Teach Engineering
What is GIS?
Is GIS the real manifestation of Harry Potter's Marauders Map? Introduce your class to the history of geographic information systems (GIS), the technology that allows for easy use of spatial information, with a resource that teaches...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Historical Climate Cycles
Scientists use ice core samples to obtain temperatures of the earth from 400,000 years ago! The third of five lessons instructs pupils to interpret historical climate data to see changes over time. In part I, participants interpret...
Beyond Benign
Got Gas
How much gas does it take to drive around town? The class uses a variety of mathematical procedures to take a look at the use of gas for transportation. Class members use a different unit to determine the cost of driving a car as opposed...
Illustrative Mathematics
Eratosthenes and the Circumference of the Earth
The class gets to practice being a mathematician in ancient Greece, performing geometric application problems in the way of Eratosthenes. After following the steps of the great mathematicians, they then compare the (surprisingly...
NASA
Measuring Dark Energy
You're only 10 minutes late? Do you know how much the universe has expanded in those 10 minutes? Scholars graph supernovae based on their redshift and see if the results verify Hubble's Law. If it does confirm it, the universe is...
Curated OER
What units and concepts do we use to measure rice?
Fifth graders look at different ways to measure rice. For this rice measurement lesson, 5th graders see the metric and customary measurements. They discuss how rice is measured by length, area of the field, weight, volume and yield.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Historical Climate Cycles
What better way to make predictions about future weather and climate patterns than with actual climate data from the past? Young climatologists analyze data from 400,000 to 10,000 years ago to determine if climate has changed over time....
Curated OER
Parts Are Parts: The English Measurement System
Third graders view and measure common body parts to find a fathom, a span, and inch. They discuss the historical information about how standard English measurements came to be and why body parts can no longer be used as a standard...
NOAA
How Do We Know?: Make Additional Weather Sensors; Set Up a Home Weather Station
Viewers learn about three different weather measurement tools in installment five of the 10-part Discover Your Changing World series. They build weather vanes to collect data on wind speed, barometers to determine air pressure, and rain...
Space Awareness
Greenhouse Effect
A greenhouse provides additional warmth and protection to the plants inside, but what if the greenhouse gets too hot? Pupils discuss and experiment with the difference between natural and anthropogenic greenhouse effect. They measure the...
NASA
Raisin Bread Universe
What is the universal breakfast? The resource includes two activities, the first one observing oatmeal to understand the texture of the universe. Then, scholars measure raisin bread dough before and after it rises to represent the...
Curated OER
Solar System
Eighth graders identify the basic concepts of celestial bodies. They discover the difference between perihelion and aphelion and demonstrate how the universe is expanding. They also discover how gravity and centrifugal force are...
Curated OER
An Introduction to Sensors
Students research the International System (SI) of units of measurements. They make measurements using the metric system. They study key concepts used in building and use of sensors, how sensors work and their role in measuring...
Curated OER
What is Currency?
Students study the history of currency and the monetary system of historic Akan people, who lived on the Atlantic coast of Africa. This outstanding series of lessons is multi-disciplinary and contains many activities for different...
Curated OER
What Is Your Measure
Students engage in the study of measurement. They practice using different objects that can be found in class or brought from home. Students are introduced to the history of measurement. They compare and contrast the standard and metric...
National Wildlife Federation
Conceptualizing Module II - Putting It All Together
"Creativity is just connecting things." - Steve Jobs. After weeks of researching climate change, the ninth lesson in a series of 21 combines the data and analysis to address essential questions. It covers natural phenomenon, human...
Curated OER
Adolescent Obesity and Susceptibility to Disease
Students understand the importance of maintaining a healthy weight and good health. In this health lesson students read text then create their own pamphlet on the cardiovascular system, weight gain, treatments and health risks.
Curated OER
SUNSPOTS SPOTTED
Students study sunspots and their motion, from data gathered, they determine the significance of the sunspot data. The data be used to calculate the rotational period of the sun. They draw conclusions as to the sunspot's impact on the...
Curated OER
Agriculture Shapes Kentucky History
Students explore the lives of early American Indians and settlers in Kentucky. They describe the agricultural practices of Indians native to Kentucky and develop a supply list for a group of settlers coming to the state to establish...
Curated OER
Witchcraft & Sorcery
Give learners a chance to understand the practices and beliefs associated with witchcraft through an anthropological lens. Like any other belief system, witchcraft stems from specific sociological needs. This practice is well-defined in...
NASA
Photons in the Radiative Zone: Which Way Is Out? An A-Maz-ing Model
Can you move like a photon? Young scholars use a maze to reproduce the straight line motion of a photon. The second in a six-part series of lessons on the sun has learners measure angle of incidence and refraction to determine the path...
NASA
Analyzing Tiny Samples Using a Search for the Beginning Mass Spectrometry
Teach the basics of mass spectrometry with a hands-on lesson. The fourth in a series of six lessons explores how mass spectrometry measures the ionic composition of an element. Learners then compare and contrast relative abundance and...
Curated OER
Scientific Theories
Ninth graders compare and contrast how different models can be used to represent scientific understandings. They evaluate the use of data when considering scientific claims. Students debate a variety of socio-scientific issues and the...
Curated OER
Exploring the Celestial Neighborhood
Ninth graders study the origin and organization of the solar system. They investigate the Earth's place in the system and how planetary motions explain natural phenomena observable from Earth.