With a piece of plastic here and a piece of plastic there, here a piece, there a piece, everywhere a piece. Teams go on a field trip in order to document the locations and kinds of plastic trash in an area near them. The eighth...

Is assembling the periodic table as simple as Tetris? Scholars arrange colored cards into a logical order and then make connections to the arrangement of the periodic table. Hands-on activities include adding trend arrows and analyzing...

Strive for perfection. Based on peer feedback, groups identify ways to improve their prototypes of the solution to the plastics problem. Members must come up with at least two ideas for improvements. This is the eighth instructional...

Though the publisher designated this unit for use with third through eighth grades, this particular lesson plan would be best used with middle schoolers due to the specific measurement skills required. Basically, they set up the reaction...

Force the plane through the air. The lesson introduces the force on an airplane that makes it go forward. Pupils learn how Newton's laws of motion apply to flight in the eighth segment of a 22-part unit on flight.

Harness the power of bacteria. Scholars see how using organisms that exist in nature can help solve human problems in the process known as bioremediation. They research and discuss several successful examples, such as using oil-eating...

Bring together a study of two major scientific topics with a lesson on the relationship between pollution and evolution. With the help of a PowerPoint presentation, hands-on activity. and class demonstration young scientists learn...

Learn how ocean currents are vital to humans and marine life. The eighth installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program, focuses on ocean currents and how they affect global climate. The...

Discover and demonstrate the Lotus Effect and superhydrophobic surfaces with the eighth installment of a nine-part series that teaches scholars about surfaces that exhibit superhydrophobicity. The lesson continues also describes...

It's a bird, it's a ... device made to mimic birds. The eighth installment of a nine-part module has pupils read various articles to learn about bird flight. They consider the implications for aeronautical engineering.

How do you create a map of the ocean floor without getting wet? Middle school oceanographers discover the process of bathymetric mapping in the third installment in a five-part series of lessons designed for seventh and eighth graders....

Here's your chance to save the world. The eighth lesson in a 25-part Energy Systems and Solutions unit has young scientists come up with ideas for individual or group projects. They identify ways to solve the energy crisis. Hope they...

Students explore body percussion. They practice playing quarter notes and eighth notes separately, then quarter and eighth notes at the same time by different groups. They practice this exercise at different tempos.

Students investigate reaction rates.  In this seventh or eighth grade mathematics lesson, students collect, record, and analyze data regarding how the temperature of water affects the dissolving time of a sugar cube. Studetns...

When we think of ocean exploration, many of us have visions of sunken pirate ships full of treasure or mysterious creatures of the deep. What really motivates deep-sea investigation? The first in a series of diverse six-part lessons...

Eighth graders discuss and write about what led up to the discovery of the atom. Students label proton, nucleus, electron, and neutron in their notes. Students take notes on electron shells and how different atoms have different...

Students research elements on interactive Internet periodic tables, take notes using Inspiration software, and write descriptive paragraphs with graphics. They create presentations.

In this alchemy learning exercise, learners read about how alchemists kept their experiment notes in secret code. Students design their own secret code for the given elements. This learning exercise has 2 problems to solve.

Mass and density — aren't they the same thing? This activity has groups use balance beams and water displacement to measure several objects. The pupils use the measurements to calculate the density of the objects. 

Groups suspend objects within layers of liquids to determine the densities of different liquids and compare them to the densities of objects calculated in Part 1. The groups then carefully test their calculations by layering the...

Eighth graders participate in several science activities to note chemical or physical changes after discussion. They understand that all matter has definite structure which determines physical and chemical properties.

Eighth graders identify the different types of measurements and the instruments used to measure each type. After taking notes, they complete a bubble chart to examine the conversion between the units. To end the lesson, they practice...

Eighth graders demonstrate the use of instruments of measurement. As a class, they take notes and observe the proper procedure for using a graduated cylinder, a ruler, and a balance/triple beam balance. In groups, 8th graders visit...

Students develop a better understanding of the need to conserve our renewable resources.  In this water cycle instructional activity students take notes, complete a guide sheet and illustrate the water cycle.