American Museum of Natural History
Paleontology Books
A list of 11 books about paleontology offers titles, authors, and a brief description of the tale.
Science Friday
Fossil Detectives
What can this rock be? Pupils pretend to be paleontologists by sketching fossils and making predictions about their types. To determine whether they can identify the type of dinosaur, class members compare their observations and...
PHET
Planet Designer: Kelvin Climb
It's time to get those creative juices flowing! This second instructional activity in a series of five continues allowing pupils to design their own planets. It the same format as the first, but, this time, allows high schoolers to alter...
Curated OER
Learning the Blues
Students take a virtual field trip to Memphis, Tennessee in their study of the blues, its characterisitics, founding fathers, and histororical influence on modern music. They compose blues lyrics that reflect present-day attitudes and...
NASA
Mystery Planet
What can one learn about a planet based on a small surface sample? Learners will explore artifacts from a mystery planet and see what they can determine about the planet based on the evidence in front of them.
Sea World
Endangered Species
Study different endangered species with several activities that incorporate math, science, language arts, and research strategies. A great addition to your lesson on conservation or Earth Day.
National Endowment for the Humanities
The 1828 Campaign of Andrew Jackson: Changes in Voting Participation
Learners give examples to indicate how voting participation changed in the first half of the 19th century, and make connections between changes in voting participation and the results of the election of 1828.
Curated OER
Countdown Calendar
Learners create a calendar of endangered species. In this preservation lesson, students research endangered species of plants and animals around the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Learners gather facts about the endangered species and create...
Curated OER
Geologic Age
Learners investigate radioactivity as a tool for measuring geologic time and how geologists use this information to determine the absolute age of rocks or minerals.
International Technology Education Association
Telescope as Time Machine
This resource provides an explanation of NASA's GALEX mission and how the space-based telescope can view distant galaxies as they were billions of years ago. The resource also discusses the other aspects of galaxies that GALEX is able to...
Curated OER
Mammals: Mammals and Their Ways
Students study the difference between innate and learned behaviors. They observe the adaptations and behaviors of mammals in this series of lessons.
Curated OER
It's Just a Barn
Investigate Pennsylvania Barns. Have your class consider the elements common to Pennsylvanian barns and why they are significant to the food production process. They write summaries of Frederick Watts and his impact on agriculture.
Curated OER
Too Hot? Gotta Vent!
Students study deep sea exploration and underwater geology, specifically hydrothermal sea vents. They create digital video projects of their own to demonstrate their knowledge, illustrating the discoveries of the explorers of the ocean's...
Curated OER
Stars and Constellations
Ninth graders investigate how ancient cultures viewed their world in terms of astronomy. They read and discuss an informational handout, construct an astrolabe, and locate stars and constellations using star charts.
Curated OER
Mud Fossils
Students observe real fossils. In this science lesson, students make their own mud fossils by pressing material into the mud and letting it dry in the sun for 3-4 days. Students then get the fossils out displaying their mud fossils.
Curated OER
Sizing Up the Supersize Croc
Young scholars examine and compare traits of humans and crocodiles. In this crocodile lesson students use a ratio to estimate the height of a person and compare that to a crocodile.
Curated OER
Excavating the Past
Students discover how palaeontologists conduct a dig for fossils and how they interpret the age of the fossils. In small groups, they prepare a "dig site" consisting of bones, rocks and soil layered in a cardboard box. They switch boxes...
Curated OER
Species Diversity and Phylogeny
Students explore the classification system of organisms: taxonomy. They examine prepared slides of Protozoans and record information on a Taxonomy Recording Sheet. Two additional classifying activities are also included in this lesson...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Botany Scavenger Hunt Where's the Ginkgo?
Learners use a science journal to log plants that are native to Alabama. In this plant lesson plan, students identify characteristics, describe environments, and classify the plants that they find.
Curated OER
State of Mind: Inventing the American Identity
Learners define national identity, explain importance of having national identity, describe America's national identity, work together and formulate class vision of what America's national identity is, identify United States symbols and...
Curated OER
An Automobile Phylogenetic Tree
High schoolers construct a phylogenetic tree for various automobiles and trucks after considering important characteristics of these "organisms". They work in small groups to construct the trees and complete a set of questions then they...
Curated OER
An Automobile Phylogenetic Tree
Students study a list of cars and trucks and think about characteristics that can be used to show an "evolutionary relationship". From the characteristics they identity, students construct a phylogenetic tree to show how the automotive...
Curated OER
Can You Beat Jet Lag?
Pupils examine the health condition of jet lag. Using mealworms, they test the effect of light on the development of them into adults. They answer discussion questions and examine the relationship of age and one's activity level.
Curated OER
Build-A-Bird
High schoolers create an imaginary bird. In this anatomy lesson plan, students analyze how artists represent birds historically, then determine the anatomical aspects that suit a bird to its habitat. Using this information, high...