Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Is Our Water Healthy?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students test water for a least one chemical characteristic. They hypothesize how a storm event might change the chemical characteristics of a stream. Students collect water samples and use the chemical test to test the water.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aquatic Ecosystem Exploration

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners visit a local stream, pond, creek, or river and collect macroinvertebrates. They sort macroinvertebrates and identify each species using a dichotomous key. Students decide on trophic levels and construct a possible food web for...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What If There's No Light?

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
students discuss the importance of light and the consequences of living without it. Using a plant as a demonstration, students predict and observe what happens to a plant when it does not receive enough light. In groups, they experiment...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Quality with Samples

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Students recognize whether one wants to drink water, swim in it, or for the health of the organisms living in it. They prepare different water samples to observe and collect samples regarding the water quality.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Determining the Age of Fossils

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers examine the concept of radioactive dating. In this radioactive dating lesson, students investigate how to determine the ages of fossils and rocks as they learn about half-life radioactive decay.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

CAN'T TOUCH THIS!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars discover the best practical shielding material when dealing with radioactive substances. They draw conclusions based on availability of materials, price, and best shielding properties.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Lesson Plan

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Young scholars discuss the importance of water in our daily lives. In this physics activity, students calculate the pressure of water tower systems. They investigate the effect of certain variables using a computer simulation.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Balls and Ramp

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Learners role several balls of different weights down a ramp and into a paper cup and record how far each ball made the paper cup move. They then answer questions that help them analyze their results and reinforce the idea that energy...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bounce Back Ball

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders work in teams of four to measure the rebound heights of a tennis ball dropped from four different heights. They investigate with the bouncing balls to measure changes in the type of energy they possess.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Parachutes: What Affects a Parachute

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students create a simple paper parachute. In this parachute design lesson, students examine the effects of the wind and make napkin parachutes.  
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Collecting Compost

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Temperature School

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students observ the cooling and warming of room temperature, hot, and ice cold cans of water by measuring the change in temperature over time. They then attempt to develop explanations for the observations made and apply their findings...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

And the Survey Says...

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders evaluate whether a certain argument is valid or invalid. In this science lesson, 8th graders discuss the importance of using unbiased evidence. They design an experiment that they can test in school.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Insect Monitoring

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students participate in an interactive activity using the scientific method to study biodiversity.  In this insect monitoring activity, students simulate the layers of soil and the insects that would live there. Students design...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chemistry & The Community

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Young scholars complete a Webquest which investigates the chemistry in items such as shampoo. They research the Internet, perform a lab experiment, and write a scientific lab report with their findings. Upon completion of the activities,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Names in the Field: A Simple GPS Field Exercise

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students explore basic methods of GPS data collection, uploading the data to a computer, and making simple maps of their data using GIS software. They create a map of the data using GIS software (or Excel)
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coral Bleaching in the Caribbean

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students use authentic satellite data on the NASA website to determine when the sea surface temperature meets the criteria to induce coral bleaching.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigating daylight

For Teachers 6th - 12th
students investigate a natural factor affecting their everyday lives: daylight. First, they collect data on sunrise and sunset in their hometown, create a Microsoft Office Excel chart to help them understand the data pattern, and offer a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stream Chemistry Monitoring

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students become familiar with real-world gathering of chemical data. The experience how the science is done: the nature of analysis, data collection, interpretation, and presentation. They study a nearby body of water for their experiment.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Parts Are Parts: The English Measurement System

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders view and measure common body parts to find a fathom, a span, and inch. They discuss the historical information about how standard English measurements came to be and why body parts can no longer be used as a standard...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Measurement: Caliper Actitivy

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students participate in an investigation of winged organisms. Working with calipers, students measure the wing span of several butterflies from different areas. After recording their measurements, students use their data to explain...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Food Safety Lab

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students use the scientific method to investigate the role of temperature in microbial growth. In this food preservation lesson, students set up an experiment with fruit in room temperature and in a refrigerator. They record the...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Determining the Nature, Size, and Age of the Universe

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Prompt scholars to discover the expansion of the universe themselves. Using photographs of other galaxies, they measure and then graph the size and distance of each. Finally, they draw conclusions and prove the universe is...
Activity
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Teach Engineering

Study Design for Air Quality Research

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Provide your class with the tools they need to design a research project. Groups examine case studies to gain information about the process involved in designing a research project. They use materials provided to brainstorm and develop a...