Curated OER
Getting Physical with Estuaries
Students study estuaries and how the physical factors change over time. In this investigative lesson plan students use a website to gain knowledge of estuaries then in groups they create and present their charts.
Curated OER
The Physics of Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air
Students study hummingbirds and how they use Newton's law. In this motion lesson students complete several activities and view videos of hummingbirds.
Arizona State University
Physics of Boats
Let's go sailing! An instructive unit includes six lessons with multiple activities to teach scholars about density, center of gravity, buoyancy, and the Archimedes Principle. They can complete the final project of building a boat...
Teach Engineering
Package Those Foods!
Designing the right package — it's more than a pretty picture. Challenge small groups to design a food package. They must consider the type of food they are packaging and the package's ability to control the physical and...
Curated OER
Physical Changes and States of Matter - Two
Here's a wonderful lesson on how substances change states. Groups of learners are given trays with a chocolate bar, a piece of paper, an ice cube, and a balloon. During the activity, the groups closely observe the changes that each...
Teach Engineering
Properties of Mixtures vs. Solutions: Mix It Up!
Now it becomes crystal clear why the unit is called Mixtures and Solutions. The fifth installment of a six-part unit explores mixtures and solutions. After viewing a demonstration on mixing pebbles with water, salt with water, and...
NOAA
Watching in 3D
Bring the ocean floor to life! Earth science scholars discover the process of deep sea mapping in the third installment in a series of five lessons about ocean exploration. The teacher's guide includes helpful resources, worksheets, and...
Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi
Find the Most Spectacular Volcanoes in the World!
Heat things up in your earth science class with this collaborative lesson on volcanoes. After first being introduced to the different types of volcanoes and how they are formed, young geologists work in small groups to...
Earth Day Network
Forms of Energy
Give me a home where electric buffalo roam and I'll show you an ohm on the range. Introduction your classes to potential and kinetic energy, electricity, and renewable resources with a resource that combines observation, direct...
NASA
Cosmic Microwave Background
Begin your next class with a BANG! Pupils discuss the formation of our universe and its expansion before proceeding with an activity designed to demonstrate what most likely occurred billions of years ago. They conclude with a discussion...
Teach Engineering
The Grand Challenge
Magnetic resonance imaging, just how safe is it? The introduction to unit study of magnetic resonance imaging technology presents the grand challenge questions of how an MRI machine works, the risks involved, the physics involved,...
Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment
Safety and Managing Risk
Look before you leap! Learning how to analyze the risk involved before engaging in an activity is the focus of this lesson. Class members examine rules, both within their families and society at large, and consider why these boundaries...
NASA
Just How Far is That Star?
Pupils often wonder how we know the distance to various stars. Starting with a thought experiment and progressing to a physical experiment, they determine the brightness and distance to various stars. The evaluation requires...
Teach Engineering
Off-Road Wheelchair Challenge
Challenge your class to use their understanding of the engineering design process to design and build a small-scale, off-road prototype for an assistive technology device. Teams select materials to build their scale models, and, using...
NOAA
Invent a Robot!
Wait til your class gets their hands on this! Aspiring engineers design a working robotic arm in the fifth and final installment in a series of ocean exploration lessons. Pupils learn about the use of underwater robots in ocean...
Pecentral.org
Personal Wellness Inventory
How healthy are you really? High schoolers assess the aspects of physical, mental, and social health in their lives before applying them to various templates and discerning the unhealthy habits that they can work on changing.
Virginia Middle School Engineering Education Initiative
Save the Penguins: An Introduction to Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer
Heat things up in your physical science class with this interactive lesson series on thermodynamics. Through a series of class demonstrations and experiments, young scientists learn how heat is transferred through conduction,...
American Institute of Physics
African American Inventors in History
A two-part activity introduces young historians to the work of famous African American inventors. Groups first research and develop a presentation of an inventor that includes biographical information and information about one of their...
CK-12 Foundation
Earth's Magnetic Field: Compass Poles
You'll be strangely drawn to this activity! Physical science pupils learn how compasses work in an interesting interactive. The content covers magnetic poles, Earth's magnetic field, and what would happen if Earth's poles swapped places.
Teach Engineering
Biot-Savart Law
Electrical current going round and round,produces a magnetic field. After a demonstration of the magnetic field surrounding an electrical wire, class members use the provided formula associated with Biot-Savart's Law to calculate the...
The New York Times
Collateral Damage? Researching a Connection Between Video Games and Violence
Hook your class into an exploration of and discussion about violence in video games with a cute animal clip and a video game trailer. After a quick discussion about how media can affect mood, class members read a related article and...
Teach Engineering
Cell Membrane Structure and Function
Teach your class how to get out of a cell — or break in. The third installment in a seven-part series introduces the class to cell membranes and their functions. The lesson plan includes information to present to the class,...
Beauty and Joy of Computing
Algorithms
Introduces the class to the idea of searching a list by building a script. Learners modify a guessing game script that will find a number in a list.
CK-12 Foundation
Atoms to Molecules: Constructing Helium
Protons and neutrons and electrons, oh my! Physical science scholars get hands-on with interactive atomic modeling. Starting with a simple helium atom, participants create and name ions, then build isotopes. Questions throughout the...