EngageNY
Final Performance Task: Sharing Visual Representations of Position Papers
Let's take a stroll! Scholars go on a gallery walk to view the visual representations for the performance task created by the class. They then view a variety of books about environment and sustainability and conduct book talks on the...
American Physiological Society
Drug the Water Flea
This is a flea. This is a flea on drugs. Any questions? Your class will have questions aplenty during an impactful experiment. Lab groups get to know Daphnia magna, the humble water flea, and study the effects of stimulants and...
Smithsonian Institution
A Ticket to Philly—In 1769: Thinking about Cities, Then and Now
While cities had only a small fraction of the population in colonial America, they played a significant role in pre-revolutionary years, and this was certainly true for the largest city in the North American colonies: Philadelphia. Your...
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Teachers' Guide to Using A Day In the Life of a Drop
Hydrology hopefuls learn about their local watershed. Through discussion and online interactives, they see that their habits affect the water supply. The lesson concludes with a pledge to filter out bad water usage habits. It makes a...
WindWise Education
What Factors Influence Offshore Wind?
What is that out in the water on the horizon? Teams work together to study the coastline using maps to determine the best and worst locations to place an offshore wind farm. The teams then build a scale model wind farm to see what it...
Science Matters
That’s An Otter Story
Young scientists discover how sea otters' habitats have changed due to human impact. Through conversation, video observation, and story reading, scholars identify how human interactions change a specific ecosystem in both positive and...
Royal Society of Chemistry
Green Plastics—Chemistry Outreach
How do green plastics reduce waste and environmental pollution? Budding scientists create and test a variety of compounds used in green plastics during an insightful experiment. Beginning with startling statistics and ending with...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Human Impacts on Biodiversity
Have you always wanted to take your science class on an amazing field trip they will never forget? Now you can! Observe the wildlife in an African savanna through trail cameras with a five-part data analysis activity. Learners analyze...
GeorgiaStandards.org
Using Connecting Themes in First Grade Social Studies
Foster contributing members of society with a social studies unit focused on five aspects of community. First graders discuss themes of culture, groups, location, scarcity, and change with discussion questions and activities about...
Kenan Fellows
Electricity: Sources, Usage, Challenges, and the Future
What does the future of energy look like? Junior engineers collaborate to discover a solution to the global energy crisis during a very hands-on lesson. The unit focuses on learning through collaboration to develop a deep understanding...
Missouri Department of Elementary
STAR Deputies
Scholars become STAR deputies in a lesson that encourages them to be problem-solvers. Small groups gather to complete a worksheet by answering questions. A discussion presents a scenario in which a problem occurs on the playground. Small...
Carnegie Mellon University
How Power Plants Work 1
First of three lessons, this is a great start to a unit on energy. As you demonstrate, learners discover different types of energy and how it is converted from one form to another. They then focus in on the generation of electricity by...
Curated OER
Hey - It's a Rainy Forest Out There!
Elementary schoolers take part in a very good lesson which has them watch video, conduct experiments, complete hands-on activities, and work in cooperative groups. The educationally-rich activities are clearly-explained, and the group...
Curated OER
The Zabbaleen, Cairo's Garbage Workers
Here is a fascinating human geography study of the Zabbaleen. They are a sub-class of people who work as garbage collectors in Cairo, Egypt. I can't say enough good things about this resource in my limited space here. It is fabulous! If...
Curated OER
Fossil Fuels (Part I), The Geology of Oil
Junior geologists work through three mini-lessons that familiarize them with the formation and location of fossil fuels. Part one involves reading about petroleum and where it comes from via a thorough set of handouts. A lab activity...
Curated OER
Suited for Space
A fantastic lesson on survival in outer space should excite your learners! Pupils explore the challenges that living, working, and surviving in space elicit. They focus on the spacesuit itself; how it protects astronauts, and enables...
Curated OER
Assessing Research Materials
Teaching learners how to evaluate a research source is an important part of the research process. The fresh idea here is that groups first develop a list of reasons why resources should be evaluated, transform these reasons into...
California Academy of Science
Greening Your Middle School
Middle schoolers redesign their school to make it more energy efficient, and create a model of their design. Learners get together in groups of 5, and they take on the task of making their school more energy efficient. To do this, they...
Rural Science Education Program
Cells, Genetics, and Biotechnology
For scholars tired of reading the textbook, this unit includes nine hands-on lessons. Through group work, lab activities, experiments, and even one inquiry-based lesson, scholars apply knowledge about cells, genetics, and biotechnology....
SeaWorld
Marvelous Manatees
Here is an interesting lesson on the manatee for your upper graders or middle schoolers. A game is played where learners work together to complete a successful manatee migration. It's a board game, and all of the game components are...
Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc.
Schedules and Routines: Grade 1
It doesn't matter if you're a new teacher trying to set up your classroom for the first time or a veteran teacher looking for new ideas to freshen up your teaching, this resource has something to offer everyone. After providing a general...
Core Knowledge Foundation
The Civil War
A unit covers many aspects of the Civil War. Over six weeks, fifth graders delve deep into the history of slavery, the Civil War—before, during, and after—Abraham Lincoln, women's contributions, the Emancipation Proclamation, and...
Curated OER
Using Environmental Models to Determine the Effect of Acid Rain on an Ecosystem
Demonstrate to your middle school science learners how chalk breaks down in a weak acid. Discuss what affects acidic rain might have on ecosystems. Lab groups then choose one of two questions: "How does acid precipitation affect an...
Smithsonian Institution
Who's in Camp?
Pupils complete readings, a group activity using cards, and a writing activity to better understand people's lives during the American Revolution. The resource emphasizes people such as the militiamen, women, officers, and children,...