Beyond Benign
The Big Melt: Arctic Ice Caps
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...
Council for Economic Education
Using an Excel Checkbook
High school is the time that many scholars get their first jobs. Help young entrepreneurs apply economic principles to crucial skills for their new jobs and for functioning in society in general. They use Excel to balance a checkbook by...
Curated OER
All About Graphs
Students practice organizing data by creating graphs. In this statistics lesson, students survey the class about favorite colors and create a bar graph using the data. Students complete a test based on pet and animal statistics.
Science 4 Inquiry
At the Top: A Bald Eagle's Diet
Bald eagles are opportunistic predators and eat fish as well as raccoons and other mammals. Pupils learn about bald eagle diets through a simple simulation and videos. They collect and analyze data to understand the adaptability of this...
Curated OER
High School Mathematics Problems from Alaska: Predicting Plant Coverage
Students participate in simulation as they examine vegetation in a square meter land plot. Students construct charts and a key to make predicitons about other land plots.
Teach Engineering
Earthquakes Living Lab: Finding Epicenters and Measuring Magnitudes
Pairs use an online simulation to determine the epicenter and magnitude of an earthquake. Using real data about the earthquake's maximum S wave amplitudes, they then determine the magnitude. The resource provides a great career...
Montana State University
What's the Weather?
How many jackets do you need to stay warm and climb Mount Everest? An informatie resource covers the topic of Mount Everest, the resource helps young scientists discover the difference between climate and weather. Activities include...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Ocean Acidification
Human impacts on the environment can sometimes be difficult to measure, especially under water! An activity centered on ocean acidification gives science scholars the opportunity to examine the effects of carbon dioxide on marine life....
Curated OER
Voter Turnout
Explore politics by analyzing the voting process. Pupils discuss the purpose of casting votes in an election, then examine graphs based on the data from a previously held election's turnout. The lesson concludes as they answer study...
National Park Service
Aspect, Treeline, and Climate
Head to the treeline and beyond to examine how this feature of the landscape affects weather and climate, which gives scientists clues about its health. Class members' observations of photographs provide the data...
Curated OER
Preparing a Business Plan to "Be Your Own Boss"
Do your scholars strive to work for themselves some day? Help young entrepreneurs create a business plan for an original idea and present it to a "board of directors." They complete online research (some links provided) and put...
NOAA
Into the Deep
Take young scientists into the depths of the world's ocean with the second lesson of this three-part earth science series. After first drawing pictures representing how they imagine the bottom of the ocean to appear, young scholars...
NASA
Development of a Model: Analyzing Elemental Abundance
How do scientists identify which elements originate from meteorites? Scholars learn about a sample of material found in a remote location, analyzing the sample to determine if it might be from Earth or not. They study elements, isotopes,...
Curated OER
Food Chain Activities
Transform young biologists into grasshoppers, lizards, and hawks as you teach them about food chains in an interactive life science simulation. Working collaboratively to act out three different scenarios involving...
Curated OER
Weather Predictions
Learners play the role of weather personalities by making five day forecasts based on data gathered from observations, weather instruments, and weather maps. Each day a small group makes a class forecast for the next day and reviews the...
Science 4 Inquiry
Rocks Makin' Rocks: Rock Cycle Simulation
Scholars review prior knowledge before completing a hands-on simulation of the rock cycle. They write stories or songs summarizing their simulations to demonstrate mastery.
Science 4 Inquiry
Investigating How Heat Flows
It is impossible to cool down a glass of water by adding ice. Young scientists explore heat transfer through videos, experiments, and interactive games. They quickly catch on that the water melts the ice and things aren't always as they...
Curated OER
Discovering Saturn, The Real "Lord of the Rings"
Reading, writing, and rings! A lesson plan from NASA combines space science with authentic reading and writing tasks. Included in this lesson plan are pre-reading activities, four mini informational booklets on Saturn, a...
Science 4 Inquiry
Battle of the Waves
Which travels faster, light or sound? Scholars work in groups to simulate the ability for waves to travel through solids, liquids, gases, and through a vacuum. Then, they learn about the properties of a mystery wave and must determine...
Curated OER
The Hat
Honing reading and communication skills through the theme of farm animals is the focus of this lesson. Students read a book about Scandinavian farm animals and complete prediction journal activities. They complete a worksheet about the...
Curated OER
Math:Survey Role-Playing Activity
Pupils create survey questions to discover why students join clubs. Using sampling methods and question phrasing techniques, they conduct the survey both in and out of school. Once pupils analyze their survey information, they suggest...
Curated OER
Bungee M&M's
Eighth graders experiment with M&M's and a cup attached to a spring to to simulate a bungee jump. They graph the results of the experiment and make predictions for continuing the experiment. They determine the "line of best fit."
American Statistical Association
What is the Probability of “Pigging Out”
Learners apply their understanding of luck to a probability experiment. They play a game of Pass the Pigs to determine the probability of a specific outcome. Using analysis for their data, pupils declare the measures of center, dot...
Michigan Sea Grant
Survival Game
Musical chairs may be a classic game, but Ruffe Musical Chairs is a unique lesson on invasive species! Using the time-honored game, pupils role play the behaviors of the invasive fish called Eurasian ruffe. Learning about this aggressive...