Curated OER
Density Balloon
Students experiment with density using a mylar balloon and hair dryer in an experimental setting. The concept of density is often confusing to students and this activity gives them an introductory insight into the concept in a fun way.
Curated OER
Fun With Electromagnets
Fifth graders construct their own electromagnet out of copper and nails. They discover what objects could be used for magnets. Finally, 5th graders discuss how electric currents are formed.
Space Awareness
Meet Our Neighbors: Sun
The sun isn't just a ball of yellow! Young scientists learn about the features of the sun using a hands-on modeling activity. They build models of the sun using common household items to represent sunspots, solar prominence, and the...
Curated OER
Do Touch!
Students explore the sense of touch. They investigate unknown solids using the sense of touch. Pupils use their senses of touch to match feely gloves. Students explore body parts, by tracing their hands and feet on paper. They create a...
Scholastic
Lesson Three: The Earth, Movement in Space
If you feel like you're standing still, you're wrong! The Earth is constantly rotating and orbiting under our feet. Demonstrate the Earth's movement within the solar system with a collaborative activity. With a candle or lamp in the...
Curated OER
Nature Art
In this nature art lesson, students take a nature walk and collect items with different sizes, textures and colors. Students use the items they collect to make a collage.
Curated OER
What is Water?
Students examine water's properties. They participate in hands-on activities to show the properties of water.
Curated OER
The Impact of Fishing
Students explore the concept of fishing as it relates to oceans and how some fishing practices can damage the health of the marine ecosystems. In this activity on the impact of fishing, students research the many places in the world...
NASA
Modeling the Periodic Table
Imagine a race to complete a puzzle where each person has the same 50 pieces, knows they are missing other pieces, and must figure out how everything fits together. The winner gets fame, listed in books for years to come, and a financial...
Code.org
Star Wars: Building a Galaxy with Code
Welcome to the code side. The interactive lesson introduces coding in a game format with familiar characters. Young computer experts learn to develop code to control the interaction of the characters in the game. The activity ends with...
Curated OER
Heritage: Line Dance is a Pattern!
Line dancing is the repeating of a pattern of steps, done to music. Teach youngsters how to line dance and they won't feel so awkward when they grow up. Let them experiment with creating their own patterns and teaching their classmates....
Curated OER
Wetland Pictionary
Students create a game for reviewing vocabulary. They make cards with definitions of the words. Then the cards are used to play the game of Pictionary or a modified game. The teacher could have the students generate their own game in...
Curated OER
Ignoring Friction - Not This Time!
Students discover the factors affect friction. Students, working in lab pairs, complete various experiments in order to discover what factors effect the amount of frictional force a block has as it is pulled across different surfaces.
Curated OER
Radioactive Beans
Students investigate radioactive atoms. In this radioactive beans lesson, students experiment with split peas and beans to determine what happens when a radioactive atom decays.
Curated OER
The Earth Around Us: Air, Water & Soil
Students build an air cannon and study air mass. In this air cannon lesson, students create and shoot an air cannon and observe what happens. Students answer critical thinking questions about air mass and air cannons.
Curated OER
Simple Machines
Fourth graders examine a machine and how its parts work together. In this simple machines lesson, 4th graders work in groups to study different gadgets, analyze how the parts of the gadget work and draw sketches of the gadget. Students...
Curated OER
Cut Ice Cubes in Half Like Magic
Students explore the process of melting or cutting ice. In this scientific observation lesson, students discover that the pressure from two weights will pull a string through an ice cube by melting the ice directly under the line of...
Code.org
Minecraft Hour of Code
Devote an hour to computer coding ... it's time well spent! The activity has young computer scientists write code to solve puzzles in the Minecraft game. They learn how to apply block codes and repeat loops.
Code.org
Good and Bad Data Visualizations
Good versus bad data. Pairs rate online collections of data representations from good to bad and then suggest ways to improve the visualizations. The class then creates a list of best practices and common errors in data representations...
Curated OER
What Does the Sun Give Us?
Pupils study the sun and how solar energy works. To learn about renewable energy, they complete a lab activity using a pizza box as a solar heater. Quite clever!
Curated OER
Raindrops Keep Falling on my Art
Kids may be a little resistant to this rainy day idea, but it could produce some amazing art. They paint a watercolor picture of anything they like. When they are done, they take their paintings outside and let the rain work its magic!...
Curated OER
The World's Simplest Cartesian Diver
Have your class learn about buoyancy using this simple lesson plan. First, they bring in condiment packets and see what happens when they place it in a glass of water. Then, they use one of the packets to illustrate the concept of a...
Curated OER
The Shadow Knows - Creating Shadows
Young learners recognize a shadow and witness how shadows occur when light is blocked. They access streamed video, standard video, and websites in order to engage in their study of how light is naturally blocked to create shadows. An...
Curated OER
Summer Water & Sand Activity: Go with the Flow
Students discover different materials that help to transport water in order to develop their observation and problem solving science skills. In this water lesson, students first brainstorm about different ways that water can be moved;...