Curated OER
What is in a Name?
Students examine taxonomy and the use of dichotomous keys through two activities. They use a dichotomous key and create one of their own as well as create new scientific Family names for penguins using same word roots used by taxonomists.
Curated OER
Enzyme Activity: An Inquiry Based Approach
Students explore biochemical reactions mediated by enzymes in an inquiry approach. They are given two questions about the types of living materials that contain the enzymes that break down hydrogen peroxide, and under what conditions the...
Curated OER
Enzyme Activity: An Inquiry Based Approach
Using an inquiry approach to studying biochemical reactions, cooperative teams of young scholars investigate hypotheses about living materials that contain enzymes which break down in hydrogen peroxide. They perform experiments,...
Curated OER
Science Activity for Grades 4 - 8
Students use the scientific method and see the relationship between explanation and evidence as they investigate the effects of violence on young viewers.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Are All Plants Created Equal?
Photosynthesis requires energy and produces food, and cellular respiration produces energy and requires food. An interesting lesson analyzes the factors that affect the rates of photosynthesis and respiration. Classes spend one day...
American Statistical Association
Confidence in Salaries in Petroleum Engineering
Just how confident can we be with statistics calculated from a sample? Learners take this into account as they look at data from a sample of petroleum engineer salaries. They analyze the effect sample size has on a margin of error and...
Skyscraper Museum
Changes in a City Over Time
Investigate the growth and development of New York City with the final instructional activity in this four-part series on skyscrapers. Learners first explore the concept of urban growth by looking closely at a series of three paintings...
Science 4 Inquiry
All the Small Things
Scholars use sorting cards to try to define a pure substance versus a mixture. Risk becomes reward as they observe the differences and create a flowchart sorting matter into mixtures and pure substances (elements and compounds).
NASA
Supernova Chemistry
By measuring the wavelength, frequency, and intensity of electromagnetic radiation, scientists determine the temperature, density, and composition of far away items. Scholars rotate through ten lab stations using a spectroscope at each...
Scholastic
Women's Suffrage for Grades 6–8
Learners study the decisions and solutions involved in winning the right to vote. After reading background information on the fight for women's suffrage, including one woman's story, and its eventual success in the United States and...
Kenan Fellows
Electricity: Sources, Usage, Challenges, and the Future
What does the future of energy look like? Junior engineers collaborate to discover a solution to the global energy crisis during a very hands-on activity. The unit focuses on learning through collaboration to develop a deep understanding...
American Statistical Association
Bubble Trouble!
Which fluids make the best bubbles? Pupils experiment with multiple fluids to determine which allows for the largest bubbles before popping. They gather data, analyze it in multiple ways, and answer analysis questions proving they...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Tree Rings: Living Records of Climate
Open with a discussion on weather and climate and then explain how tree rings can provide scientists with information about the earth's past climate. Pupils analyze graphics of simulated tree rings from various US locations for the...
Rochester Institute of Technology
Hazmat Disposal
What a waste! The last installment of a nine-part technology/engineering series teaches learners about medical waste disposal systems. Conducting a simulation allows individuals to understand how monetary considerations constrain waste...
Berkshire Museum
The Three Life-Giving Sisters: Plant Cultivation and Mohican Innovation
Children gain first-hand experience with Native American agriculture while investigating the life cycle of plants with this engaging experiment. Focusing on what the natives called the Three Sisters - corn, beans, and squash - young...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Using Historic Digital Newspapers for National History Day
Your learners will take a trip through history as they peruse through historic digitalized newspapers, reading real articles from such historical periods in the United States as the Temperance movement...
University Interscholastic League
English Lesson to Prepare for UIL Spelling and Vocabulary Contest
"i before e. . ." Spelling is easier if kids know the eight basic spelling rules contained in this resource packet.
Novelinks
Sense and Sensibility: Anticipation Guide Reading Strategy
Begin your discussion about Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility before you even open the book. Kids fill in a worksheet that lists five statements about the literary themes of the novel, and then discuss their opinions as a...
Delegation of the European Union to the United States
The European Union’s Economic and Monetary Union
What are the benefits of using the Euro, the EU's common currency? What are the challenges faced? As their examination of the European Union continues, class members investigate the impact on how the switch to the Euro impacted...
Delegation of the European Union to the United States
The Single Market and Free Trade
What are the benefits of a single EU market? Class members conclude their examination of the European Union by focusing on the single market concept designed to bring down barriers, create more jobs, and increase prosperity.
Center for Learning in Action
Density
Explore the concept of density within states of matter—gases, liquids, and solids—through a group experiment in which young scientists test objects' texture, color, weight, size, and ability to sink or float.
Syracuse University
Harlem Renaissance
The music and literature of the Harlem Renaissance defined American culture, including its poetry. Using a poem from the period, individuals explore its musical qualities and how it is reflective of the period. Then, they use what they...
Syracuse University
Civil War
What was it like to enlist as a soldier in the Civil War? By using enlistment papers, young scholars consider this question. After they've looked at the primary source and discussed it, they create a short story of a fictional soldier to...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Human Feet Are Strange
Feet are neat! So, if you've already walked the path of examining animal footprints with your class, put them in the shoes of early humans! A well-designed lesson incorporates video, discussion, and hands-on learning to demonstrate how...