Lesson Plan
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Center for Learning in Action

Water – Changing States (Part 2)

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Here is part two of a two-part instructional activity in which scholars investigate the changing states of water—liquid, solid, and gas—and how energy from heat changes its molecules. With grand conversation, two demonstrations, and...
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Virus Hunters: Epidemiology of Nipah Virus

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Who actually goes looking for a virus? Expose your class to the high-stakes life of an epidemiologist on the trail of the Nipah virus. Pupils engage in a short video, then examine how scientists predict, model, and find the source of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Regolith

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
You may not be able to take a field trip to the moon, but that doesn't mean your class can't study moon rocks. Using graham crackers as the moon's bedrock and powdered donuts as micrometeorites, young scientists simulate...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coal Flowers

For Teachers 1st - 8th
Let's make coal flowers! With this fun activity, young learners watch and learn as they grow crystals! With simple household materials and the instructions included in this lesson plan, your class can grow their own crystals. Learners...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

The Parched Plains: Weather And Climate

For Teachers 6th - 8th
How do meteorologists differentiate between droughts and dry spells? Introduce the concepts of weather forecasting and prediction with an insightful research-based lesson from the K20 series. Partners synthesize individual research from...
Lesson Plan
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1
Center for Learning in Action

Investigating Physical and Chemical Changes

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
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...
Activity
US Department of Agriculture

Sink or Float?

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd Standards
Will it sink or will it float? Learners predict the outcome as they drop random objects into a container of water. Then, they keep track of the results and record the data in a t-chart to draw a final conclusion.
Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Historical Climate Cycles

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
What better way to make predictions about future weather and climate patterns than with actual climate data from the past? Young climatologists analyze data from 400,000 to 10,000 years ago to determine if climate has changed over...
Lesson Plan
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Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist

Play Ball! – Or Not…Making a Decision Using Weather Data

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Should the game go on or not? An engaging lesson asks small groups to make a decision using weather data. After analyzing a map, an updated forecast, and radar information, groups have to decide whether to cancel a baseball game. They...
Unit Plan
Polar Trec

Talk Story: A Native Way of Knowing

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The steps of the scientific method examine a problem, make a prediction, and attempt to solve the problem—similar to the path most stories take. In the activity, individuals see how stories can explain natural events similar to the way...
Unit Plan
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PBS

Blow the Roof Off!

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
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Purdue University

Exploring Whirligigs

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
What's that silly thing spinning in the wind? It's a whirligig! Explore wonderful windy whirligigs with a STEM-based unit that teaches the science and concepts behind these gigs. Scholars discover how gravity and air resistance...
Lesson Plan
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Guam Community College

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

For Teachers Pre-K - 2nd Standards
Spruce up a class reading of the children's book Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback with this fun series of activities. Starting with a list of reading comprehension questions and key vocabulary to address during a teacher...
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Gorongosa: Scientific Inquiry and Data Analysis

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How does the scientific process begin? Introduce ecology scholars to scientific inquiry through an insightful, data-driven lesson. Partners examine data from an ongoing research study to determine the questions it answers. The resource...
Lesson Plan
Beyond Benign

The Big Melt: Arctic Ice Caps

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Are the Arctic ice caps really melting out of existence? Junior climatologists examine the statistics of ice decline through four math-based lessons. Each activity incorporates data, climate information, and environmental impact into an...
Lesson Plan
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Center for Learning in Action

Introduction to the States of Matter

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shadows & Light, Science & Puppetry

For Teachers 5th - 8th
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,...
Lesson Plan
Code.org

Introduction to Data

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Data, data everywhere. Challenge your class to begin thinking about data, the ways people collect information, and what we can learn from this data. Class members discuss sources of data and then individuals answer questions in the...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Frindle: A Guiding Reading Unit

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Guide your class through a reading of the popular children's book, Frindle, with this comprehensive literature unit. Starting with a brief introduction to the guided reading process, the class goes on to read the story two chapters...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Greenhouse Gas Line-up

For Teachers 7th - 9th
The actual lesson itself is not unique; groups discuss and rank different sources of energy in order of their cumulative greenhouse gas emissions. They compare their prediction to real data. What makes this resource valuable, is that it...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Predicting the Future

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students examine how scientists predict the effects of global climate change. In this environmental science lesson, students participate in a discussion about using computer generated data to create climate predictions. Students examine...
Lesson Plan
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Baylor College

Drugs, Risks and the Nervous System

For Teachers 6th - 12th
In cooperative groups, middle schoolers contemplate the probability of 18 different situations occurring. After they make predictions, they compare them to the actual risk factors. This eye-opening exercise demonstrates that the odds of...
Lesson Plan
Education Outside

Compost in a Bag

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Young scientists create a compost bag, predict changes, and after one month, examine the bag to observe the changes that have occurred.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Unwind: Anticipation Guide

For Teachers 7th - 10th
After responding to a series of prompts on an anticipation guide, readers of Unwind craft five predictions about what will happen in Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel.