PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Contemplating Nature vs. Nurture
Does having an addict in your family make it more likely to become one yourself? Explore the genetic risk factors, as well as the prominent environmental influences, for substance addiction in a lesson that encourages awareness and open...
DiscoverE
Build a Better Candy Bag
Every child's dream: stuffing as much candy into a bag as possible. Doing this, though, requires a nice sturdy bag. Scholars design the sturdiest bag they can and test the limits of those bag using a sweet treat!
Kenan Fellows
Reading Airline Maintenance Graphs
Airline mechanics must be precise, or the consequences could be deadly. Their target ranges alter with changes in temperature and pressure. When preparing an airplane for flight, you must read a maintenance graph. The second lesson of...
Polk County Education
Winter Survival/Hike
Hibernation isn't just about staying fed, it's about staying warm. Young environmentalists explore the importance of staying warm in the wilderness with a short lesson about surviving in the wild. Using gelatin to represent warm-blooded...
Curated OER
Foliage Tracker
Young scholars discuss the change of leaf colors and the role that climate and elevation play in those changes. They then track leaf changes, input data, and graph foliage changes with a free online tool.
Curated OER
Let's Bag It
Students observe and discuss a vacuum cleaner model of a baghouse to better understand how this pollutant recovery method functions in cleaning industrial air pollution. They give examples of when the use of a baghouse is appropriate,...
Curated OER
Land Safely...
Learners model the preparation needed for a soft-landing on a planet or object in space. They do this by packaging a raw egg with certain material, and dropping the egg from a given height to test the packaging effectiveness.
Curated OER
Hanging Around
Students explore weight by building a spring scale and observing how it responds to objects with different masses. Each team of students can make their own spring scale by following steps which are specifically outlined in the plan. As...
Curated OER
It Came from Outer Space! The AA Meteorite Connection
Young scholars discover why Antarctica is the most fruitful place on earth for locating meteorites. They work in groups. Students are given a Museum or University Name for each group. They are explained that each group is allowed to...
Curated OER
The Rain Maker
Second graders work in small groups with a cup each of several materials. Students layer the gravel, sand, and water into a resealable bag. They draw a picture of this bag in their water journal. Students place their sealed bags in a...
Curated OER
Here it Comes Again
Second graders work in small groups with on cup each of warm and ice water. They observe the outsides of the cups. They exhale onto a small piece of mylar or mirrors and discuss the change in appearance. Students discuss where the foggy...
Curated OER
Alcohol Use, Abuse, and Alcoholism
Learners examine influences contributing to alcohol use and abuse. They asses the genetic and environmental factors involved in alcoholism. They create a histogram for modeling alcohol use and calculate the results into percentages of...
Curated OER
Wonders of Weather
Students understand the destructive force of a tornado. They learn the role of a thunderstorm in the creation of a tornado.
Curated OER
Innate Behavior
In this innate behavior learning exercise, students compare inherited behavior and instinctive behavior. Students also look at behaviors resulting from internal and external cues. This learning exercise has 4 short answer, 4 matching, 4...
Curated OER
Water Cycle and Ecosystems
Young scholars explore the water cycle. In this investigative lesson, students examine the water cycle process. They will record their observations and discuss marine and freshwater ecosystems.
Curated OER
Gravity - The Glue of the Universe
Students explore physics by conducting a class experiment. In this gravitational force lesson, students define several scientific terms associated with force. Students utilize a styrofoam cup and marbles to simulate a satellite crashing...
Curated OER
Wanted - Butch and Sundance
Students explore forensic anthropology. Given data, students determine which bones might have been the remains of which individual. They discuss how scientists work with inconclusive data.
Curated OER
Ape Genius
Learners watch a video and discuss the research on the intelligence of apes. In this primate lesson plan, students view a NOVA video about ape intelligence. They work in groups to take notes on the observations and conclusions of...
Curated OER
Phases of the Moon
Students determine the phases of the moon. They observe experiments to formulate explanations for moon phases. Students identify waxing crescent, waning gibbous, and the causes of the phases.
Curated OER
Where Do Fish Live in the Hudson?
In this fish in the Hudson worksheet, students read a brief excerpt about what types of fish can be found in the Hudson River in New York. They identify which fish are caught in greatest numbers and those caught in the most places....
Curated OER
Scarecrow Recycled
Young scholars create their own scarecrows. In this recycling lesson, students discuss the purpose of scarecrows and discuss how they are constructed. Young scholars make their own scarecrows out of recycled materials.
Curated OER
Physics and Me
Sixth graders compare and contrast mass and weight. For this physics lesson, 6th graders calculate speed given distance and time information. They construct a rocket and relate this to Newton's 3rd Law of motion.
Curated OER
Sports Helmets and Impact Testing of Polymers
Students examine the importance of good quality safety gear. In this investigative instructional activity, students will tests various polymers, collect data, and analyze the data to determine which polymer is best for safety helmets....
Curated OER
Move It!
Students observe a demonstration presented by the teacher covering different types of energy. They participate in an experiment where they study numerous physics vocabulary words and visit websites that demonstrate examples of these...