Life as we know it would not be possible without electric transformers, so there are fewer more pertinent topics for your eager young engineers. An astounding amount of background information is provided to help you develop a lecture on...

Get your hands on electricity. Pupils investigate magnetic fields and make the connection to generators in the fourth lesson in a series of six lessons on wind versus solar energy. Learners use a small electric motor as a generator to...

Transform your class' understanding of genes and antibiotic resistance with the Transformation Lab. Junior geneticists create and observe their own resistant strains of E. coli through research, discussion, and experimentation. The...

These are four classic activities used for instructing upper elementary electricians. The first involves experimenting with the Van de Graaff generator. The second is a series of hands-on experiences with static. In the third activity,...

By rolling marbles down a six-foot length of track, physical scientists determine how much energy is lost to heat. It is recommended that you opt for the foam pipe insulation track because more friction slows the marble, allowing...

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...

"Now is the summer of our happiness/Made winter by this sudden, fierce attack!" Luke Skywalker meets Hamlet in a 10-lesson unit based on Ian Doescher's William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, a New Hope. Using Star Wars® as source...

Teacher's notes, a materials list, detailed procedure, tips, and extension ideas are all included to make teaching this lesson on photovoltaic cells a sunny spot in your day! After some brief background reading, physical science...

Magnets don't grow in fields, but magnetic fields are important to understand. The lesson covers the effect electricity has on magnetic fields. Scholars use a compass, magnets, and electrical wire to test magnetic fields and energy...

Environmentally friendly engineering teams construct a water wheel and experiment with its speed and the resulting amount of weight it can lift. Consider following this activity with two more of the same title by the same publisher when...

A well-developed lab sheet guides physical science learners through an investigation of kinetic and potential energy. In small groups, collaborators discover whether or not the ramp height or mass of an object has an effect on the...

Win-lose? Lose-lose? or Win-win? The activities and games in the fifth lesson in the Resolving Conflicts module teach middle schoolers how they might use their problem-solving skills to transform a conflict into a win-win solution.

Young hydrologists observe a waterwheel which helps them investigate the transformations of energy that occur when the blades of a hydro-turbine are turning. They work together in pairs and pretend to be engineers who are building a new...

Historians believe the first vertical water wheel was invented in Rome during the Augustan Age. The sixth instructional activity in the series of 10 has scholars experiment with designing their own water wheels. Through testing various...

According to the Mauna Loa observatory, carbon dioxide levels increased by 3 ppm in our atmosphere between 2015–2016. Individuals analyze carbon dioxide data from around the world and then share this with a home group in...

One of the factors that automotive engineers must consider is wind drag. The less wind drag, the more efficient the car will be. They perform many tests in wind tunnels, then refine their designs and test again. Using simple materials,...

Many people think they can't observe plate tectonics, but thanks to GPS, we know that Australia moves at a rate of 2.7 inches per year, North America at 1 inches per year, and the Pacific plate at more than 3 inches per year! Scholars...

Take the first step into graphing sequences. Learners set the starting number, multiplier, add-on, and the number of steps for a sequence. Using the inputs, the interactive calculates and plots the sequence on the coordinate plane. Users...

Though the walrus spends roughly one third of its time on land, it eats organisms that live on the bottom of the ocean. The first in a series of five, the instructional activity uses a variety of plant and animal cards to have scholars...

Is your class in the dark about photosynthesis? Shed some sunlight on an important biological process with a thoughtful activity. After answering questions to help determine their level of knowledge, learners work with chemical equations...

Get the ball rolling and challenge your class to figure out how to make a ball move. The instruction segment is between two STEM activities devoted to doing just that. The first is simple and involves making a ball move from some...

What does it mean to be wealthy? Your learners will consider how carrying debt affects budgeting, and learn about the debt snowball strategy and how is it used in the concept of eliminating debt in order to build wealth.

Groups design the ultimate roller coaster by considering potential and kinetic energy. They test their designs using marbles and then go on to rate each group's design based on aesthetics, loop diameter, and cost.

The radical reactions of polymers seems abstract to many pupils, but this lesson turns them into a fun building game. Scholars use dice and building pieces to build polymers. Then, they determine the theoretical and experimental weight...