Lesson Plan
Mascil Project

Parachute Food Drop

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Drop a perfect project into your lesson plans. Groups use different building materials to create models of parachutes for food drops. After testing out their prototypes, they make improvements to their designs.
Activity
DiscoverE

Slinky® Science

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Toys are great for learning about physics. Scholars use Slinky® toys to study Newton's laws of motion and types of energy. After a little play, they then model longitudinal and transverse waves with the Slinky® toys.
Unit Plan
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory

Simple Machines

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Simple doesn't mean useless. Individuals learn how simple machines benefit the user by changing the amount of effort. A seven-lesson unit begins with an overview of simple machines and then incorporates activities that allow the user to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forces and Motion

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders study straight line motion and the forces that affect motion, including the terms force, gravity, and speed. They determine that gravity, weight, and other forces have an effect on speed and motion.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gravity Launch

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Young scholars examine how gravity affects launching rockets into space. In this physical science lesson, students review the concept of gravity and use an interactive online site, "Gravity Launch," to simulate a rocket launch.
Lesson Plan
LABScI

Harmonic Motion: Pendulum Lab

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Several times throughout history, groups of soldiers marching in rhythm across a suspension bridge have caused it to collapse. Scholars experiment with pendulums, resonance, and force to determine why this would happen. First, pupils...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Elements of Physics: Motion, Force and Gravity

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research about different human space explorations conducted by NASA. For this physical science lesson, students discuss why space exploration is important. They write a paper about their thoughts on continuing NASA's space...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

High Jump

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine how physics help high jumpers break records. They discuss the phases of the high jump, gravity, and center of gravity, and conduct an experiment to determine whether they can improve the height of their jump.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Which Falls Faster?

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders study force and what it does.  In this motion lesson students complete a demonstration on force and gravity and share their ideas. 
Interactive
CK-12 Foundation

Newton's Cannon

For Students 9th - 12th
Gravity does more than keep our feet on the ground — it holds a satellite in orbit, too. Help learners understand the effects of gravity on an orbiting object through a simulation activity. Individuals adjust a launch speed and watch as...
Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Engineering Lessons Adapted for Special Education

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Modifying engineering lessons from NASA makes them accessible to a wider variety of learners.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Basics: Physical Science

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars view a video on friction and examine how friction and gravity affect some sports.  For this investigative lesson students write a paragraph and draw a picture that illustrates how friction and gravity affect sports.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gravity: It's GREEEAAATTT!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students calculate effects of gravitational force on planets, discuss the effects of weightlessness on the human body and describe and demonstrate how objects in a state of free fall are accelerated by gravity at an equal rate.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forces and Motion

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students build parachutes for chicken eggs. In this physics lesson, students describe the forces acting on a falling object. They predict which of the three parachute models they made has the best chance of keeping the egg intact after a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Motion, Force, and Gravity

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers write a research paper about human space travel. For this space travel lesson, students watch a video and research issues related to space travel. They use their research to write a paper about whether human space travel...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How the force of air helps an airplane fly.

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students appropriately the following terms in sentences: drag, thrust, gravity, aerodynamics and lift.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson-Mass and Weight

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Student identify the three stationary positions, on the Earth, on the Moon, and in a house floating atop the cloud layers of Jupiter. They also identify the three orbiting positions, orbiting the Earth, orbiting the Moon, and orbiting...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forces and Motion-The Downhill Racer

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students calculate a toy car's velocity and acceleration. In this force and motion lesson, students build ramps and attach a dropper to a toy car, which is released down the ramp. Students calculate and graph velocity and acceleration...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Race the Track! The Time Challenge (lesson 2)

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students design a track that keeps a ball in motion for 5 seconds or longer. In this designing lesson plan, students explore force, gravity, and cause and effect when it comes to science and building before building their own track.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forces

For Teachers 9th - 11th
In this forces worksheet, students read about force and acceleration. They complete a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast balanced and unbalanced forces, they answer questions about a diagram of a tug-a-war and the forces acting on each...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forces

For Teachers 8th - 10th
In this forces worksheet, students read about what affects the force on an object. Students identify push forces and pull forces in 5 diagrams. They answer 13 questions about the forces in two diagrams and they draw vector diagrams to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Marvels of the Molecule

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students experiment with common substances to observe molecular behavior. In this molecular properties lesson, students move through four stations as they try to inflate a balloon inside a bottle, pour water from a jar, and observe how...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Crash Course in Flight

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High school physicists demonstrate Bernoulli's Principle by blowing on different items and finding that they do not move in the expected direction! They apply Bernoulli's equation to the flight of an airplane. This well-organized lesson...
Activity
Curated OER

Mass vs. Weight

For Students 8th - 11th
Why do you weigh more in space? Each individual in your class explores this question and others as they determine the mass and weight of different objects using two types of scales. They perform conversions and discuss their...