Center for Math and Science Education
Pocket Solar System
How in the world can something as big as the solar system possibly fit in your pocket? Complete this simple modeling activity and find out, as young scientists gain an appreciation for the incredible scale of outer space.
Tech Museum of Innovation
Seed Dispersal
Engineering challenges are not just man-made ... nature has its own set of them. A hands-on STEM activity has groups designing a seed dispersal system. Each group can only use one sheet of paper — a tough task!
Columbus City Schools
It's the Heat and the Pressure?
Ready for a change? Give a comprehensive collection of metamorphic materials a try! With the assortment of printables and lab activities, you won't be under pressure to keep things lively. The unit culminates by having...
Biology Junction
Plant Diversity
Ginkgo trees existed for more than 350 million years, and, at this time, only one species still remains. While plant diversity generally increases over geologic time, some interesting exceptions occur. Young scientists learn about plant...
American Museum of Natural History
What do You Know About Life on Earth?
Humans have only inhabited the earth for a fraction of the time that life has existed. Young scientists explore the facts about the emergence of life on Earth with an interactive resource. While highlighting different types of life, the...
Curated OER
The East Fork Project
Learners identify possible sources of health risks, types of exposures, routes of exposure, and populations that could be affected after discussing water pollution and environmental health hazards. After discussion, students conduct a...
Curated OER
Balancing The Day Away In Grade 2
Second graders sped the day exploring about balance by playing with and making balancing toys. They discover how varying the amount and position of mass affects the toys' balance. Pupils explore gravity and balance while playing with the...
Curated OER
Sink or Float
Second graders explore floating and sinking and make predictions about whether certain objects are likely to sink or float. They read the story Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen. Pupils loacate rhyming words and discuss the events of...
Curated OER
Drugs and Safety Precautions
Drugs can both help and harm depending on how they are used. Fifth graders complete a activity that provides background information on prescription drugs. They read the text and then describe why medication manufacturers label pill...
Curated OER
The Plant Food Factory
Plants need sun and water to survive. Let kids discover these facts by reading a block of informational text and considering a scientific quandary. They read the text, then use the information to complete a two-part question about plant...
Indiana University
World Literature: "One Evening in the Rainy Season" Shi Zhecun
Did you know that modern Chinese literature “grew from the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud”? Designed for a world literature class, seniors are introduced to “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” Shi Zhecun’s stream of...
Achieve
False Positives
The test may say you have cancer, but sometimes the test is wrong. The provided task asks learners to analyze cancer statistics for a fictitious town. Given the rate of false positives, they interpret the meaning of this value in the...
NOAA
Sediments
Calcareous ooze ... what an interesting name! The 15th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program focuses on sediments found on the ocean floor. After viewing the slideshow lecture,...
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Some Viruses Store Genetic Information in RNA
Can a high school program alter the entire course of your life? David Baltimore and Howard Temin participated in high school programs working in research laboratories and went on to win the 1975 Nobel Prize. Learn about these two...
Curated OER
How Can Plants Be Sorted?
In this plant classification worksheet, students will observe a variety of different plants and categorize each plant by its flowers, leaves, and spines. This worksheet had 13 fill in the blank questions.
Curated OER
Ocean Creature Classification
Students develop a Taxonomic Key for marine invertebrates from pictures they are given after practicing together with common objects, such as shoes. They then compare their key to a provided Ocean Invertebrates Taxonomic Key.
Curated OER
Cell 1 Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic
Young scholars differentiate between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. They examine pictures of prokaryotes and eukaryotes and write down the differences between the two. They complete a Venn Diagram on the cells.
Curated OER
Classification 1: Classification Scheme
Students examine how many kinds of living things can be sorted into groups in many ways using various features to decide which things belong to which group and that classification schemes vary with purpose.
Curated OER
Energy Flow in Ecosystems
Students, in groups, create a slide show about the ecosystem and answer critical thinking questions based on their research.
Curated OER
Dinosaurs
Students study the lives of dinosaurs. In this dinosaur lesson plan, students create dinosaur dioramas that depict how and where the creatures lived. Students also discuss extinction with their teacher.
Curated OER
Classification 2: A Touch of Class
Learners examine how many kinds of living things (e.g. plants and animals) can be sorted into groups in many ways using various features to decide which things belong to which group and that classification schemes vary with purpose.
Curated OER
Collecting Compost
Students observe a composting box. For this soil lesson, students create a composting bin by using a bin, newspaper, worms, and food scraps. Students create a composting food web.
Curated OER
Classification of Animals
Students explore animal characteristics by participating in a SMART board activity. In this animal classification instructional activity, students utilize a sorting chart to divide different animal names by their observable...
Curated OER
Caterpillar, Caterpillar How Do You Grow?
Students work in small groups of three or four to create books based on the Eric Carle books studied. Topics may include tadpoles, guppies, people, moths, and plants. Media used may include Kid Pix, sound recordings, art pieces,...