Lesson Plan
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science

Identical Twins, Identical Fates?

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Can different personal experiences affect our genes? Find out in an intriguing case study about one twin who is diagnosed with mental illness and her identical twin who fears she may suffer the same fate. Designed for college-level...
Activity
National Academy of Sciences

Lights at Night Webquest

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Help learners find ways to become more efficient energy consumers. To start, individuals research how different countries address energy efficiency and then analyze their own carbon footprint. They use their research to identify ways to...
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Ebola: Disease Detectives

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
How did the Ebola virus first infect humans? Young virologists examine genetic sequences from the 2014 Sierra Leone outbreak to find similarities during a riveting activity. Following similar methods used by MIT and Harvard, partners...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Scatter Plots and Correlation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the concept of scatter plots. They compare baseball statistics to locate the ones that correlate with winning, and identify the positive, negative, and no correlation in sets of data using MS Excel.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Has Math Evolved?

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders pick a topic or person to research related to the history of mathematics. They brainstorm and create a concept map, using the multimedia software inspiration, about what they are researching and want to examine. They then...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Science: Entomology in Action

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students discover how coroners use insect life cycles to estimate the time of death in cases. they describe how forensic entomologists combine environmental factors with insect life cycles to note the changes. Students examine an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hide and Seek Science

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students examine macro-invertebrates in order to better understand their link to the food web. Working in groups, they record observations of several areas of a stream or river, collect samples from the river bottom, and identify the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Undercounting Unemployment

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Young scholars examine what defines unemployment numbers in the United States. In this economic data lesson, students complete worksheets, watch a video, and have a class debate in order to understand how the U.S. defines and comes up...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Gulf Oil Spill in the Classroom

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the concept of environmental stewardship. In this interdisciplinary lesson, students investigate the media response to the Gulf oil spill as they examine live streaming video, interpret data, and share their personal...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Flutter Farm

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders complete activities to examine butterflies and their habitats. In this butterfly habitat lesson plan, 6th graders research butterflies and their habitats to help them investigate how to make a butterfly garden. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Amphipods

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify organisms that live at the bottom of the body of water. In this biology lesson, students evaluate the effects of pollution to amphipods population. They examine collected data and create a bar graph comparing them.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Examine an Ecosystem

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Pupils examine an ecosystem and record what they see.  For this ecosystem lesson students use a worksheet to help them identify the organisms in their ecosystem. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wetland Water Testing

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students examine the different properties that affect water quality.  In this pollution lesson plan students play a game, complete a hands on activity and computer lab. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Adventures in Electrical Engineering

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students explore electricity by conducting a series of experiments. In this physics lesson plan, students discover the relationship between current, voltage and resistance. They calculate voltage and power in a given system.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

One Country's Slave Trade

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Young scholars examine the slave trade. In this research skills lesson, students research the slave trade in a selected country. Young scholars use databases to locate pertinent information in order to prepare an oral presentation.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Battle Over Reconstruction: The Aftermath of War

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore public sentiment regarding Reconstruction. In this Reconstruction lesson, students analyze primary sources for evidence of the political, social and economic stability of the U.S. following the Civil War. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Isamu Noguchi/Stone Sculpture

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Young scholars examine the art and history of Japan and use it to help them conceptualize and create a work of art that reveals something about their own culture. They examine, interpret and analyze Noguchi's work and reveal ...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water 1: Water and Ice

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students examine the changes as water goes from solid to liquid. In this states of matter lesson, students observe and record the changes to water as it changes from solid to liquid and back to solid.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

CSI Rhino

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the rhinoceros and how the species has survived for so long.  In this rhino lesson students create graphs and research what is being done to protect the rhino.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How to be a Great Navigator!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine historical methods of navigation. They discuss the techniques of "Dead Reckoning," "Heaving the Log," and "Chip Log," pretend to sail from Europe to North America using vectors and determine the location of their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Place and Character in Poetry

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students examine how place in poetry helps give clues about character. In this poetry lesson plan, students read a poem while focusing on the descriptions of the room that is being described and predict what type of person would live...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wolves: Friend or Foe?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers study wolves and their habitat in Yellowstone.  In this environment and behavior lesson students create an interactive map of wolves in Yellowstone.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lost in Space

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Here is a case study for high school or college-level learners about space exploration equipment that has failed. The class reads about the Mars Climate Orbiter that was destroyed in 1999 and discusses the costs and benefits of space...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Friction In Our Lives

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore friction. They examine the effects of friction in the movement of objects. Students discover how friction helps and hinders us in our daily lives. They answer questions and participate in activities to demonstrate...