Don't twist and turn looking for a resource. The first installment of a six-part series teaches young engineers about the five fundamental forces of compression, tension, shear, bending, and torsion. These forces help explain different...

What a wonderful way to explore motion and forces! Learners design a catapult, after watching a video and discussing types of catapults. This is a comprehensive and complete lesson with links to supplementary resources.

Some books are perfect for drawing connections between multiple subjects. The book Hill of Fire becomes the hub for three very different, yet related activity ideas. First the class hones their oral language skills by creating an...

Three major types of volcanoes exist: cinder cone, composite/strata, and shield. The 18th instructional activity in a 20-part series covers the various landforms created from volcanoes. Scholars work in pairs to correctly...

Young scholars view a video and complete experiments with force and motion.  In this force and motion lesson, students examine small pieces and how they affect the motion of a toy car.  Young scholars also experiment with sand...

To prepare for a reading of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, kids must prioritize a list of items to take with them on a journey to Texas.

Up, up, and away! Take your classes on a physics adventure. Learners explore the concepts important for flight. They experiment with the Bernoulli Principle while learning the forces that act on airplanes in flight.

In order to investigate cetntripetal force and angular momentum, youngsters compare the motion of erasers hung from a string. It is not clear what type of Amish toy is needed in the warm up activity, so you may not be able to use it. The...

Stability is key when building a bridge. Scholars explore the forces acting upon bridges through an analysis of Newton's Laws and Hooke's Law. The activity asks individuals to apply their learning by building a bridge of their own.

What does it cost to keep the lights on? Through a hands-on activity, class members use a watt meter and determine the amount of energy different types of light bulbs use. The class then determines the financial and environmental...

Fourth graders identify six simple machines in real world examples, distinguish between the three different types of levers and explain Newton's three laws of motion. They create a multimedia presentation over the information they've...

Bridge the gaps in your knowledge of bridges. Individuals learn about bridge types by building models. The activity introduces beam bridges, arch bridges, truss bridges, and suspension bridges.

What do the movies October Key and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone have in common? The fourth installment of a five-part module presents equations regarding projectile motion and how to rearrange them. Scholars view video clips...

How have the women's share of the labor force and chosen occupations evolved in the United States over the last century? Using census reports, graphs detailing the gender makeup of the labor force, and analysis of the careers of...

21st century learners live in a media world. Help them develop the skills they need to be able to analyze the barrage of propaganda they face daily, with a resource that introduces them to the type of persuasive appeals found in...

Students experiment with force and motion. In this force and motion lesson, students test gravity using a variety of objects. Students rotate through a series of stations which use force, motion, friction, and inclines. Students predict...

Students discover how air pressure effects flight.  In this physics lesson plan, students create two types of airplane wings so they can observe the way air pressure creates lift.  Students utilize a printout to create the...

Learners won't have to squirm when asked the facts after completing an intriguing lab investigation! Hook young scholars on science by challenging them to verify Hooke's Law using a gummy worm. Measuring the length of the worm as they...

Young scientists investigate the scientific concepts and principles that help make common toys such as hula hoops, yo-yos, slinkies, and silly putty work. As a class, they read "Backyard Rocket Science, Served Wet" to get a look behind...

Fifth graders participate in a series of hands-on, Web-based activities and video-based activities to extend their learning of Forces and Motion.

Students apply their knowledge of the physics principles of force, energy and motion to researching the physics behind amusement park rides.

A few class periods will be required to complete this physics investigation with your high schoolers. There is an unavailable video written into the lesson plan, but there is plenty of material here to bridge the gap. Two terrific...

Imagine being forced against your will behind barbed wire for doing nothing but being yourself. Scholars investigate the impact Japanese-American internment camps had during World War II. Through video and archival evidence, they create...

Fifth graders examine the different types of magnets (bar, horseshoe, disc, ball, etc.) and experiment with the magnets and iron filings to discover the magnetic fields of each type of magnet.