Curated OER
Fizzy Pop
Fifth graders compare and identify variables that affect the rate of a chemical change using Alka-Seltzer, water, ice, and hot water. They time how long each variable takes to pop the canister into the air, and record the results on a...
Curated OER
Starry, Starry Night
Students, using construction paper, and an empty black film canster with no lid, create their own night sky full of stars that can be seen in the middle of the day.
Chymist
Build a Spectroscope
Assist your emerging scientists with construction of their very own spectroscopes. Individuals construct a spectroscope to identify elements used in varying lights within a particular environment. They conclude the activity with a class...
Curated OER
Classroom Olympics
Here is a an awesome, 17-page lesson plan on a simulated Olympic Games for your young athletes. After learning about the history of the Olympics, the whole class takes part in events such as The Cotton Ball Shot Put, The Paper Plate...
Curated OER
Fun With Chemical Changes
Looking for a terrific chemistry lesson for your 5th graders? This one could be for you! After a teacher-led demonstration, learners are broken up into groups and perform an experiment using cabbage juice, water, window cleaner, and...
Curated OER
Discovering Pi/Welcome to Pi Day
Students explore pi. In this circle measurement lesson plan, students define and identify radius, diameter, circumference, and perimeter. Students work in groups to measure several plastic lids and record their findings. Students compare...
American Chemical Society
Exploring Moisture on the Outside of a Cold Cup: For Dry Environments
If the area you live in is arid, or the preceding experiment in this unit didn't yield obvious results, use this one in place of it to help reveal where condensation comes from. The mini unit that this is part of a comprehensive...
American Chemical Society
Changing the Density of an Object - Adding Material
In this sixth of seven activities revolving around the concept of density, physical science fans figure out if anything can be done to change the density of an object. Demonstrate by placing a can of regular and a can of diet soda into a...
Cornell University
Atomic Bonding
Explore the connection of surface area to bonding within atoms. Learners complete lab investigations to model changing surface area with different sizes and concentrations of atoms. A flour fireball demonstration follows the labs to...
Curated OER
3-2-1 Pop!
Students investigate how rocket liftoff demonstrates Newton's Laws of Motion. They participate in a class discussion, and construct a rocket powered by the pressure generated from an antacid tablet reacting with water.
Science Matters
Eruptions and Volcano Types
The Mammoth Lakes area regularly releases warnings to hikers and skiers to be careful because melting snow releases trapped gases from volcanic vents. The 17th activity in the 20-part series opens with a demonstration of carbon dioxide...
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...
AIMS Education Foundation
Classroom Olympics
As the Summer Olympics are approaching, incorporate Olympic-type games into the classroom. From straw javelin to cotton ball shot put, these games are sure to keep leaners engaged. The best part is that there is math involved! Pupils...
Exploratorium
Diamagnetism
If you are attracted to activities dealing with diamagnetism, here is a rare find that you will appreciate. With a neodymium magnet and a few common materials, move a pair of juicy grapes without touching them. Though the fruit is...
Cornell University
Alka-Seltzer Rockets
Blast off! An engaging hands-on activity has pupils create rockets powered by Alka-Seltzer. They learn about the physics behind these rockets throughout the process.
Curated OER
Beans, Beaks and Bears
Students explore evolution. After watching a video on evolution, students perform a variety of experiments using beans which illustrate the concept of evolution.
Curated OER
Glaciers and Ice Wedging
Fourth graders observe and identify a variety of weathering and geological activities in the area in which they live. This focuses primarily on what happened during the Ice Age, and how, even today, glaciers are shaping and re-shaping...
Curated OER
Come On Down!
Begin with an introduction to famous deep-sea submersibles. Learners work in groups to gather information on different vessels and then share with the class. Each group then uses water displacement to help calculate the density of...
Curated OER
Point- vs. Non-point Pollution
Students differentiate between point and non-point pollution and determine how the different types of pollution are harmful to aquatic ecosystems. They complete a series of tests on a sample of "polluted" water and a sample of "pure" water.
American Chemical Society
M&M's in Different Sugar Solutions
To conclude a mini unit on the dissolving of M&Ms® candy coating, this lesson plan investigates whether or not the concentration of sugar in the solvent affects the dissolving rate. Consider having older science learners write their...
American Chemical Society
M&M's in Different Temperatures
Help your class come up with a procedure for comparing the dissolving rates of colored candy coating in different temperatures of water. If you are placing importance on controlled variables with your class, make sure that they use equal...
American Chemical Society
Racing M&M Colors
More than anything, this is great practice in scientific inquiry. After discovering that the color coating of an M&M® dissolves in water during a preceding activity, investigators now question whether or not the color makes a...
Computer Science Unplugged
Lightest and Heaviest—Sorting Algorithms
How do computers sort data lists? Using eight unknown weights and a balance scale, groups determine the order of the weights from lightest to heaviest. A second worksheet provides the groups with other methods to order the weights. The...
Center for Learning in Action
Gases
Explore the properties of gases through one activity and two investigations in which super scientists observe the changes gas makes when encountering different conditions.