Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Melting the Ice: Energy Transfer

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students study thermal energy and energy transfer to sea ice processes. In this energy transfer lesson, students make their own ice cream and discuss energy transfer and thermal energy. Students view a radiation overhead and its role in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Energetic Musical Instruments

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students apply the principles and concepts associated with energy and the transfer of energy in an engineering context through the designing and making of a musical instrument. After the accomplishment of the design, students must...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Electric Current Produces Energy

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders are introduced to the concept of electric currents. In groups, they develop their own game board to test different circuits to determine if they are complete. They record their observations of the energy transfer between...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Go With the Energy Flow

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Learners explore energy and nutrient flow. In this science instructional activity, students diagram the flow of energy through food chains and food webs. Learners discuss the importance of energy flow in Earth's ecosystems.
Lesson Plan
Captain Planet Foundation

Solar Cooking Race

For Teachers 3rd
Study heat transfer with activities that focus on how heat energy works. Using a solar cooker, ice cubes, and heat transfer bracelets, kids experiment and record what they find by keeping ice cubes cold and vegetables hot.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Make a Solar Oven

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars build a solar oven. In this Science lesson, students construct a functional solar oven. Young scholars design the oven and explain the energy concepts involved.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Energy Flow and the Food Chain

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students complete discussions and worksheets about the Hawaiian food chain. In this food chain lesson plan, students research decomposers, consumers, and producers.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wow Waves (Waves on the Fly)

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students formulate hypotheses on wave behavior and test them. In this physics lesson, students compare and contrast transverse and compression waves. They determine the wavelength of transverse waves.
Activity
Curated OER

The BEAM Project: Building Efficient Architectural Models

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Technology or engineering teams are given a task to design, construct, and test the efficiency of a structure that will foster an even temperature throughout an entire sunny day. Intended as a long-term project, pupils research, plan,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sounds Like Science-Kazoo

For Teachers 4th - 11th
Students demonstrate how energy is used to make a sound. In this sound lesson, students construct a kazoo from a comb and identify how a sound is made by using force.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Turned on the Lights?

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders discuss how energy is transformed from one form to another. In this physics lesson plan, 7th graders design and build their own hydro generator. They identify the factors that affect its energy production.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Volcanic Activity in the U.S.

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Young scholars locate and map ten volcanoes in United States, create chart comparing volcanoes by last eruption, type of volcano, location, and interesting fact, and create Powerpoint slide show describing basic information about...
Lesson Plan
Science NetLinks

Green Roof Design

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Green roofs aren't just eco-friendly — they are literally green with trees. Groups learn about the concept of green roofs in order to be able to design one. The groups design a 5,000-square-foot green roof for a fictional apartment row...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chocolate Chipping Away at the Rock Cycle

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders identify the different types of rocks. In this earth science lesson, 8th graders compare and contrast rocks and chocolate cookies. They explain how materials are recycled beneath the Earth.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Layering the Soil

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students study and classify soil. In this soil science lesson, students classify soil by texture and size and study soil horizons. Students label the soil types with their specific soil horizon and learn about permafrost. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Insulators

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders examine properties of four types of spoons, record observations, and apply their knowledge by designing the perfect hot chocolate cup.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Animated Chemical Bonding

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Young scholars demonstrate their understanding of a chemical process.  In this exploratory instructional activity students create a clay animation that shows how a specific type of chemical bond. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

My Crazy Contraption

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders design a contraption, which contains five different examples of simple machines and works without intervention. They sketch designs and label its parts. They present their creations to the class and relate them to Rube...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Severe Weather

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders investigate the cause and effect of severe weather. In this Earth Science instructional activity, 9th graders use a learning contract and a rubric to develop a presentation about severe weather.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Cycle

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders define and discuss evaporation, precipitation, condensation, and collection, color web pages to illustrate Water Cycle book, listen to stories about Water Cycle, play trivia game to demonstrate knowledge of what they...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Capturing Wind Energy

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Students investigate technology and make a correlation between technology and the weather. In this science lesson, students experiment with the weather and climate using technology to help them understand forces and motion. They identify...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Paper Towel Structure

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students investigate technology and its purpose in the workplace. In this geometry instructional activity, students design and build a paper towel structure to investigate motion and forces. They are given a restricted weight and asked...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Weather, Sea Level Rise and Climate Change Course

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Learners explain the impact of glacial melting to global climate change. In this environmental science lesson, students design an experiment to investigate the effect of salinity change to melting glaciers. They share their results to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pendulum Clocks

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students use string, wire, weights, and a stopwatch to build pendulum clocks. In this pendulum clocks lesson plan, students use the pendulum clocks to investigate weather, climate, force, and motion.