Science 4 Inquiry
Battle of the Waves
Which travels faster, light or sound? Scholars work in groups to simulate the ability for waves to travel through solids, liquids, gases, and through a vacuum. Then, they learn about the properties of a mystery wave and must determine...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Virus Hunters: Epidemiology of Nipah Virus
Who actually goes looking for a virus? Expose your class to the high-stakes life of an epidemiologist on the trail of the Nipah virus. Pupils engage in a short video, then examine how scientists predict, model, and find the source of...
Scholastic
Lesson Five: The Earth, Rocks and Minerals
Apply the principles of geology to a series of collaborative, hands-on class activities. Young earth scientists learn more about igneous, metamorphic, and sedentary rocks before classifying and weathering rocks that they find....
NOAA
Tied Up In Knots
Challenge scholars to tie knots like a sailor. With help from tutorials and plenty of practice, learners tie the perfect reef knot, clove hitch, bowline and more!
NASA
MASS, MASS – Who Has the MASS? Analyzing Tiny Samples
What is it worth to you? A hands-on lesson asks groups to collect weights of different combinations of coins and calculate weighted averages. They use the analysis to understand the concept of an isotope to finish the third lesson in a...
Pingry School
Determination of the Molar Mass of an Unknown Acid
Acids and bases have a love-hate relationship. They balance each other so nicely, but they are complete opposites! Learners use these concepts and titration to calculate the molar mass of an unknown substance. The experiment...
Polar Trec
Global Snow Cover Changes
Snow is actually translucent, reflecting light off its surface which creates its white appearance. Pairs or individuals access the given website and answer questions about snow cover. They analyze graphs and charts, examine data, and...
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Genes Are Real Things
Proving microscopic structures exist is a difficult task. Learn how scientists did just that in the mid-1800s as they set out to identify the cellular structures related to genetics. The online lesson explains the collection of work that...
Federal Reserve Bank
Lesson 2: In the Aftermath
Don't wait for a crisis to get your finances together. An economics instructional activity demonstrates the importance of understanding crucial documents, banking basics, and financial tools with the focus on Hurricane Katrina in 2005...
DiscoverE
Kinetic Sculpture
Let your creativity run wild. Scholars build a sculpture out of basic materials. These sculptures must be able to move in the wind (from an electric fan). However, they must also withstand the wind enough to not fall over—it's quite the...
Concord Consortium
Acid Test
This isn't your typical basic lesson—it's more acidic! Learners use pH information to determine the hydroxide ion concentration of different substances and then use these values to analyze information. The calculations require...
Judicial Learning Center
Law and the Rule of Law
We hear a lot about the importance of the rule of law, but most people do not really know what those words mean. The lesson is a webpage that defines the rule of law, explains why it is important in a democratic society and provides...
NOAA
I Didn’t Do It…Did I?: Make Your Own Greenhouse Effect
How do greenhouse gases affect the climate on Earth? Pupils explore the concept by first building their own apparatuses to model the greenhouse effect. Then, they record data to measure temperature change and determine...
Lawrence Hall of Science
Photolithography
Examine the use of photolithography in the fabrication of circuit boards and other components. An advanced activity teaches pupils a process for transferring a pattern onto a surface. Using UV light and a light reactive substance,...
California Department of Education
Instruments of Change: Making a Simple Stringed Instrument (CTE)
What materials and skills does a person need to build a simple working instrument? With the first of four lessons from the Changing One's Tune: A Music Therapy STEM Integrated Project series, scholars learn about the basic structure of...
Curated OER
Basic Safety Practices
Students demonstrate an awareness of how to use basic safety practices accordingly. They classify substances that are safe and unsafe to taste and touch. In groups the students explore different substances and explain how they are safe...
Curated OER
African Americans in Science
Students examine the life of renowned African American scientists. In this science literacy lesson plan, students explore a website containing profiles and achievements of past and present African American scientists. They prepare a...
Curated OER
Animals
First graders study the basic needs of animals and compare them to human needs. They make bird feeders using milk carton and pine cones. They review the basic needs of food, water, air, and shelter and discuss what happens when animals...
Curated OER
Citizens For the New Zoo
Third graders complete Internet research to find information about an animal and its basic needs. They design a model of a zoo habitat that would accommodate their animal. They write a letter of recommendation to a Zoo board of directors...
Curated OER
Survivor!
Students, in groups, create a project to display examples and non-examples of basic needs. They answer what is needed for basic survival of all living things.
Curated OER
Insects
Young scholars study the characteristics and basic needs of insects. They compare and describe similarities among insects. They examine the body structure, covering, and movement of insects and also, examine insect life cycles in this...
Curated OER
The Study of Life
In this scientific research worksheet, students will complete a chart by determining if the statements given are examples of quantitative research or descriptive research. Then students will fill in the blank of 8 statements about the...
Curated OER
Hide and Seek Science
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...
Curated OER
Science: Draining the Land - the Mississippi River
Students use topographic maps to identify parts of rivers. In addition, they discover gradient and predict changes in the channels caused by variations in water flow. Other activities include sketching a river model with a new channel...