Steered Straight
Marijuana Awareness
February is Marijuana Awareness Month, and a set of interdisciplinary activities can make your class aware of the social, medical, legal, and psychological effects of marijuana. With writing prompts, research opportunities, and...
Teach Engineering
Chromatography Lab
Groups use alcohol and chromatography paper to separate the color components of black ink. The purpose of the activity is to allow the class to become aware that mixtures exist in hidden places.
Curated OER
TE Activity: Yeast Cells Respire, Too (But Not Like Me and You)
Student observe and quantify the respiration that occurs in yeast-molasses cultures. They complete an effective experiment in order to examine how to think critically about the results.
Curated OER
Environmental Causes of Birth Defects
Get your high schoolers thinking about the factors that lead to birth defects. They examine how environmental factors and personal choices can cause birth defects in unborn children. They discover the effects of various handicaps such as...
NOAA
Watch the Screen!
Can a sponge cure cancer? Life science pupils visit the drugstore under the sea in the fifth lesson of six. Working groups research the topic then get hands-on experience by testing the inhibiting effects of several plant extracts on E....
Curated OER
Nutrition Awareness
Learners gain an awareness of nutrition. For this science lesson plan, students explore how to determine his or her ideal body weight, demonstrate familiarity with the food groups relating to kilocaloric content, estimate the basic...
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Contemplating Nature vs. Nurture
Does having an addict in your family make it more likely to become one yourself? Explore the genetic risk factors, as well as the prominent environmental influences, for substance addiction in a instructional activity that encourages...
Curated OER
Skin: The Behavior and Health Connection
Middle schoolers explore how personal behavior can affect health, especially the health of your skin. They become better aware of how their personal behavior and the environment can have a considerable impact on their health in general....
Oregon State
Using Paper Chromatography
Through the analysis of paper chromatography to separate ink from the pen found at the crime scene, learners analyze the different stains and through calculations determine the thief.
Curated OER
What Do Bread and Beer Have in Common?
Students listen to an explanation of yeast cells and how they effect bread and beer. They discuss the ways alcohol affects the human body and participate in an indirect observation about cell respiration in yeast-molasses cultures.
Cornell University
Predicting Chemical Reactions
Prove the Law of Conservation of Mass through a lab investigation. A well-designed lesson asks groups to combine materials and monitor indicators for chemical reactions. Measuring the mass of the reactants and products allows individuals...
Curated OER
Selecting Soil Organisms in Compost
Students conduct an experiment to demonstrate that many of the enzyme systems needed to break down society's wastes exist in nature among the decomposers in a compost pile. They culture compost bacteria on starch agar to examine the...
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: The Cycle of Addiction
Drug addiction, including prescription drug addiction, begins with a reason that's different for every user. High schoolers learn more about the reasons people begin abusing drugs with a set of videos and worksheets that discuss four...
Curated OER
Population Growth in Yeasts
Students design an investigation using yeast. In this environmental engineering lesson plan, students design an investigation to determine how environmental factors affect the growth of yeast. They will collect quantitative data and...
Curated OER
Melting Ice is Hot Stuff!
Fourth graders determine the amount of energy required to melt ice using a calorimeter. They calculate the Molar Heat of Fusion of Ice.
Curated OER
Chemistry is pHun
Students investigate the pH of solutions and they learn how to use different types of indicators. In this pH lesson plan, students test various solutions with pH paper and determine if they are acidic, basic or neutral. They also test...
Curated OER
Chemical Changes
Students compare types of chemical change. In this chemical reaction lesson, students use a variety of household items to investigate different types of chemical change. Students will engage in a discussion about the dangers of chemicals...
Curated OER
Teen and Decision Making
Students examine how the brain develops. For this neurology lesson students read an article citing evidence that the different areas of the brain mature at different rates. They discuss emotional versus logical aspects of...
Curated OER
DNA Extraction From a Variety of Tissue Samples
Students, working in cooperative groups, extract very impure samples of DNA from a number of tissue samples. They determine how the samples can be preserved and how they are similar.
Curated OER
You Are Where You Live
Students explore where insects live and how they have adapted to their environment.
Curated OER
You Are Where You Live
Third graders observe insects in a number of habitats. They recognize which insect characteristics are adaptations to their habitats.
Curated OER
Superbugs
Students research deep sea communities and discover strategies for combating antimicrobial resistance and write reports on it. They consider overprescription and prophylactic uses of antibiotics as causes for their ineffectiveness.