North Carolina State University
Exploring Genetics Across the Middle School Science and Math Curricula
Where is a geneticist's favorite place to swim? A gene pool. Young geneticists complete hands-on activities, experiments, and real-world problem solving throughout the unit. With extra focus on dominant and recessive genes, Punnett...
Curated OER
Buoyancy: Integrating Science and Literature
Integrate science and literature by using the scientific method to test the veracity of the floating peach described in Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. Clips from a Bill Nye: The Science Guy episode about buoyancy frontload...
Edmond Public Schools
8th Grade Science Resource Book: Unit 2 - Physics
Get things moving with this extensive collection of physical science resources. Covering the fundamentals of measurement, graphing, lab safety, and experimental design as well as the specific scientific concepts...
National Science Teacher Association
Middle School Sampler: Science
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...
Curated OER
Polymers and Crystals: Their Role in Food Science
Blend chemistry with cooking in this exploration of polymers, carbohydrates, and food science. Experimenting with gelatin produces concrete examples of the bonding and ploymerization discussed in the lesson. Copious, comprehensive...
Chicago Children's Museum
Simple Machines: Force and Motion
Get things moving with this elementary science unit on simple machines. Through a series of nine lessons including teacher demonstrations, hands-on activities, and science experiments, young scientists learn about forces, motion,...
NASA
The Science of the Sun
There's more to that glowing ball of light in sky than most children realize. From the overall structure of the solar system, to the changing of the seasons, these hands-on lessons open the eyes of young scientists to...
Curated OER
Watershed Works: Unit 2
The second of a three-unit lesson plan, this focuses on how human-made structures affect watersheds. Using watershed models that were built during the first unit, junior geologists now place buildings, dams, or levees into the models and...
Curated OER
Watershed Works: Unit 1
By constructing a watershed model and identifying watershed features in it, they discover how water erosion changes the landscape. As with most watershed modeling activities, this one is costly in terms of time and materials. It is,...
Curated OER
Watershed Works: Unit 3
Geology whizzes observe the effects of change within a model of a watershed. They place replica waste dumps within the models and note the path that the waste takes as water passes through. This detailed lesson plan provides teacher...
Curated OER
Science: The States of Matter
Third graders conduct experiments in matter to create chemical changes resulting in gases. By mixing solids and liquids, they create a chemical reaction and capture the gas in balloons. After observing the balloons fill with carbon...
Curated OER
Get a Leg Up
Traveling through space is an amazing experience, but it definitely takes a toll on the body. After reading an article and watching a brief video, learners perform an experiment that simulates the effects of zero gravity on the...
Australian Government
The Great Artesian Basin
Covering 23% of the continent and holding 64,900 cubic kilometers of water, the Great Artesian Basin is the primary source of water for much of inland Australia. Using detailed student worksheets, experiments, and case studies,...
National Park Service
Glaciers and Water
Explore the amazing power of glaciers with a hands-on earth science experiment! After first learning basic background information, learners go on to create their very own chunks of frozen water and gravel in order to...
Curated OER
Designing a Germination Experiment
Learners explore botany by participating in a seed experiment. In this plant nutrition lesson, students define several science experiment vocabulary terms like observation, treatment, and replicate. Learners utilize soaked seeds in a...
Curated OER
Wagons Ho! Hard Times! Hard Choices!
You have just hit the lesson plan jackpot! This isn't just a lesson, it's a ten-day unit covering westward expansion, pioneer life, and the Oregon Trail. Activities include baking, model building, role-play, newspaper writing, science...
Broward County Public Schools
Force and Motion
Get the ball rolling with this upper-elementary science unit on forces and motion. Offering over three weeks of physical science lessons, this resource is a great way to engage the class in learning about simple machines, friction,...
Curated OER
Bird Ecology Unit
Birds, plants, and vegetation, is there anything more lovely? There is! Engage your class in the scientific process, data collection, and data analysis. They stroll their campus observing and identifying various birds and plants,...
PBS
Blow the Roof Off!
Blow the minds of young scientists with this collection of inquiry-based investigations. Based on a series of eight videos, these "hands-on, minds-on" science lessons engage young learners in exploring a wide range of topics...
NASA
The Big Climate Change Experiment Lesson 3: Climate Change Lines of Evidence
Consider the preponderance of evidence when making a verdict. The third of five lessons in Unit 1: The Big Climate Change Experiment focuses on the evidence for climate change. Learners study graphs, diagrams, and pictures regarding...
NASA
The Big Climate Change Experiment Lesson 5: Climate Change Narratives
And now moving on to the next story. The last of five lessons in Unit 1: The Big Climate Change Experiment requires groups to create a script for a news segment on climate change. They either make a video of their story or conduct a live...
Curated OER
Read About Science: Toys
Students complete another Read about Science with a focus on toys. Individually, they read a book of their choice about toys and define new vocabulary. To end the science lesson, they complete a KWL chart and share what they...
Virginia Middle School Engineering Education Initiative
Save the Penguins: An Introduction to Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer
Heat things up in your physical science class with this interactive lesson series on thermodynamics. Through a series of class demonstrations and experiments, young scientists learn how heat is transferred through conduction,...
Baylor College
Lungometer
Life science learners construct lung-o-meters from gallon-sized milk jugs and then measure their lung capacities. For older students, have them graph the vital lung capacities of each person in the class. Cross-curricular pieces are...