How do the changing seasons affect the homes where we live? This question is at the forefront of engineering and design projects. Challenge your physical science class to step into the role of an architect to build a model home...

Learners investigate ways to save energy. In this environmental lesson, students play the role of a building inspector and identify "culprits" that waste energy. Learners use a checklist to identify specific practices that waste energy.

Should every school have solar panels? The 19th lesson in a series of 21 has scholars research the feasibility of using solar panels at their school. They begin by gathering data on the solar energy in the area before estimating the...

Students investigate how much energy is stored in lake water as latent heat, calculate how much latent heat is exchanged with the atmosphere, and consider the effects of heat gain and heat loss on the surrounding environment.

Students create unique sounds using different instruments.  In this energy lesson, students read and define several vocabulary terms such as heat, energy transfer and thermal equilibrium.  Students utilize several household...

If someone yelled for eight years and eight months, they could produce enough energy to heat one cup of coffee. A lesson on energy encourages scholars to research 10 different energy sources in groups before playing a game. Twenty...

Hurricanes are a destructive yet fascinating phenomenon. Individuals examine evidence that hurricanes use thermal energy from the ocean as they approach land. Learners use images, charts, and graphs to collect data and then draw...

Pupils develop a clearer understanding of how and why heat is produced from things that give off light, from machines, or when one thing is rubbed against another.

Fourth graders view a video and create a KWL to identify energy sources. In this energy sources lesson, 4th graders explore the meaning of energy, kinetic energy, potential energy, thermal energy, radiant energy, and electrical energy....

Students experiment with different types of metal by dipping them in boiling water and cool water and recording temperature changes in the water. By doing this, they find the specific heat of the metals.

Learners explore the different types of renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. In this earth science lesson, students discuss the pros and cons of each type. They conduct a variety of experiments on renewable energy.

Students use the Internet to research the ancient practices of building structures and to help them recognize what building materials serve as good conductors and insulators of heat. They build a structure using straw bale walls.

Students are "Energy Detectives" working for an engineering firm that does energy evaluations at schools. In teams, they locate energy sources around the school, and record their findings on an Energy Detective Worksheet.

Middle schoolers explore multiple types of energy. In this energy lesson, students prepare a science fair project through completing a WebQuest. Middle schoolers investigate radiant, thermal, and biochemical energy.

Students research the amount and kinds of energy that are produced and consumed in the United States, including the limitations of this kind of consumption. They research and create a display to teach classmates about a specific...

Students conduct a webquest on an energy source they chose. In this physics lesson, students design an experiment to determine the factors affecting potential and kinetic energy. They calculate speed and create distance vs. time graphs.

Students explore energy by completing a science worksheet in class. In this principles of matter lesson, students define the vocabulary terms force, gravity, nuclear, and electromagnetic before reading assigned text about energy....

Students build a solar oven. In this Science lesson, students construct a functional solar oven. Students design the oven and explain the energy concepts involved.

Second graders investigate how to help a city building remain cooler on the inside. They create a rooftop garden in order to shield the building and lower the internal temperature. The garden is meant to replace the black tar paper that...

Middle schoolers explore heat energy and how it is used to change the phase of matter, and discover that temperature does not increase or decrease until the phase change is complete. This extremely well-written plan is packed with great...

Looking for a hot date? Pick any day in August, statistically the hottest month in the United States. The 15th lesson plan in the series of 21 instructs pupils to investigate the August 2007 heat wave through NASA data, daily temperature...

Using bunsen burners, Erlenmeyer flasks, thermometers, hollow glass tubes, stoppers, and rulers, learners experiment with and measure how water expands when heated. The activity connects the expansion of water when heated to global...

Students explore liquids and solids by conducting in class experiments. In this matter lesson, students define the properties of matter and how heat can change those properties. Students experiment with heating objects such as butter and...

Students use real satellite data to determine the changes in near-surface air temperature at different times of the year over the Caribbean Sea. They discover how Earth's tilt causes seasonal differences in incoming solar energy. They...