What is reflectivity, and what does it have to do with the Earth's climate? As reflectivity is measured by albedo, scientists can gather information on Earth's energy balances that relate to global warming or climate change. Budding...

Wrap-up a unit on global climate change with a instructional activity that examines the causes and effects of climate change. Learners fill out a chart that represents what they think causes climate change—natural and human-based—and...

Scholars become experts on the eight major impacts of climate change through a jigsaw and grand conversation. They then research and present what they learned about effects specific to their region.    

Tune in! Young scientists use an AM radio at home to monitor solar output. The long-term project would be ideal in a flipped classroom or as an out-of-class project. 

Young scientists present their experimental designs from the previous experiment. The ninth lesson in the series outlines what learners should present, what class discussions should happen, and the solution NASA came up with for the same...

Introduce learners to set of complete instructions that describe how to build a magnetometer that works just like the ones professional photographers use to predict auroras. The diagrams are wonderfully descriptive, and the written...

In this second lesson of the series, pupils learn to observe similarities and differences in photos of the sun and record them in a Venn diagram. Then, small groups practice the same skill on unique images before presenting their...

Can you listen to Jupiter on a simple radio? Turns out the answer is yes! The resource instructs scholars to build a simple radio to pick up the radio waves created when the charged particles from the sun hit Jupiter's magnetic...

Some organisms spend their entire lives in leaf litter. The third in a series of six is a great lesson plan exploring the community of leaf litter. Groups gather and then spread leaf litter over white paper and remove leaves/twigs while...

Learners develop an understanding of the interrelatedness of technology, culture, and environment as illustrated by the Chumash culture. They research the tribe and complete a table for the Chumash people describing their environment,...

Pupils confront age-related stereotypes, explore how stereotyping impacts their lives, and discuss how they can make changes to reduce over-generalizations, unfair assumptions, and critical judgments about people groups. They use a...

Students explore the concept of social trade-offs in the context of graduated driver licensing. They discuss the benefits and drawbacks of the graduate licensing program.They create a list of factors that contribute to traffic accidents...

Super detailed, this lesson will educate physical science learners about the flow of electrons. Begin by reviewing potential and kinetic energy with a moving pendulum, and then get them online to observe interactive websites about...

Getting a ship into orbit isn't rocket science. Oh, wait...that's exactly what it is! Learn the basics of the concepts of thrust, launch angle, and gravitational pull in this fun and progressively challenging game.

How do you properly illustrate the extreme size difference between two planets—Earth and Jupiter? With the help of jellybeans, of course! Create a scale model of Jupiter's mass compared to Earth using a fishbowl, 1,400 beans, and a...

Young scientists race from Earth to Mars and back, trying to complete mission objectives while avoiding radiation in this game for 2-4 players. To identify the winner, players must graph their mission points and radiation points at the...

Neptune takes 164.8 Earth years to travel around the sun. In the fifth of 22 lessons, young scientists create a travel guide to a planet in our solar system. They provide tips for others on what to bring, what they see, and their...

After three eye-opening lessons about our environment, scholars revisit a 10-question survey, reflect on their new-found knowledge, and take action by writing to a representative or creating a public service announcement about...

Middle schoolers explore the differences between learned and innate behavior among humans and monkeys. They complete an assignment and read articles about two studies, which used similar test methods to show that infants and monkeys...

Ice core samples give scientists access to climates of old—those from more than 800,000 years ago. Through an analysis of various temperature graphs from ice cores, tree rings, and weather stations, scholars compare historical climates...

Students create maps with cutout pieces of paper that represent caverns. They develop a scale for their map and decide where the best location is to live. They discover the importance of map reading skills.

Young scholars practice determining map distances using the map scales. They discover how much an area represents on the map in relation to the actual area. They decide on the best place to build their cavern.

Kindergarteners build phonemic awareness by segmenting words with two or three phonemes. As the teacher says each word, the kids put up a finger for each phoneme they hear. This can also be done with manipulative such as blocks or tally...

Students examine the case of a map making expedition. In groups, they read a case study on "The Lost Gorge" in the Finger Lakes region of New York state. They examine maps and determine where the error in the map-making occured to end...