Focus on inquiry-based learning in your science class with a series of activities designed for middle schoolers. A helpful packet samples four different texts, which include activities about predator-prey relationships, Earth's axis...

Delv into the states of Matter. Students engage in the scientific inquiry process to uncover the exciting world of Matter. They watch a series of videos, and conduct experiments in order to collect and analyze data on the various state...

Liquids, gases, and solids are the states of matter in which scholars investigate in a lesson plan that offers in-depth information and engaging activities that look into the three states and the changes their properties make when mixed...

Five fabulous procedures introduce physics or chemistry classes to special properties of matter. They discover adhesion and cohesion, solubility, melting and boiling points, and viscosity through hands-on experiences. Tests are...

Scholars become part of the cycle of matter with a reader's theater that showcases producers, consumers, decomposers, and the sun. A diagram and discussion concludes the learning experience and enhances comprehension. 

Explore the concept of density within states of matter—gases, liquids, and solids—through a group experiment in which young scientists test objects' texture, color, weight, size, and ability to sink or float.    

Super scientists visit ten stations to predict, observe, and draw conclusions about the physical and chemical changes that occur when different states of matter—liquid, solid, and gas—are placed under a variety of conditions. To...

First in a two-part lesson on the greenhouse effect, this lesson involves a classroom demonstration of the phenomenon, and a lab group experiment with color and absorption. Although there are easier ways to demonstrate the greenhouse...

Start this mini unit on matter out by demonstrating how food coloring behaves when placed in cold and in hot water. Then have the class experiment with warm water and soap film. Pupils will learn that an increase in thermal energy also...

Show young chemists what a chemical reaction looks like with two parts of a hands-on experiment. First, learners conduct a wet lab where they observe the reactants (baking soda and calcium chloride, with phenolsulfonphthalein)...

Do you think the lab smells like rotten eggs? Sorry to hear about your sulfering. A set of five experiments covers many different topics including seasons, gravity, food, precipitation, and photosynthesis. Though not presented as a...

Never trust an atom; they make up everything! Young chemists make modeling dough and add another ingredient to change the properties. Scholars then compare the properties of emulsion to composite materials. A reading passage and analysis...

Enhance your states of matter lessons with a hands-on science investigation that compares six different balls' color, texture, size, weight, ability to bounce, and buoyancy. 

Fourth graders identify a physical change as one that results in a change in size, shape, or state of matter. After an initial teacher-led discussion and demonstration, groups of students get together to perform an experiment which...

Take a "conservative" approach to planning your next unit on mass and matter! What better way to answer "But where did the gas go?" than with a lab designed to promote good report writing, research skills, and detailed observation....

Who can grow the best crystals? Challenge class members to develop strategies for enhancing growth in the crystals. Through a lab investigation, learners study the properties of crystals and test the effectiveness of different...

Hands-on experience with valves and water flow supports young researchers' understanding of valve operation. Attached resources for learners are text-dense; I'd break up the text into smaller pieces for groups to read and present...

Lights, shadows, action, and inquiry await your artistic scientists. They explore the way light travels, absorbs, reflects, and transmits through shadow play. They create folktale-inspired shadow puppets, explore the science of light,...

Equip your chemistry class with the tools to properly understand endothermic and exothermic reactions. Young chemists collect, analyze, and graph data to determine how the Law of Conservation of Matter is applied to chemical...

Fascinate young life scientists by showing them how their brain learns. By using prism goggles while attempting to toss bean bags at a target, lab partners change their outlook on the world around them, producing amusing results....

The sun sends the earth 35,000 times the amount of energy required by all of us on the entire planet, every day. The fourth lesson in the 10-part series looks at how light energy from the sun transfers into thermal energy. Scholars build...

Not all liquids are the same. Investigate the viscosity of different fluids with a series of activities designed for eighth grade science. As learners move through learning centers with different experiment setups, they determine...

Engage young scientists in the upper-elementary and middle school grades with this collection of simple experiments. Whether you're teaching about heat transfer, density, or potential energy this resource has a lab for you.

This is one in several lessons that explore the relationship between temperature and phase changes of water. After some discussion, elementary physical scientists place wet paper toweling on a hot and a room-temperature water bag...