NASA
States of Matter
Water, one of the basic needs of humans, is found in all three states of matter on Earth; no other planet—that we know of—possesses this quality. Here is a unit that allows learners to explore through experimentation what it takes to...
Curated OER
Pump It Up!
Students design a pumping device that will effectively pump fluid through a model "cardiovascular system." They explore the effects of too much and too little pressure on a circulatory system.
Curated OER
Then and Now, A Watershed in San Francisco
Learners compare recent and historic maps to explore landscape changes. Using photos provided, students identify prominent features on the maps. They discuss differences in landscape, human impact on watershed, and changes in natural...
Curated OER
Flowing From Here to There
Sixth graders discover how humans modify their environment. They work together to design their own simple machine to transport materials. They record observations and suggest modifications.
Curated OER
How Cells Do Their Jobs
In this cells worksheet, students will review cell characteristics and structure and different types of cells and what role they play in the body. Students will investigate experimental results of the influence of sucrose on the...
Curated OER
Investigate the Role of Cholesterol from Cholesterol-rich Foods in the Human Body
Eighth graders assess fat content of different food samples. In this biology lesson plan, 8th graders create a flowchart showing the transport of cholesterol in the bloodstream. They perform tests for the presence of lipids on food samples.
Curated OER
All About the Human Life Cycle
In this life cycle worksheet, students read about the butterfly life cycle and draw pictures about it. Students draw 2 pictures and answer 2 short answer questions about the life cycle.
Curated OER
Digestion & Nutrition: a Case Study
Students explore digestion/nutrition and utilize scientific investigation skills. They complete meal logs for several days and graph their results. After analyzing their data, they write formal lab reports.
Fluence Learning
Writing an Argument: The NIEHS
Should the work of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences be funded by the government? Middle schoolers weigh in on the status of federal funding for programs that protect the environment with three text passages and...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Informational Text: Music and the Brain
Even if you've never picked up a musical instrument, chances are that music has directly impacted your mental and emotional development. Sixth graders engage in a reading activity in which they read two articles on the impact of music on...
Curated OER
What Does Your "Homunculus" Look Like?
Students investigate the density of touch receptors in various parts of the body. They discover how the body senses various stimuli, then maps a picture of the "homunculus" of the experimental subject.
Curated OER
Biodiversity Study -- A Unit Study
Students sample a site with low human impact, one with moderate human impact, and a third with high human impact. Students chart the data for each site and then compare the sites and discuss.
Curated OER
What Do Bread and Beer Have in Common?
Young scholars listen to an explanation of yeast cells and how they effect bread and beer. They discuss the ways alcohol affects the human body and participate in an indirect observation about cell respiration in yeast-molasses cultures.
Curated OER
The Effects of Alcohol and other Teratogens: A model using Zebrafish
Students investigate the interference of various drugs on an embryo through experimentation. This is an open-ended lab to allow students to see effects of various chemicals humans choose to put in their bodies and create questions they...
Curated OER
How Many Is Too Many?
Students explore the population explosion. They view a video depicting the exponential growth of human population. Students research the internet to project future population data. They perform hands-on, multimedia activities to study...
Curated OER
Floodplain Modeling
Students simulate the impact of fluctuating river volumes on structures and landforms. They experiment with table top-sized riverbed models and water. Students consider how human design can help mitigate the effects of a flood.
Curated OER
Hovercraft
Students assess human impact on water quality. They determine how the force of friction retards motion. Pupils describe and measure quantities that characterize moving objects and their interactions within a system: Time, Distance,...
Curated OER
Going the Distance
Students experiment in small groups to answer the question, "Is there a relationship between ramps and speed?" They apply a formula to calculate the speed of the cars used in the experiment, complete the associate lab report, and...
Curated OER
Lessons for Atlatl Users with Some Experience-Grade 6
Sixth graders experiment with an atlatl and dart. In this sixth grade data management mathematics instructional activity, 6th graders explore and determine the most suitable methods of displaying data collected from their...
Curated OER
Bioinformatics
Students conduct a series of scientific investigation using bioinformatics. In this molecular biology lesson, students collect experimental data using different educational softwares. They calculate and analyze relationships using...
Yale University
Airplane Mathematics
The history of aerodynamics is rich with experimentation and international collaboration. Author Joyce Bryant relays this dynamic past and provides math word problems using the formula of lift, the force that makes airplanes fly. She...
Serendip
Carbohydrate Consumption, Athletic Performance and Health – Using Science Process Skills to Understand the Evidence
Should athletes carb load before an event or consume carbohydrates during the competition? Scholars discuss how to set up a hypothesis and experiment to answer a question relating carbohydrates and athletic performance. Then, they read...
Wild BC
The Greenhouse Effect: Warming the Earth Experiment
First in a two-part lesson on the greenhouse effect, this lesson involves a classroom demonstration of the phenomenon, and a lab group experiment with color and absorption. Although there are easier ways to demonstrate the greenhouse...
Teach Engineering
Preconditioning Balloons: Viscoelastic Biomedical Experiments
What does stretching a balloon have to do with equilibrium? Groups explore preconditioning by stretching a balloon to a point of equilibrium. They then measure the amount of force required to stretch the balloon to the same point several...