Curated OER
The Gulf Oil Disaster
Students take a closer look at the Gulf oil spill of 2010. In this global issues lesson plan, students analyze political cartoons related to the crisis. Students discuss their impressions of the crisis and U.S. energy policies.
Curated OER
A Garden of Verses: Poems About Class Gardens
Students explore botany by participating in a language arts activity. In this garden poetry lesson, students read the classic poem "Mary, Mary Quite Contrary" and discuss the imagery and rhyming methods used. Students examine their own...
Desert Discoveries
Lizard Dash!
Here is a terrific learning game that has pupils acting like lizards! Before the game starts, there is a class discussion on the differences between endotherms and exotherms. The main focus of the game is how each team must keep...
Curated OER
Week 8 - Sea Life
Using a magnifier, mini marine biologists examine the barbules of a bird feather. They swirl the it into a mixture of oil and water and then re-examine the feather. After the activity, discuss how the oily feathers pose a problem to...
Curated OER
Energy Flow and the Food Chain
Young scholars complete discussions and worksheets about the Hawaiian food chain. In this food chain lesson plan, students research decomposers, consumers, and producers.
Institute for Systems Biology
Introduction to Saline Environments & Microbial Halophiles
If you do not mind wading through unrelated headings (This is not for a physics or STEM course, as it states.) and content (The lesson opens with an article about neurology, not halophiles.), then you will find a valuable resource on...
Teach Engineering
Exploring Energy: What Is Energy?
...Then the water heater exploded like a bomb. Using a video of an exploding water heater, the resource presents the definitions of energy, potential energy, and kinetic energy to be used in later lessons of the unit.
Mr. Nussbaum
Abraham Lincoln Reading Comprehension—The Middle Years (Part 2)
Abraham Lincoln's face may only be worth one cent, but the online reading passage and questions about his life are an invaluable resource. Pupils read a passage about Lincoln's experience with the Illinois Legislature, earning his law...
Curated OER
Suck It Up
High schoolers investigate the "wicking capacity " of fabric; that is how well various fabrics draw water "perspiration" away from the body and let it vent to the outside. They brainstorm possible protocols to measure, tabulate and...
Curated OER
Noblesville Fall
Learners brainstorm questions based on a given narrative about an actual fallen meteorite. In this earth science lesson, students organize their responses into different categories.
Curated OER
Introduction of Life Cycles
Fourth graders explore life cycles and the metamorphic process. In this life science lesson, 4th graders work in groups to study a group of creatures and metamorphosis. Students view examples of metamorphic and non-metamorphic life...
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Forests
Fourth graders examine the impact forests have on our lives. They listen to the book "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein, and brainstorm about how forests are important to us. In small groups they create a poster illustrating how the...
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Household Waste (Down the Drain)
Students brainstorm in small groups about the various ways water comes into their house. They list ways wastewater is produced in and around the home. They do an at-home inventory of all water drains and report their findings to the class.
Curated OER
Noblesville Fall
Learners explore their interest in meteorites. They review the story of the Noblesville meteorite in 1991 and brainstorm how they would feel, what they want to know and what they would do next if they were the boys who discovered the...
Curated OER
Climate Change: What's Hot? What's Happening?
Pupils conduct a web-based project to analyze recent or on-going climate change research in the North. They are exposed to the application of science in current research on climate change.
Curated OER
Bubble-ology
Third graders brainstorm and record all their responses about what they know about bubbles. They discuss what they know about bubbles and what they would like to know about them, keeping their responses on a second sheet of newsprint....
Curated OER
Primary Level: Earth Day
Students research the environment prior to brainstorming a list of ways they can help stop Global Warming. Students then design posters to hang throughout the school and choose at least 1 action to implement in their household.
Curated OER
The Future of the Milky Way
Students brainstorm ideas about the future of our galaxy. In this space science activity, students research the three main events happening in the Milky Way. They write a report about their findings.
Curated OER
Kincaid Creatures
Young scholars brainstorm a list of nocturnal and diurnal wild animals they see in their community and discuss how the animals would be different if they were living during the Ice Age. Using a handout, they discover how archeologists...
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Turtle Hurdles
Students participate in a simulation in which they discover the threats to sea turtles throughout the world. In groups, they act out the life cycle of a sea turtle and describe the stresses that threaten their survival. As a class,...
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Aquarium Bill of Rights
Pupils review the Bill of Rights on Aquademics and list the rights that are guaranteed to United States citizens. In groups, they role play the role of important leaders whose rules would make a difference for the lives of fish in...
Curated OER
Community Action
Fifth graders brainstorm a list of decisions that students make daily that affect the welfare of the environment categorizing them as being either helpful or harmful. They then trace local actions to distant consequences to determine how...
Curated OER
Global Warming
Learners explore the global warming issue. They brainstorm about things they have heard about the "greenhouse effect" and "global warming." In addition, they collaborate with their peers to exchange ideas about the issue.
Curated OER
DESIGN AND BUILD A MAGNETOMETER
High schoolers brainstorm and design an instrument to detect magnetic field direction. The design approximates the design included in this activity. They build a functioning magnetometer, a device for detecting the relative direction of...