Curated OER
In Search of Human Origins, Part II
Students watch a video about the search for human origins. Using a worksheet, they identify the data trends in height of boys in North America. They discuss the significance of the data and the reasons for the increase of human size.
Curated OER
Ethics In The Science Classroom - Fraud In Science
Students are given a fictitious case study to read in preparation for the class. This lesson can also be readily adapted for a role-playing classroom exercise. They discuss the ethical issues of the case.
Curated OER
Ethics in the Science Classroom: Recycling
Students work in a group to create a skit of a scenario involving recycling. Student skits should encourage and convince the audience members to participate in recycling activities. Students provide written responses after the final...
Baylor College
They're Everywhere: Bacteria
Totally gross out your class with the eighth lesson in this series on food science. Explore the microscopic world of bacteria by taking swabs of different classroom objects and growing colonies in petri dishes. An engaging activity that...
Cornell University
Plant Cell Crime Scene
Use science to solve the mystery of the Poplar murder. Pupils use forensic botany to determine if a suspect could be the killer. By analyzing images from a Transmission Electron Microscope, learners determine if the material found on the...
Baylor College
Do Plants Need Light?
Turn your classroom into a greenhouse with a lesson plan on plant growth. First, investigate the different parts of seeds, identifying the seed coat, cotyledon, and embryo. Then plant the seeds and watch them grow! Measure the new plants...
Baylor College
Bio Build-up
Trace pollutants through the environment in the seventh lesson of this series on the science of food. Looking at a picture of the plants and animals in an aquatic ecosystem, learners use dot stickers to represent harmful chemicals as...
Baylor College
Comparing Sizes of Microorganisms
Kids compare what printed text looks like with the naked eye and under magnification. They discuss the extremely small scale that must be used to measure the size. They learn about the micrometer unit, then draw scale models of a variety...
California Academy of Science
Fresh Solutions: Design Thinking Challenge
How do people transport fresh water long distances to ensure everyone has access to it? The final lesson in the 10-part Fresh Solutions unit encourages individuals to design their own solution, or solutions, to that very problem. Groups...
Teach Engineering
An Inflated Impression of Mars
Help your class understand the magnitude of the distance between Earth and Mars with an activity that asks small groups to use balloons to create scale models of the Earth, Moon, and Mars. Class members figure out the distances between...
Curated OER
Lab Experiments in Nutrition Activity
Which vitamins should be ingested daily for maximum nutrition? Learners with ispecial needs or those who are pregnant focused on television and magazines advertisements that are used to sell food products. They conduct experiments and...
Baylor College
Microbes and Disease
Discuss how diseases have impacted human history. Divide your class into groups and assign each group one of the following: tuberculosis, malaria, plague, cholera, smallpox, and AIDS. They read up on, complete a concept map, and present...
Baylor College
Pre-Assessment: Earth's Energy Sources
A ten-question, multiple-choice quiz assesses what your elementary earth scientists know about the atmosphere both before and after a unique unit on global atmospheric change. Make sure to check out the activities and lesson plans...
Baylor College
Post-Assessment: Global Atmospheric Change
Find out how much your earth scientists learned about the atmosphere in the unit on global atmospheric change with this assessment. After writing a letter to persuade others to make changes to protect our atmosphere, pupils take the same...
Baylor College
What's That Food?
Get things cooking with the first lesson in this series on the science of food. Working in small groups, young scientists make and record observations about different mystery foods. These descriptions are then shared with the class and...
Baylor College
What is Air? Pre-Assessment
First, estimate existing knowledge about air with a class discussion. Then, hand out a 10-question pre-assessment quiz to record how much pupils know to compare to their knowledge later. This will also give mini meteorologists the...
Sea World
Endangered Species
Study different endangered species with several activities that incorporate math, science, language arts, and research strategies. A great addition to your lesson on conservation or Earth Day.
Baylor College
Healthy Snacks
Assess your pupils' ability to identify healthy food choices in the final lesson of this series on food science. Given five different food labels, young nutritionists will rank them from most to least healthy, supporting their choices...
American Society for Microbiology
”Build a Bacterium” Scavenger Hunt
An exciting activity has scholars use cell parts to build bacteria through cooperation with other groups. Each group has some of the cell parts needed, but they must trade with other groups to be able to fulfill their function as a...
Michigan State University
Gases Matter
Young scientists learn that seeing isn't necessarily believing when it comes to the states of matter. After performing a fun class demonstration that models the difference between solids, liquids, and gases, children complete a series of...
Teach Engineering
Creepy Silly Putty
It might be silly to determine the creep rate of putty but groups will enjoy making different formulations of silly putty and playing with them to understand how the different mixtures behave. The second part of the activity has groups...
Shodor Education Foundation
Function Machine
Machines can be so helpful sometimes. A simple interactive has learners enter input values for a function machine and observe output values. These values help determine a function that represents the input-output relationship in the...
Science Matters
Energy Flow
Budding scientists work collaboratively to reenact energy flow in a food chain. Scholars take on roles such as producer and consumer and perform tasks that symbolize energy flow in order to provide evidence of how much energy passes...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Are You Balanced?
Balance scales create a strong visual of how an individual prioritizes one's self alongside their commitments to the community, school, and home. Scholars complete a graphic organizer then discuss their findings with their peers. A...