Curated OER
Evaluate Ecosystems
Ninth graders conduct an environmental inventory on one ecosystem. They collect data, and write an environmental impact statement on that area. Students explain the interactions between different systems found within an ecosystem....
Curated OER
Fertilizer Frenzy
Ninth graders design and conduct an experiment. They evaluate other's experiments. Students describe relationships between biological systems and the environmental contaminants. They work as a team to solve a problem.
Curated OER
LAND USE DEBATE / TOWN MEETING
Ninth graders research, analyze, and orally defend an issue related to the use of geologic resources. They defend their position in written form by composing a letter to an appropriate source.
Curated OER
Keep it Active
Young scholars explore the active layer above permafrost and investigate various factors on the insulation value of the active layer. In this energy transfer lesson, students conduct and experiment to determine the effects of snow...
Curated OER
Changes in Force, Motion, and Energy
Eighth graders construct various machines and compare the work done by them.
Curated OER
Paper Airplane Contest
Students research principles of flight. They design their own paper airplanes and make predictions about the performance of different designs. Students keep track of their findings in an electronic journal.
Curated OER
Energy Efficient Buildings
Seventh graders create plans for an energy efficient addition to the school. They work in small groups with each group having responsibility for examining one aspect of the problem. They create working diagrams and a model of their...
Curated OER
Ecosystems
Seventh graders create a closed ecosystem and place it where is it visible to others in the school. They label it with posters describing the interdependence of living things in the ecosystem. They discuss what might happen to the...
Curated OER
Biological Relationships - Coral Reef Memory Game and Chain Game
Middle schoolers familiarize themselves with the interconnectedness of species within an ecosystem, and to use this knowledge to evaluate how the removal or decimation of one species can have far reaching effects.
Curated OER
Creating the Ideal Cargo Boat
Students build boats out of clay to test the buoyancy of the boat in water. Students break into pairs and construct their boat to specific guide lines, then experiment with their boat in the water.
Curated OER
Lab Experiments in Nutrition
Looking for authentic hands-on nutritional experiments? High schoolers will perform experiments to test for the presence of vitamin C in several solutions as well as the effect of caffeine on Daphnia. They will also consider the...
Curated OER
What Makes a Seed Breathe Faster?
Here's a five-star lesson plan in which inquisitors conduct sophisticated experimentation with cellular respiration in plant seeds. Placing seeds in a closed system they measure the amount carbon dioxide produced and relate it to...
Curated OER
Spaghetti Bridges: Student Worksheet
Pairs of learners work together in order to simulate how engineers test materials for strength and safety in the real world. They use paper cups and pieces of spaghetti to run strength tests. This excellent worksheet should lead to...
Federal Reserve Bank
The Free Silver Movement and Inflation
Why are US dollars no longer backed by gold and silver? What is our medium of exchange, and what would it be like to live in a barter economy? Learners consider these questions, as well as learn about the major historical events in the...
Curated OER
Making Money and Spreading the Flu!
Paper folding, flu spreading in a school, bacteria growth, and continuously compounded interest all provide excellent models to study exponential functions. This is a comprehensive resource that looks at many different aspects of...
National Wildlife Federation
Green Green Revolution
School budgets don't have a lot of extra money, so when students propose saving the district money, everyone jumps on board. The first lesson in the series of 21 introduces the concept of an energy audit. Scholars form an eco-action team...
Science 4 Inquiry
Bubbles and Colors and Smells...Oh My!
A demonstration of elephant toothpaste hooks pupils' interest as they complete multiple experiments with colors, smells, bubbles, and more. By the end, they understand the differences between physical and chemical changes in the world...
Curated OER
Solar Electricity ~ The Colour Sensitivity of a Photovoltaic Cell
Teacher's notes, a materials list, detailed procedure, tips, and extension ideas are all included to make teaching this instructional activity on photovoltaic cells a sunny spot in your day! After some brief background reading, physical...
Curated OER
Water, Water Everywhere!
Learners brainstorm on ways they use water, and where water comes from. They view video, Down the Drain, to gain specific facts about water use, properties of water, problems of water and the water cycle. They perform a lab activity...
Curated OER
Wind Power
What a wonderful way to explore wind power! Through this lesson, learners get a background in the history of wind power, create their own wind turbine, and the test their designs. This is a terrific way to tie scientific principles to...
Discovery Education
The Everyday Science of Sports
Physical science juniors will enjoy this sensational enrichment on aerodynamics, especially if they are also sports fans! With a focus on physical features and behaviors, collaborative groups make observations on five different golf...
American Chemical Society
Mysterious M&M's
The first in a six-lesson mini unit, all using M&Ms® candies, this physical science activity gets kids to observe a single piece and discover what happens when it is placed in a plate of water. The activity can be used to...
Captain Planet Foundation
Adopt-A-Plant
Note the way that plants change during the season by adopting a plant on your school campus. After your class chooses their plant, they research the plant's needs, how it differs from other plants, find ways to support their plant's...
All Things PLC
Cultural Shifts in a Professional Learning Community
Talk about a quantum shift in educational thinking. The shift in attitudes toward the fundamental purposes, the shifts in the use of assessments, the shift in the response of educators when students don't learn, the shift in the work of...