Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Watching Crystals Grow

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Amazing science can sometimes happen right before your eyes! The class gets cozy as they watch crystals grow. They use Epsom salts, rocks, and food coloring to create crystals. They'll observe the entire process, documenting every step...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Food Safety-Consumers Need the Facts

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners begin by completing a survey asking them to rank their concerns about commercially prepared foods. They develop a definition of relative risk, and complete the "Pro or Con" worksheet. Students work in groups to make a study of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geologic Age

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars investigate radioactivity as a tool for measuring geologic time and how geologists use this information to determine the absolute age of rocks or minerals.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Endocrine And Reproductive Systems

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students investigate the hormonal levels that are created with the endocrine system and tie it to the act of sexual reproduction. The instructional activity discusses how the respiratory system is organized as a comparison to the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

NCTA Lesson Plan on China

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Young scholars identify China's geography, especially arable land, rainfall, crop growing areas, rivers, and mountains. Students select a technological advance to draw a diagram of the particular advance make transparencies of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

KinderArt Drawing for Kids

For Teachers K - 5th
Students illustrate a creative adventure idea. In this arts and crafts lesson, students design drawings based on where they would like to go for an adventure. Before creating their illustrations, students brainstorm the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Was It Like?

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students use the Internet to gather historical facts about the county in which they live. Using the information, they discover how to check it for accuracy and present their findings to the class. They write an essay about the history of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Post-settlement landscape evolution

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students use this example, a field laboratory in introductory geology becomes a test of a hypothesis: Does the model proposed by Stanley Trimble for Coon Creek, Wisconsin adequately describe the history of post-European-settlement...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Do As the Romans: Construct an Aqueduct!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners explore how the Romans engineered and built aqueducts. They read a manual, explore the Construct a Roman Aqueduct online activity, and construct an aqueduct that will transport two liters of water across a short distance in the...
Lesson Plan
Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area

Life as a Pioneer

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students examine historical documents and research why early pioneers settled on the Iowa prairie. They review maps, describe the impact of railroading, describe life in pioneer times, and identify the effects of drought, prairie fire,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Space Shuttle Science

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the nomenclature, operation and purpose of America's Space Transportation system. They demonstrate how water can be broken down into its component gases of hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis. They construct and use the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Following Muddy's Trail

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers view the AMERICAN MASTERS film "Muddy Waters: Can't Be Satisfied" and research him using the Guided Reading strategy. They examine the influential musician's childhood and trace his journey from the Mississippi Delta to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Inventors & Trailblazers

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students are introduced to a groups of African American inventors. In groups, they research the role of each person in improving different industries. They also examine the barriers African Americans faced from the Civil War to the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Asia's Global Influence

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore Hong Kong. In this geography skills lesson, students watch "Asia's Global Influence," and then research the culture, landmarks, and geographic features of Hong Kong. Students use their research findings to design travel...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Fact Finders

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze agricultural data and make predictions about events in history. In this history lesson, students correlate the relationship between historic events and issues in agriculture to see if there is a correlation. They analyze...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Texas Originals

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders research the Native Americans of Texas. They create a PowerPoint presentation or poster showing the culture of the Native American tribe they were assigned.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where Will I Go From Here?

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students research the various cultures in Colonial America. In this American history lesson, students analyze and complie the research they find presenting what they have found into a short presentation.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fourth Grade Language: Research Process

For Teachers 4th
In this review of fourth grade resource usage worksheet students answer questions about guide words, library database, resources for specific information, parts of a book, and dictionary usage. Students answer 10 questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Immigrant Experience In America

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students study immigration, Ellis Island, and tenement life from 1890 to 1924. Each student create an identity of an immigrant and write an essay in the first person. Essays describe what they found when they arrived in New York City.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

California Crops

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore agriculture by researching the native food crops of California. Students define a list of agriculture vocabulary terms and analyze maps of California which explain which foods come from which area. Students write a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gravity: It's GREEEAAATTT!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students calculate effects of gravitational force on planets, discuss the effects of weightlessness on the human body and describe and demonstrate how objects in a state of free fall are accelerated by gravity at an equal rate.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

HARLEM RENAISSANCE

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze historical conditions which led African Americans to settle in Harlem. They describe the culture of everyday life in Harlem and identify individuals significant to the Harlem Renaissance and describe their contributions...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Paving the Way

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore how to take action to improve their town's transportation routes -- and make a small but significant difference in their community. They first examine some of the different ways people get around their area.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students use drawings, maps, readings, paintings and photos to consider how the topography of Pennsylvania led to the construction of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. They also investigate their own community's transportation history.