Curated OER
Questioning NASA
Space science and math collide in this inquiry that investigates launching times for antacid-tablet rockets! Upper elementary or middle school learners collect data as they launch these mini rockets. They apply concepts of place value...
Discovery Education
Fuss About Dust
Dust is everywhere around us; it's unavoidable. But what exactly is dust and are certain locations dustier than others? These are the questions students try to answer in an interesting scientific investigation. Working independently or...
Sea World
Marine Animal Husbandry and Training
Step into the role of a zoo director with several activities about animal training and running a zoo. Kids calculate the amount of food each animal needs, design a habitat for penguins, decide how to breed bottlenose dolphins, and train...
Achieve
False Positives
The test may say you have cancer, but sometimes the test is wrong. The provided task asks learners to analyze cancer statistics for a fictitious town. Given the rate of false positives, they interpret the meaning of this value in the...
Curated OER
How Big is the Playground: Creating a Map
Students create a topographical map of an area outside of the school. In this mapping activity, students compile data on angles, distances, and key landmarks for a predetermined area on the school grounds to create a map using Geometer's...
Curated OER
How Big Is The Playground?
Students calculate the standard and metric measurements of a playground. In this measurement lesson, students use GPS coordinates and graphing calculators to determine the dimensions of an area outside of the school in both standard and...
Education World
Predicting Pumpkins
If you want more pumpkin seeds, you should get a bigger pumpkin—right? Young harvesters use estimation skills to make a hypothesis about how many seeds they will find in a pumpkin before examining the real number inside.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Comparing Fuel Economy
Compute fuel economy and gas mileage. Why? So you can teach rates and ratios, of course! Middle schoolers calculate the rate of miles per gallon for various vehicles. They research each vehicle, its mileage per gallon, and cost per...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Dog Gone Again!
Here is a real-life lesson plan! Learners must plan the dimensions of a rectangular fence to reign in a runaway dog. They survey what shape and size fence is needed and use formulas to find perimeter and area of the fence. They explore...
Curated OER
Take a Stab!
Your geology class practices taking core samples of a potato to examine the stratigraphy. This is a terrific modeling lesson that helps youngsters visualize strata that cannot be seen from the surface of the ground. The directions...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Polygons-Changing Area Versus Changing Perimeter
Investigate the area and perimeter of polygons in this geometry lesson. Young geometers use grid paper to draw a quadrilateral and calculate its area and perimeter. They also read The Greedy Triangle to identify the changing shape of...
Curated OER
Grading Khan Academy
Who is Salman Khan? That is the first question learners will answer after reading a New York Times article about the online math and science educator. They'll read the article and respond to eight questions that ask, who, what, when,...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Human Slope
Middle and high schoolers explore the concept of slope. In this slope lesson, learners graph lines using a life-size graph. They use chalk on a blacktop to create a coordinate plane and use each other as the tick marks on the grid....
Computer Science Unplugged
Lightest and Heaviest—Sorting Algorithms
How do computers sort data lists? Using eight unknown weights and a balance scale, groups determine the order of the weights from lightest to heaviest. A second worksheet provides the groups with other methods to order the weights. The...
Beyond Benign
Ecological Footprint
How does your lifestyle measure up in terms of your ecological footprint? Young ecologists examine their impact on the planet using an insightful online calculator. A short quiz asks users to rank the size of their homes, their energy...
Discovery Education
Weathering Cubes
Weathering is not necessarily a result of the weather. Scholars conduct an experiment to explore the effect of surface area and volume on the weathering process. They create their own sugar cube rocks using the same number of cubes—but...
Bowland
Sundials!
Time to learn about sundials. Scholars see how to build sundials after learning about Earth's rotation and its relation to time. The unit describes several different types of possible sundials, so choose the one that fits your needs — or...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
What van Leeuwenhoek Saw
When van Leeuwenhoek saw cells and single-celled organisms for the first time, he knew these small things were a big deal! Share his discoveries with young learners through a narrated video, model-building activity, and scale study....
Curated OER
Respiratory, Circulatory, and Urogenital Systems in the Rat
Here is a lesson which describes a lab activity in which a rat is dissected, and its heart is studied. The lesson has ample background information about three of the rats internal systems, and excellent lab sheets that support the...
Curated OER
Density
Students determine the density of different substances. In this physical science activity, students rank them according to their density. They discover the relationship between volume and density.
Curated OER
Teaching Measurement Through Science
Use these lesson plans to give your students real world practice with measuring distance, mass, and volume.
Curated OER
The Bouncing Ball
Students use the scientific method to conduct an experiment to test how a ball bounces. In this inquiry-based physical science and scientific method activity, students drop a ball from specified heights and record the rebound, then...
Curated OER
Follow the Falling Meteorite
Middle schoolers use triangulation method to locate meteorite landing site on the map. In this earth science instructional activity, students participate in a meteorite treasure hunt set up by the teacher. They explain how this method is...
Curated OER
Mathematics at the Frontier of Astronomy
Young scholars explore the different types of measurements used in astronomy. In this space science lesson, students explain the relationship between planets' orbits and distance from the sun using Kepler's Laws. They discuss how math...