PBS
Conceptualizing an Experiment
Students analyze information from a variety of sources in order to create a hypothesis about the origin of an interesting family artifact. They create alternative hypotheses based upon available information in order to understand that...
PBS
Interviewing a Parent
Students complete a personal interview in order to discover important information about family history and interesting family artifacts.They analyze statements from the interview in order to prove the accuracy of these statements, as...
Curated OER
What Does Bird Flu Mean to Students?
Students consider the far-reaching effects of the avian flu. For this personal health lesson, students visit selected websites to discover information about the flu, viral infections, and intensive farming. Students...
Discovery Education
Sonar & Echolocation
A well-designed, comprehensive, and attractive slide show supports direct instruction on how sonar and echolocation work. Contained within the slides are links to interactive websites and instructions for using apps on a mobile device to...
Curated OER
Designing Experiments - Overview
Students explore the concepts that enable them to design and conduct sound scientific experiments. They critique a faulty experiment and become familiar with some of the criteria of a good experiment. They conduct their own experiment.
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
European Explorers
To compare how the Spanish, French, and English approached the exploration of North America, class groups examine primary source documents and become experts on one of four explorers: Francisco Coronado, Robert LaSalle, Samuel de...
Curated OER
The Price of Gasoline: What's Behind It?
When gasoline is in high demand and on short supply, OPEC can raise the price to turn a significant profit. Help learners understand the economics behind demand, profit motive, and monopolies with a lesson that focuses on OPEC and...
Austin Independent School District
Visual Discovery Note Taking Sheets
Step into history and step out with a new understanding of events. These strategies bring a new level of understanding of key events by asking viewers to engage in and respond to projected images. Complete directions for the activity, a...
Virginia Department of Education
Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a activity highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Scientific Inquiry Using WildCam Gorongosa
How do scientists determine what questions to ask to meet their research goals? Help your class develop an inquiry mindset with a lesson based on studies in the Gorongosa National Park. Partners create their own research questions by...
Curated OER
Water Quality and Environmental Pollution
Learners use litmus paper to begin to discover the qualities of acids and bases. They learn about pH by testing clear liquids for acidity with purple cabbage juice as an indicator. The video Streamkeeper, with Bill Nye, and other video...
Curated OER
How To Build a Planet From The Inside Out!
High schoolers read about the Spitzer Space Telescope and the technology used to learn about planet composition. They calculate the radius of a planet, the size of a planet, the average density of a planet and the likely core composition...
PBS
Taking A Field Trip
Field trips require a great deal of advanced planning to be successful. Ensure the success of your trips with a step-by-step preparation guide that itemizes before, during, and after activities as well as extension and adaptation...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Gorongosa: Scientific Inquiry and Data Analysis
How does the scientific process begin? Introduce ecology scholars to scientific inquiry through an insightful, data-driven lesson. Partners examine data from an ongoing research study to determine the questions it answers. The resource...
Teach Engineering
The Keepers of the Gate Challenge
Help your class make a connection between salt water and nanoscience. In the introductory lesson of a seven-part unit, the class explores why salt water helps a sore throat feel better. Pupils conduct preliminary research about the...
NASA
Exploring Data
Bring the sun to your class! Young scholars analyze actual solar wind data in the second instructional activity of a five-part series. Their analysis includes speed, temperature, and density data.
Shodor Education Foundation
Simple Coordinates Game
Let coordinate pairs show you the way home. Scholars plot houses on a coordinate plane with given coordinates using an interactive app. Alternatively, they can identify the coordinates of houses already plotted on a coordinate plane.
Shodor Education Foundation
Simple Maze Game
Avoid the mines and win the game! Young scholars direct a robot through a minefield by plotting points. Their goal is to reach the target in as few moves as possible.
Curated OER
Light
Light is such a fascinating subject. This lesson does a great job of illuminating the mysteries of light for your young scientists. A series of demonstrations which are explained in the plan should help your charges to understand how...
Curated OER
Solving Mysteries Using Paper Chromotagraphy
Learners solve the mystery of the kidnapped teacher by analyzing a ransom note using paper chromatography. They carefully prepare ink samples from the note to known ink samples to determine the kidnapper.
Curated OER
The Acid Test
Students prepare a test solution whose color changes when an acid or a base is added. They determine whether various household substances are acids or bases and look for patterns in the results. Students determine how their test solution...
Curated OER
Stressed Out!
Have your class engage in lessons on earthquakes. Learners explore the science behind earthquakes using interactive websites and video clips. Then, they review the layers and parts of the Earth before delving into the causes of...
EngageNY
The Power of Algebra—Finding Primes
Banks are responsible for keeping our financial information safe. Mathematics is what allows them to do just that! Pupils learn the math behind the cryptography that banks rely on. Using polynomial identities, learners reproduce the...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Diseases
During a cholera outbreak, scientists presented two theories; one theory was based on miasma and the other on germs and contaminated water. The lesson looks at the scientific process for finding the real culprit.