Have you ever stretched out a Slinkie so much it wouldn't go back to its original shape? Slinkies, like all springs, follow Hooke's Law. A simulation uses springs and masses to demonstrate kinetic, potential, and thermal energy. It...

Everything from pens to cars use springs — some are just on a larger scale! An interactive simulation encourages pupils to stretch and compress springs while observing the changes to force, displacement, and potential energy. Then they...

Students perform a story from Greek mythology of how spring came to be. In this performing arts lesson, students study the play of Persephone and use instruments and dance to put on a performance.

Third in a set of lessons regarding reservoirs, dams, and hydropower, this involves a two-day hydropower plant simulation. Collaborative groups build, maintain, and finance the plant. The transparency of the reservoir setup can be...

A colorful and comprehensive PowerPoint highlights this lesson on waves. Junior geophysicists pretend that they are hired to analyze seismic waves. A worksheet is provided to go along with an online article about how compact discs work...

What causes Earth's seasons? Find out through a series of anticipatory questions, an easy yet powerful activity representing the sun-Earth system, a diagram to label, and follow-up questions. Dispel the misconceptions about Earth being...

In spring, the Bering Sea turns green due to phytoplankton, which live at the surface, experiencing a population explosion. Groups of scholars play a food chain game, writing down food chains as the game is played. After five to six...

Pupils discuss the differences between a storybook and an information book. Students use various materials found in nature to make a nature collage. Pupils make a nature dictionary using pictures and their own definitions from the...

Students explore the solar system by conducting Earth science experiments. For this Sun lesson, students identify the different seasons on Earth and discuss their purpose and cause. Students create a sundial and observe the changes to...

Take your blooming botanists on a spring walk without activating any allergies with a wildflower WebQuest. The link to the "Spring Wildflower Walk" is broken, but the correct link is attached here. You could also try the activity in the...

Students analyze ethics issues as they read science fiction works. In this science and ethics lesson, students read science fiction short stories of their choosing, investigate the ethics issues raised in the stories, and...

High schoolers examine the painting, Spring on the Missouri. They role-play and discuss floods and flood control from the views of an environmental lobbyist and a farmer.

Meant to be a simulation of a deep-sea exploration, this requires that another lesson be completed first. In that lesson, titled "Animals of the Lost City," marine biology buffs construct murals of benthic communities. In this lesson,...

Students identify the uses of plants by researching Native Americans. In this First Nations culture instructional activity, students identify the First Nations coastal people of British Columbia and their use of plants such as seaweed,...

In 150 BC, Seleucus of Seleucia theorized that the moon causes the tides. Scholars learn about what causes tides by studying the interactions of gravity between the sun, moon, and Earth. They use technology to formalize otherwise...

Students demonstrate how the moon affects the tides, a neap tide, and spring tides by using their bodies as models. After students observe the model they created, they draw and label the diagram on a provided worksheet. They then log...

Students use DNA to solve an identity mystery. In this biology lesson plan, students use the Internet to gather information about sex-linked disorders and complete a Punnett square for hemophilia, then examine a handwriting analysis,...

Students are introduced to the environmental hazards their community is facing. In groups, they develop a list of the ways humans have changed the Earth and how these changes have lead to environmental hazards. They record their...

Students examine how ground water flows through different materials. In groups, they identify the different types of rocks in various aquifers. To end the lesson, they pretend to be water as others pretend to be rocks and try to make...

Students explore the earth's rotation and phases of the moon. In this planets lesson, students rotate and revolve around a light representing the sun. Students use movement and props to simulate what causes the phases of the moon as well...

Young geologists become familiar with the Karst Topography in the Ozark Mountains. They study how human activity has affected the cave ecosystem. They conduct a simulation in which a large development is proposed in the area, and they...

Students explore dinosaurs. In this dinosaur identification lesson, students watch video clips for different dinosaurs from the Discovery Kids website. Students discuss the clips with their teacher. Students may then role play the...

Students participate in a grassland game. In this grassland lesson plan, students simulate the impact of grazing animals and invasive weeds on grasslands.

Fifth graders research dairy farming and learn about dairy products as well as dairy processing. For this dairy lesson, 5th graders read background information about dairy farming and processing. Students discuss running a small business...