collection sheet.
NASA
Rocket Wind Tunnel
Using a teacher-built wind tunnel constructed from a paper concrete tube form, a fan, and a balance, individuals determine the amount of drag their rocket design will experience in flight. Pupils make modifications to increase the...
Curated OER
Principles of Flight: Flying Paper Airplanes
Young scholars investigate ways to enhance an object's flying ability. In this model construction lesson, students construct two paper airplanes, one of which is twice as big as the first. Young scholars compare and contrast the two...
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Air and Water Pressure
Students examine buoyancy and fluid pressure. They conduct a series of fun experiments to discover the effects of pressure and explore how pressure differences can be used to float, lift, transport, or hold a material in place.
Curated OER
Aqua-Thrusters!
Students construct their own rocket-powered boat called an "aqua-thruster." These aqua-thrusters will be made from a film canister and will use carbon dioxide gas - produced from a chemical reaction between an antacid tablet and water -...
PBS
Invisible Force
Investigate invisible forces. Young engineers design a setup that changes the direction of a steel ball using a magnetic force. The purpose of the setup is to model the gravitational pull of spacecraft by planetary bodies.
Curated OER
Sled Kite
Students make and fly a sled kite out of plastic garbage bags, dowel rods, and more. For this kite lesson plan, students plan the kite to have symmetry and make adjustments as they test it.
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A Tour of the Solar System
Students construct a spacecraft out of Lego blocks and other materials. They work on their models in small groups while building. They become familar with the planets while working cooperatively.
Curated OER
The Paper Dutch Kite
Young scholars construct a Dutch Kite using simple materials. In this math lesson plan, students measure kite dimensions according to specified instructions. They also describe and define the different parts of a kite.
Curated OER
Watch It Slide!
Students work together to examine inclined planes. They create a plan to raise rocks to build pyramids. They discover the changes that occur when the angle is increased or decreased.