Baylor College
They're Everywhere: Bacteria
Totally gross out your class with the eighth lesson plan in this series on food science. Explore the microscopic world of bacteria by taking swabs of different classroom objects and growing colonies in petri dishes. An engaging activity...
Kenan Fellows
A Farmer’s Challenge to Breed to the Greatest of Grapes
What does your class know about GMOs? Are they savvy to selective breeding? Challenge young minds to engineer the greatest crop of all time using a hands-on genetics unit. Learners discover the good and bad details of selective breeding,...
Baylor College
Lungometer
Life science learners construct lung-o-meters from gallon-sized milk jugs and then measure their lung capacities. For older young scholars, have them graph the vital lung capacities of each person in the class. Cross-curricular pieces...
National Science Teachers Association
Hop into Action
Young scientists find out what makes amphibians such unique and interesting animals in this simple life science lesson plan. After looking at pictures and discussing the characteristics of amphibians, learners complete a series of three...
Shodor Education Foundation
Racing Game with One Die
Pupils roll a die to figure out which car advances on a race track. They determine the rules for each car moving forward and, given the statistics of the winner, compare if it matches their predictions.
Curated OER
Splish! Splash! From the Bath to my Glass
An excellent instructional activity on the water cycle! In it, learners should gain a general understanding of the water cycle, along with how water first falls as precipitation, then ends up coming out of our faucets. This instructional...
Curated OER
What Do You SUBpose?
Submarines are the fous of this math and science lesson. In it, learners explore the world of submarines: how they work, and what they are used for. They engage in hands-on activities, watch video clips, and work in cooperative groups in...
Baylor College
How Can We Find Out What Is in Water?
Using paper chromatography, water watchers discover that several substances might be dissolved even though they aren't visible. For this case, you will prepare a mixture of three different food colorings for them to experiment with. A...
Baylor College
People and Climate
Model how the sun's energy strikes the planet and help your class relate it to a climate map. Assign small groups an individual climate zone to discuss. They reflect on and research how humans survive in the assigned climate and write a...
Curated OER
Access Ramp
Just about every public building that your students are familiar with has an access ramp which complies with ADA requirements. As it turns out, designing such a ramp is an excellent activity to incorporate slope, the Pythagorean Theorem,...
Baylor College
Digestion
Digestion is an amazing and complicated process that provides humans with the energy they need to survive. Lesson six in this series on the science of food uses sliced turkey and a meat tenderizer to demonstrate how enzymes help break...
Purdue University
The Represented World: Recreational STEM
How are forces and motion important to a swing set? Scholars explore the concepts of force and motion using swing sets. In preparation for their own STEM design project, individuals take surveys and data from peers, complete labs on...
Shodor Education Foundation
Life
How does life evolve? The interactive provides a simulation based on the Game of Life invented by mathematician John Conway. Users can run the applet with the preset rules and settings or adjust them to view whether overpopulation or...
Shodor Education Foundation
Squaring the Triangle
Teach budding mathematicians how to square a triangle with an interactive that shows a graphical proof of the Pythagorean Theorem. Pupils alter the lengths of the legs using sliders. Using the inputted lengths, the applet displays the...
Shodor Education Foundation
Graph Sketcher
Sketch graphs with the Graph Sketcher. Scholars graph functions on a coordinate plane. An interactive makes it as easy as inputting the function and clicking a button.
Shodor Education Foundation
Regression
How good is the fit? Using an interactive, classmates create a scatter plot of bivariate data and fit their own lines of best fit. The applet allows pupils to display the regression line along with the correlation coefficient. As a final...
Shodor Education Foundation
Two Colors Applet
Find the box with two green balls. The applet uses six balls, three green and three red, and hides them in three boxes. Pupils choose a box and click on it to reveal the color of balls inside. Using the chosen box, the simulation keeps...
Shodor Education Foundation
Pythagorean Explorer
Make sure the measurement is right. The interactive provides right triangles with a missing side measurement. Pupils use the given sides and the Pythagorean Theorem to calculate the length of the missing side. After entering the length,...
Shodor Education Foundation
Normal Distribution
Does the size of the bin matter? The resource allows pupils to explore the relationship between the normal curve and histograms. Learners view histograms compared to a normal curve with a set standard deviation. Using the interactive,...
Curated OER
Vernier EasyData App
Used along with data collection devices, the EasyData Application for the TI-83 Plus/TI-84 calculator allows learners to use real data to learn math and science. Statistics, curve fits, and integrals are used to analyze the collected...
Baylor College
Do Plants Need Light?
Turn your classroom into a greenhouse with a lesson on plant growth. First, investigate the different parts of seeds, identifying the seed coat, cotyledon, and embryo. Then plant the seeds and watch them grow! Measure the new plants...
Curated OER
Close Observation: Coins
Integrate math, science, and speaking/listening with a collaborative hands-on activity. Each group works with a single penny, examining it with the naked eye and recording observations. Repeat using magnifying glasses. Then repeat with a...
Baylor College
Plant or Animal?
Teach your class about the necessities of life using the book Tillena Lou's Day in the Sun. After a teacher-read-aloud, students make puppets depicting different plants and animals from the story and illustrating the habitat in which...
Baylor College
A Place to Be
Home sweet home. Humans, birds, beavers, ants, we all need a place place to rest and keep us safe. In the ninth lesson plan of this series, the importance of shelter is discussed as the teacher reads aloud the book Tillena Lou's Day in...