To understand the concept of a county government system, scholars read a short passage, view a helpful visual aid, use the web to conduct some research about their local areas, and then answer related questions online.

Add visual representation to teaching place value with a magnitude model. Using adding machine tape, pupils build a linear place value strip from 1 to 100.

What does the ground around your home have to do with water pollution? Young ecologists learn about their local watershed and create their own cause-and-effect models of the hydrosphere.

Examine how pollution makes its way into an ocean with help from a model watershed. Scholars use household items to recreate a mini-watershed, equipped with pollutants, that when mixed with rain drain into a model's body of...

How prevalent is pollution in the water system? A hands-on activity focuses on one area that is prone to pollution. Learners use game chips to represent clean water and polluted water and complete an activity that demonstrates how...

Every pupil with a sweet tooth will be clamoring for this lab and analysis, particularly when they're allowed to eat the results! Volume and surface area formulas for cones are developed from models, and then extended to the printing of...

What causes earthquakes? Second graders learn about stresses from plate movement with a set of hands-on activities. After tracing fault lines on a map with yarn, class members create a paper plate model of Earth to show its layers...

Human impact on habitats can be alarming. A hands-on activity has learners explore the impact of human interactions with different environments using a gamified approach. They simulate the impact of a species' abundance under different...

It's all connected. Classes create a web to connect living things in a local ecosystem. They create cards with both living and nonliving things found in their areas while considering the characteristics of each. After they have a good...

How has human activity affected Earth's watersheds? An action-packed lesson plan, part of the K20 Center, examines water's ability to go with the flow regardless of what is in its path. Scholars build model watersheds, examine time-lapse...

As part of a unit, this lesson plan familiarizes youngsters with components of a rain garden. They speculate about the role of an assigned component in contributing to a rain garden, and ultimately, in the health of the local watershed....

Forget your local meteorologist — build your own barometer and keep track of the weather with an activity that provides directions to build a barometer out of a narrow necked bottle, a glass, and some water. Using their barometer,...

Each country or group of people has created special places of worship. Children read a story about religious buildings and architecture and then make clay models of the buildings they like the best. The lesson has been written to...

Second in a pair of activities, young ecologists continue to examine the food pyramid of a freshwater ecosystem. They take a look at the food pyramid drawn in Activity A and consider what would happen if a reservoir was created on the...

Do great gardeners really have green thumbs—or just really great soil? Environmental scholars discover what makes Earth's soil and soil quality so important through research and experimentation. Learners also develop an understanding of...

Did you know that if you wait long enough, the M on the outside of an M and M will float to the surface when submerged in water? Learners observe the sugar coating of an M and M while it is dissolving in water. They explain how this...

Phrenology, the belief that parts of your brain control certain aspects of your personality, is described in Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science. While we now know much more about the brain, learners use this...

Hot off the press: a mini-unit for class members to create their own newspaper. Complete with graphic organizers, extension activities, and helpful learning targets that teach parts of a newspaper, the resource contains everything needed...

How many of us can say they've seen a Pacific walrus? Not many and one of the reasons is the impact of climate change on their aquatic environment. Children get to think about the food web of the Bering Sea by creating an actual web with...

If the world were 100 people...17 would not have access to safe drinking water, 18 would not be able to read or write, and 52 would not have a primary education. Using the theme of "100 people," this resource explores other major issues...

Just because we can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there! A growing concern for environmental scientists is toxic nanoparticles in our air and water. Young scholars conduct an experiment to demonstrate how these particles can cross our...

Silver: more than jewelry, it's also a natural antimicrobial agent. An inquiry-based lesson asks collaborative groups to design and implement an experiment to test this property. Using samples of silver nanoparticles and a strain of...