Science 4 Inquiry
The Classification of Living Things
It's a classification sensation! Demystify why we classify using an inquiry activity that helps your class sort things out. Groups begin by classifying a variety of shoes before they research organisms and design their own dichotomous...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Understanding Wave Motion - Slinky vs. Snaky: Which Spring is Dominant?
Ride the wave to an understanding of refraction! The first in a series of two inquiry-based lessons challenges learners to create transverse waves with two different types of springs. As their wave hits an object, they observe the change...
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
The Game of SKUNK
Do I stand or do I sit? The class plays a dice game where they must decide to either continue to stand and play or sit down and keep their points. After the game, groups discuss individuals' strategies and see connections to the...
Curated OER
Pythagoras' Theorem
Students are introduced to the Pythagoras' Theorem and its history, proofs and practice in application. Students find perimeters, areas and volume of everyday objects. Students state and explain the theory.
Curated OER
"Old 300"
Fourth graders combine art and history to assess the importance of the "Old 300." They explore a group of colonists that Stephen F. Austin brought to Texas as the first settlers and then create a time line of major events leading to the...
Curated OER
Talking Sticks Literature Circle
Following the six-step process for a talking sticks literature circle, group members choose a leader for the discussion, summarize the reading, discuss journal entries and questions, set reading goals, and write reflections. I think this...
Curated OER
Math Throughout the Day
Learners practice their number sense throughout the day. They practice their use and understanding of numbers in every part of the day. Students watch and listen to the teacher count students in class, sort themselves based on colors or...
TryEngineering
Exploring at the Nanoscale
Discover a world too small to see. In the lesson plan, young scientists learn about nanotechnology and brainstorm ideas for new applications of it. They perform an activity to determine how surface area changes when objects are made...
Teach Engineering
Energy Forms and States Demonstrations
Does a tennis ball have energy? What about a bowling ball? Demonstrate concepts of different forms of energy forms and states with a variety of objects. Using the equations for potential and kinetic energy,...
Explore Sound
Sound and Music
What causes sound? Groups of sound detectives use a variety of tools including ping pong balls, pasta noodles, raisins, rubber mallets, and a tuning fork to investigate what causes sound. The young Sherlocks conduct a series of...
Teach Engineering
Energy and the Pogo Stick
Let your class bounce to examine the concept elastic potential energy. Individuals bounce on a pogo stick in order to calculate its elastic potential energy. Groups then compare the elastic potential energy to the gravitational...
Do2Learn
Social Skills Card Game
Encourage social skills including listening, speaking, and taking turns with a card game that challenges scholars to discuss topics and summarize in groups of four.
Florida International University
Designing an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV): Concepts in Lift, Drag, Thrust, Energy, Power, Mass, and Buoyancy
Engineer an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to study concepts of physics. Using household materials, collaborative groups design and build an AUV and then test Newton's Laws of Motion as they apply them in underwater environments...
Smithsonian Institution
Western Indian Wars
Why do many Native Americans live on reservations? An interactive resource teaches about how reservations came to be and the tragic history behind Native Americans moving from their lands. Teenagers read passages, view images, and click...
California Education Partners
Improving Our Schools
Split the work three ways. Learners use their knowledge of fractions to solve problems dealing with splitting up work loads evenly between three groups. Scholars determine the fractional portion of work each group will do along with...
Perkins School for the Blind
Planning a Special Event
I love planning parties, they are a great way to get social, require organizational skills, and engage cooperative problem solving. Teens with visual impairments put their heads together to plan an event for their friends. They...
Illustrative Mathematics
How Many Containers in One Cup / Cups in One Container?
The object is to model fraction division by asking “How many are in one group?” It is a difficult concept to understand, but developing the model that shows one cup to a certain amount of container or one container to a certain amount of...
Illustrative Mathematics
Roll & Build
Develop young mathematicians' understanding of place value with this hands-on math activity. Working in pairs, learners take turns building two-digit numbers by rolling two ten-sided dice. Base ten blocks are then used to model the...
02 x 02 Worksheets
Symmetry
Get learners' minds rotating and reflecting while looking for symmetry. Pupils investigate figures to determine the number of lines of symmetry and if the figure has rotational symmetry. Classmates work together in groups to find out the...
Cornell University
Nano Interactions
Tiny particles can provide big learning opportunities! Middle school scientists explore the world of nanoparticles through reading, discussion, and experiment. Collaborative groups first apply nanotechnology to determine water...
Curated OER
Classroom Archaeology
Students, in groups, receive a box of artifacts. They record their findings and discuss what the items would have been used for. They come together at the end of the lesson to share their findings.
Curated OER
Simple Machines
Here is an inventive plan that should get your young scientists excited! In it, groups of pupils test out the work done by six different simple machines. The machines are: the wedge, the lever, the inclined plane, the pulley, the screw,...
Curated OER
Cosmic Chemistry: An Elemental Question
Space scientists investigate the cosmic phenomena in order to search for answers to possible origins of the solar system. They consider the concepts of elements and isotopes. Data is analyzed looking at tje abundance of elements...
Curated OER
Lao Design: Lotus Flower Constructions
Students create lotus flowers in 3-D designs applying Lao art techniques. Following a teacher demonstration, they assemble their own lotus flower candleholders and the teacher arranges a group flotation in a body of water. Students...