American Chemical Society
Density: Sink and Float for Solids
Steal cubes sink, but steal ships float. Lesson explores the density of solids as well as the density of water in determining what will sink and what will float. A hands-on group activity helps pupils see that weight and volume are...
Curated OER
Distinguished Discoveries: Florida quarter reverse
Florida's state quarter has an image of a space shuttle and a Spanish Galleon on its reverse side. Pupils will examine the state quarter and think about how the Spanish explorers and Space explorers are the same and different. The class...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Continental Differences
Students break into groups and closely investigate primary sources associated with the seven different continents. After deciding which continent their primary sources relate to, representatives from each group present their...
Film Foundation
The Day The Earth Stood Still: Film Language And Elements Of Style
In this, the third in a series of four resources that use Robert Wise's 1951 version of The Day The Earth Stood Still as the core text, young film makers examine the language of film including shot composition, camera angle, lighting,...
Teach Engineering
Tools and Equipment (Part 1)
Looking for the best inclined plane for the job? Groups calculate the theoretical mechanical advantage for four different inclined planes. They determine the actual mechanical advantage by measuring the amount of force needed for the...
Illustrative Mathematics
Equal Area Triangles on the Same Base II
A deceptively simple question setup leads to a number of attack methods and a surprisingly sophisticated solution set in this open-ended problem. Young geometers of different strengths can go about defining the solutions graphically,...
Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment
Feelings and Emotions
The focus of the second in a 10-session course on Social, Physical, Emotional, Cognitive and Spiritual (SPECS) health is on learning to express and manage feelings appropriately. Class members learn different ways of...
EngageNY
Fraction Equivalence, Ordering, and Operations
Need a unit to teach fractions to fourth graders? Look no further than this well-developed and thorough set of lessons that takes teachers through all steps of planning, implementing, and assessing their lessons. Divided into eight...
Curated OER
Equal Differences Over Equal Intervals 2
Your algebra learners explore linear functions concretely using tables of values in a collaborative task. The idea that linear function values change by equal differences over equal intervals, is emphasized. The slope and...
Mathematics Vision Project
Module 6: Congruence, Construction, and Proof
Trace the links between a variety of math concepts in this far-reaching unit. Ideas that seem very different on the outset (like the distance formula and rigid transformations) come together in very natural and logical ways. This...
Science Matters
Energy Transfer and Transformation
When you take a simple task and create an exceptionally difficult way to complete it, it is known as a Rube Goldberg machine. These machines are filled with many types of energy transfers and energy transformations. Here, pupils...
National Security Agency
Awesome Area - Geometry and Measurement
Break out those math manipulatives, it's time to teach about area! Capturing the engagement of young mathematicians, this three-instructional activity series supports children with learning how to measure the area of squares,...
Mathematics Vision Project
Similarity and Right Triangle Trigonometry
Starting with similar triangles and dilation factors, this unit quickly and thoroughly progresses into the world of right triangle features and trigonometric relationships. Presented in easy-to-attack modules with copious application...
John Wiley & Sons
Games, Role Plays, and Exercises
Whether you're lost at sea, lost in the woods, or testing communication skills, teamwork is always important. Build your middle and high schoolers' cooperative and collaborative skills with four activities that prompts groups to compete...
Prestwick House
Understanding Language: Slant, Spin, and Bias in the News
We live in a time of fake news, alternative realities, and media bias. What could be more timely than an activity that asks class members to research how different sources report the same topic in the news?
Berkshire Museum
Camouflage!: Collecting Data and Concealing Color
Help young scholars see the important role camouflage plays in the survival of animals with a fun science lesson. Starting with an outdoor activity, children take on the role of hungry birds as they search for worms represented by...
EngageNY
Interpreting and Computing Division of a Fraction by a Fraction—More Models
Use a unit approach in developing a fraction division strategy. The teacher leads a discussion on division containing units, resulting in a connection between the units and like denominators. Pupils develop a rule in dividing fractions...
Serendip
Homeostasis, Negative Feedback, and Positive Feedback
So many bodily activities depend on homeostasis! Give learners a solid background to understand the basic process of the human body. Scholars first examine negative feedback loops contributing to body temperature regulation and then a...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Got Lactase? The Co-Evolution of Genes and Culture
Does the human body evolve as quickly as human culture? With a stellar 15-minute video, explore the trait of lactose intolerance. Only about 1/3 of human adults seem to still have the enzyme lactase and therefore, the ability to digest...
American Chemical Society
Changing the Density of a Liquid - Heating and Cooling
During a unit on density, pupils ponder whether or not temperature affects this property. By carefully inserting blue cold water and yellow hot water into a room-temperature sample, they will see the answer. Make sure to have done the...
American Chemical Society
Heat, Temperature, and Conduction
How does heat move from one item to another, even when the items are in different states of matter? Pupils experiment with adding washers to hot water and adding hot washers to room temperature water to observe the heat transfer.
Captain Planet Foundation
Which Plant Is Which?
Learn about dichotomous keys, plant identification, and how to care for the planet with a lesson that includes several hands-on and innovative activities. Kids go on a plant scavenger hunt and classify the plants that they find...
Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Investigation: Concept Mapping Fuels
After reading an article, "Fuels for Everything," collaborative groups create a concept map poster of the transportation and non-transportation fuels. This makes a strong introduction to the different types of fuels used for transportion...
National Park Service
A Tale of Two Men
Theodore Roosevelt and the Marquis de Mores were both born in 1858, and both came to the Dakota territory in 1883, but they influenced the developing country of America in different ways. Elementary and middle schoolers apply written and...