Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Disappearing Honeybees: Tracking Honeybee Decline

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students practice graphing and other math skills to track number of honeybee colonies present in United States since 1978, discuss major crops that are dependent on insect pollinators, and examine reasons for decline of United States...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Graze Like a Cow

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore how a cow digests the grass they eat. In this science/math lesson plan, students compare the quality of forage. Additionally, students determine the effects of rangeland health on the production.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sizing Up the Supersize Croc

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine and compare traits of humans and crocodiles.  In this crocodile lesson plan students use a ratio to estimate the height of a person and compare that to a crocodile. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Getting to the Point

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students determine location by using the technique of triangulation. They imagine that they are out in the wilderness and have come to the top of a ridge. How can one identify the ridge on the topo map? How can one figure out where you...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sounds Good to Me

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students determine density and hardness of wood samples based on several investigations. In this physical science and music lesson, students visit four centers and perform tests on wood samples to determine densities and hardnesses. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Quilt Squared

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students study West Virginia quilts. In this mathematics lesson, students use symmetry, geometric shapes, and patterns to create their own quilt square.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Amazing Tomato

For Teachers 3rd - 11th
Learners gain an understanding of where our food comes from. In this plant life lesson, students review what plants need for growth and how long it takes them to grow. Learners research which plants it takes to make salsa. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Climate Change

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students compare weather data and draw conclusions. For this climate change lesson plan, students determine whether data collected over a period of ninety years shows a warming trend. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sea Ice: Unscrambling the Egg Code

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students determine sea ice thickness, concentration, and floe size by reading egg codes.  In this sea ice conditions lesson, students color code a map based on prescribed criteria and use the maps to identify changes in sea ice...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ant Farm

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore the value of insects in the natural world. In this insect lesson, students examine species of insects, collect and record data, and analyze the data.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Excel temperature Graphs

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students gather data about the weather in Nome, Alaska. For this Nome Temperature lesson, students create an excel graph to explore the weather trends in Nome.  Students will find the average weather and add a trend line to their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hurricanes and Tornadoes (Grade 4-8)

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students investigate the concepts of hurricanes and violent weather conditions. For this violent weather lesson, students access an Internet site and watch a video about how air masses behave, how a tornado forms, how hurricanes form,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Maple Syrup Production

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Young scholars make their own maple sugar and learn about how it is made on a grander scale. In this maple sugar lesson plan, students make their own maple sugar and learn about evaporation and what labor is put into making it.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Oceans Affect Climate

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students draw conclusions about how the ocean affects temperature. In this weather lesson plan, students use the Internet to gather data to help them come to a conclusion about how the climate in a certain region is directly affected by...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Origami Flight: The Physical Setting

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders investigate the forces that move certain objects.  In this physics lesson, 6th graders design and create paper flying objects using origami methods, which they practice flying in different conditions.  Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Greenhouse Effect: Pop Bottle Experiment

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students explore global warming by conducting a weather experiment. In this greenhouse gas lesson, students define the greenhouse effect and the impact on our ozone layer. Students utilize a soda pop bottle, floodlight bulb, thermometers...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Relative Ratios

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners discover that proportions are made up of equal ratios each containing the same building blocks. They, using the Internet, apply their knowledge of direct relationships and proportions to problems in planetary science.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Layers of the Earth: Plate Tectonics

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders participate in a instructional activity that is about investigating the different layers of the earth and defining how the plates move over the mantle. They engage in a variety of activities and use mathematics to create...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Nanofiber Chocolate Factory: An Analogy

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate Nanotechnology. In this physic's lesson plan, students evaluate a hands-on model made from chocolate syrup and pretzels to determine the advantages of size.  Students weigh chocolate syrup to determine it's...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Global Warming Statistics

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students research and collect data regarding temperature changes for a specific location and find the mean, median, and mode for their data. In this climate change lesson, students choose a location to research and collect data regarding...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Prairie Food Chains & Webs

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students complete a food chain. In this ecosystem lesson, students learn about producers, consumers and decomposers. Students identify herbivores, carnivores and omnivores and complete two worksheets.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Our City's Temperature

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers use a thermometer to record temperatures from their homes throughout the city, and then hypothesize reasons for the temperature variations. They use a weather graph worksheet that's imbedded in this lesson to orgainize...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creek Detectives WISE On-line Research Community

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students investigate ways people cause harm to the environment. In this environmental lesson, students explore a case study on the Internet. Students explore all of the online activities and collect data for a presentation.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Temperature High and Lows

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students gather high and low temperature readings through email. In this temperature graphing lesson, students use a spreadsheet to input data for a graph. students interpret the graphs to compare and contrast the data from different...