Center for Learning in Action
Investigating Physical and Chemical Changes
Super scientists visit ten stations to predict, observe, and draw conclusions about the physical and chemical changes that occur when different states of matter—liquid, solid, and gas—are placed under a variety of conditions. To...
Center for Learning in Action
Introducing Physical and Chemical Changes
Young scientists investigate chemical and physical changes to the states of matter—gas, liquid, and solid—as well as solutions and suspensions with a variety of demonstrations, grand conversation, and an interactive quiz to check for...
Agriculture in the Classroom
Six Kinds Do It All
Teach young engineers that all machines, no matter how complicated or complex, are made up of just six simple devices with this hands-on physical science lesson. Using the included templates, students first create paper models of...
Discovery Education
The Everyday Science of Sports
Physical science juniors will enjoy this sensational enrichment on aerodynamics, especially if they are also sports fans! With a focus on physical features and behaviors, collaborative groups make observations on five different golf...
Colorado Unit Writing Project
Simple Machines
Planning an elementary science unit has never been simpler! These twelve lessons guide young scientists through an exploration of simple machines and their many uses in the real world before asking them to apply their learning in the...
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Amazing Birds
What's so amazing about birds? Find out just how amazing birds are with a physics of animal behavior unit created by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Have learners explore and tap into their observational skills and notice how birds fly, what...
Newspaper Association of America
Cereal Bowl Science and Other Investigations with the Newspaper
What do cereal, fog, and space shuttles have to do with newspapers? A collection of science investigations encourage critical thinking using connections to the various parts of the newspaper. Activities range from building origami seed...
Curated OER
Physical Science: Festival of Bubbles
Investigate bubbles through the use of scientific inquiry. Pupils blow bubbles using several methods and measure the resulting bubble print. Measurements are recorded on a data table and transferred to a bar graph. Results are discussed...
Curated OER
Physical Science- Sink or Float?
Learners investigate which objects sink and which ones float. Learners engage in an experiment, make predictions, and record results on a graphic organizer. This is a comprehensive and easy to follow resource.
Curated OER
Introduction to Physical Science
Learners discuss Newton's laws of motion. In this motion lesson, students watch a video that explains Newton's laws. They play a marble game and watch for laws of motion and force.
Nevada Outdoor School
Let It Snow! Let It Melt!
Winter weather offers a great opportunity to teach young scientists about the states of matter. This activity-based lesson includes a range of learning experiences, from experimenting with the rate at which ice melts to singing a song...
Curated OER
Physical Changes Pre-Quiz
Quiz the class on what they know before you teach it. This assessment will give you an idea of what basic scientific concepts are known to your learners. Physical change, state of matter, and basic plant and animal needs are covered.
Chicago Children's Museum
Simple Machines: Force and Motion
Get things moving with this elementary science unit on simple machines. Through a series of nine lessons including teacher demonstrations, hands-on activities, and science experiments, young scientists learn about forces, motion, and...
Smithsonian Institution
Water/Ways: The Poetry of Science
Water is the source of life. It appears in poetry in both peaceful and torrential descriptions; it appears in earth science in its liquid, gaseous, and solid states. Combine these interpretations of our planet's most precious and...
Curated OER
Water and Ice
Students explore water and ice. In this physical science lesson, students participate in a science inquiry and observe the characteristics of ice and water. Students compare the differences between a solid and liquid and record their...
Center for Learning in Action
Introduction to the States of Matter
Liquids, gases, and solids are the states of matter in which scholars investigate in a lesson plan that offers in-depth information and engaging activities that look into the three states and the changes their properties make when mixed...
Center for Learning in Action
Water – Changing States (Part 2)
Here is part two of a two-part lesson in which scholars investigate the changing states of water—liquid, solid, and gas—and how energy from heat changes its molecules. With grand conversation, two demonstrations, and one hands-on...
Curated OER
Sounds like Science
Second graders create sound effects to produce a radio drama. In this sound instructional activity, 2nd graders read a book and provide the sound effects to transform it into a radio drama. They discuss sound and the shape of sound waves...
Curated OER
Rock On! Featuring the Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic Trio!
Get your classroom rocking with this four-lesson earth science unit. Through a series of shared reading activities and hands-on investigations, young geologists learn about the three types of rocks and the unique properties of each.
BBC
Rivers - Lesson Plan for Use Online
Here is a very nice lesson on rivers and the water cycle designed for young learners. In it, pupils view two animated cartoons that do a terrific job of showing how the water cycle works, and how rivers flow. After that, everyone answers...
Exploratorium
Bubble Tray
Create jumbo bubbles and use them to teach about surface tension or interference, perfect for a physical science lesson on light or molecular attraction.
Curated OER
Water 1: Water and Ice
Learners explore the states of water. In this science lesson plan, students use observation, measurement, and communication skills to describe water as it changes from a solid to a liquid.
Michigan State University
Gases Matter
Young scientists learn that seeing isn't necessarily believing when it comes to the states of matter. After performing a fun class demonstration that models the difference between solids, liquids, and gases, children complete a series of...
Curated OER
Related Lessons Animal
Learners examine the extinction of dinosaurs. In this dinosaur lesson plan students create their own dinosaur eggs, get into groups and complete a diorama activity.