Curated OER
Doctor, Doctor, Gimme The News
Seventh graders work together to develop a health-related experiment to display at the school health fair. Using the human body systems, they use the Internet to research a health problem through a controlled experiment. They are...
Curated OER
Alternative Energy Sources
Students recognize that people have various opinions on the use of renewable energy.In this renewable energy lesson plan, students research to find the best uses of renewable energy. Students create an original design for a group...
Curated OER
Robot Gears
Students build simple gear trains and record data to discover how to compute gear ratios. They investigate the definition of torque and how torque can be increased or decreased in a gear train.
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The Grand Canyon
Students act as scientists investigating the damming and experimental flooding of the Colorado River by the Glen Canyon dam that took place in 1996. They write a proposal as to whether or not more experimental flooding should be done on...
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Do Plants Need Water?
First graders utilize observational skills to articulate similarities and differences in the plants they observe. They make comparisions of size, color, and height. Lima beans are planted at successively farther distances from a water...
Teach Engineering
Weather Alert
Every time a bell rings ... there is lightning in the area. The activity provides directions to build a model of a lightning detection system. Similar to a system designed by Benjamin Franklin, the system uses static electricity to...
Curated OER
Trout Fishing in the Connoquenessing Watershed
Students create a tri-fold brochure to be used with their local Tourism Bureau that includes information and photos of local streams and lakes and trout fishing areas. Students write a description of the area and include a map of the...
Polar Trec
Rings of Life
Individuals analyze tree rings to determine the health of an ecosystem. They then look at otoliths of fish, hard calcium carbonate structures located behind the brain, in the same manner.
Curated OER
Looking at The Force on a Vehicle
Learners build a vehicle following technical drawings. They set up a system to pull the vehicles. Students compare and discuss how the motion of the vehicles changes more or less weight on a string is used to pull them.
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Give a Little Respect
Students recognize the importance of helping the environment. In this improving the environment instructional activity, students create a task that will improve the environment. student make decisions about how to share the work to get...
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Animal Explorations
Students discover compassion for animals. In this animal lesson, students go to a local animal welfare organization and help out. They reflect on compassion and how to make changes in the lives of animals.
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"Mother Earth" -- Past
Students examine our connection to the Earth. They identify how Native Americans believed in a "Mother Earth". They discover how the earth and life are connected.
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Testing the Water
Students develop and test a hypotheses through collecting and recording water quality data. They perform their tests outdoors in a location with a safe stream and easy access for students. Their various experiments involve the entire...
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Jurassic Park Debate
Young scholars research behavior, phsyiology, and ecology of dinoaurs. Students role-play as scientific specialists such as geneticists and ecologists. They present their research findings in a research paper.
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Calibrating a Roverbot
Learners build and program a Lego Mindstorms Roverbot to travel for a given amount of time. They gather data on time versus distance traveled to determine a calibration constant for their robot, which relates time to distance.
Curated OER
Agroforestry Challenge
Students explore agroforestry. In this Peace Corps lesson, students examine the role the trees play in deforestation efforts. Students then participate in an agroforestry game.
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Twice the Rice, or More?
Students review the metric and customary systems of measurement. In groups, they experiment with rice to discover the difference between the two systems. They record their observations on a worksheet and examine how capacity differs. To...
Curated OER
Chocolate Chip Cookie Mining
Students explore nonrenewable energy resources. In this coal lesson plan, students investigate how coal is formed and how it is used as a source of energy. Students mine for "coal" using toothpicks and chocolate chip cookies.
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How Diverse is That?
After reviewing biodiversity, learners work in small groups to analyze actual species distribution data. They learn to calculate the Shannon-Weaver diversity index for different communities. Though not particularly engaging, the content...
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We Care About Fire Safety
Learners investigate the hazards of fires and how to best protect themselves and their family. In this home safety lesson, students examine the importance of a smoke detector and discover how many homes are missing them among their...
Curated OER
Web of Life - Role-Playing
Students role-play how organisms adapt to their environment. They play 20 questions with plant and animal habitats. They create a web of life to demonstrate how each plant and animal relies on the other for survival.
Curated OER
Earth is Round?
Third graders discuss how Aristotle concluded that the Earth was round. As a class, they review theories about the Earth's shape and describe how life on Earth would be different if it were flat. Individually, they make a moon book in...
Curated OER
Science Safari: Energy Resources
Students discover how scientific methods are integral to the creation of energy. In this energy resources instructional activity, students follow the provided procedures to learn how science impacts energy production.
Curated OER
What Did I Touch Today?
Students investigate germs and how they travel. They graph the places in the classroom that have been touch by students to determine which five places have had the most contact. They write stories from a germ's point of view.