Mascil Project
Parachute Food Drop
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.
Curated OER
Investigation 7 - Rubbing Objects Together
Third graders investigate rubbing two objects together to produce heat.
Curated OER
Newton's Laws of Motion
Middle schoolers perform three activities that each demonstrate one of Newton's Laws of Motion. They use a ramp and toy car to demonstrate inertia, calculate acceleration due to gravity, then use a medicine ball and rolling chair to...
Curated OER
Junkyard Wars: Wind Machines
Students explain how wind direction affects sail angle. In this physics lesson, students measure the speed of the yacht while varying different factors. They summarize and share their finding to class.
Curated OER
Forces and Balloons
Students investigate the forces of compression, tension and torque on common birthday balloons.
Curated OER
Newton's Laws: Making Simple Rockets
Students can use rocketry to understand Newton's Three Laws of Motion.
Curated OER
Getting into Shape
Students identify 3-D geometric shapes through different pieces of artwork. They examine and identify segments and angles. Students act out shapes and create a piece of artwork. Additional cross curriculum activities are listed.
Curated OER
Building Bridges
Learners identify the different types of bridges. Using the internet, they research information on how they are built by completing a scavenger hunt. Locating a specific area, they determine which type of bridge would be appropriate and...
Curated OER
Paper Dart Airplane
Learners create a paper dart airplane and measure its flight pattern. In this flight lesson, students follow the included directions to build their own paper airplane. The learners change the aileron configurations to see how it affects...
Curated OER
Spin Me a Story
Students examine the motif of spinning and weaving in myths and folktales. They read various myths, complete a WebQuest, develop a mind map of story elements, and write an original "spider" story.
Curated OER
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Students analyze the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. They read the background to the Vietnam War and the social, political, and miliary issues surrounding the War and how they affected President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society Program. ...
Curated OER
Downhill Discoveries
Young scholars are involved in hands-on activities to determine how course conditions affect bobsled, luge, and downhill ski races.
Curated OER
Couch Potato or Inertia Victim?
Sixth graders how primary research is carried out. They design a simple survey questionnaire to interview people about their week average television watching time. They analyze the results and write a report based on the information.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Slip Sliding Away: Experimenting With Friction
As you headed up the mountain to enjoy your last ski trip, you may have noticed a sign reading: Hazard. Icy Roads Ahead, Put On Your Chains. Putting chains on car tires increases the resistance between the tires and the road allowing the...
Science Museum of Minnesota
Science Museum of Minnesota: Thinking Fountain: Friction
The Thinking Fountain provides this simple experiment for understanding friction and it relationship to energy.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Project Ideas: Whirl Y Bird vs. Whale Y Bird
Improve the design of a very simple aircraft, the whirlybird, and learn about hydrodynamics and biomimicry in this science experiment. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract, objective, and...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: The Swimming Secrets of Duck Feet
By comparing the feet of different water birds you can discover how they propel the birds through the water. This Science Buddies project show you how to modify swim fins to simulate ducks' feet, greebes' feet, and the feet of...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: You Nailed It! Hammering Force for Different Types of Wood
This Science Buddies project explains how to build a mechanism that will reproducibly swing a hammer so you can determine the amount of force needed to hammer a nail through various densities of wood. The Science Buddies project ideas...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Rubbing Up Against Static Electricity
A tried and true balloon activity is to rub a balloon on your head to make your hair stand up. Learn how the rubbing builds up static electricity using this experiment to see if the number of rubs makes a difference.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: What a Drag!
What makes some objects more streamlined than others? Find out which ordinary objects around your house are made to move smoothly through the water in this easy experiment. Which objects will produce the most drag when pulled through the...
Scholastic
Scholastic: Dirtmeister's Science Reporters: Friction
Step into Dirtmeister's Science Lab and become a Science Snooper! Work side by side with him as he sets out to answer the challenge question: "How does the force of friction affect us in our daily lives?"
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Activity: Frictional Force Experiment
A lesson about friction can be found on this website. Students will experiment to see how motion and frictional force affect the game of football.
Science Museum of Minnesota
Thinking Fountain: Friction
This science experiment provides a nice introduction to friction and bearings.
![Discovery Education: Science of Everyday Life: Don't Slip! [Pdf] Lesson Plan](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Discovery Education: Science of Everyday Life: Don't Slip! [Pdf] Lesson Plan")
Discovery Education
Discovery Education: Science of Everyday Life: Don't Slip! [Pdf]
In this lesson plan students experience friction by sliding a block of wood over sandpaper. Students will experiment with frictional forces by measuring with spring scales or rubberbands.