Plants take cues from the environment—change in daylight hours and temperature—to complete their seasonal life cycles. Lesson four in the series of six has classes collect phenology data on plants. After taking initial observations,...

Do you have an energy hog in your home? Individuals pick at least one room at home to determine the amount of energy the appliances consume. Using that information, pupils fill out a worksheet to determine the cost of running each...

How can you relate colligative properties of solutions to everyday situations? Pupils first discuss the concepts of density, boiling and freezing points, then demonstrate how to accurately determine the boiling and freezing point of...

In this galaxies, clusters and planets instructional activity, students solve 5 problems including determining sunspot groups on the sun in a particular day, finding the number of individual galaxies present, determining the number of...

Rotating through five stations, evolutionary biologists explore the question of how changes in DNA facilitate the changes in a population over time. High-quality, colorful cards of animals, skeletons, skulls, and DNA sequences can all be...

Mix it up at a party as Sam and Zoe discuss heterogeneous and homogenous mixtures and solutions. Follow this film by allowing your class to put together individual snack foods to make their own mixture!

Groups analyze and interpret their data from previous research in order to develop individualized findings. The teams then use guidelines to help determine what aspects of their research to include on a poster. Class members...

What would you be willing to do to save an animal from extinction? After re-viewing a video about the restoration of the Island Fox on Santa Cruz Island, individuals adopt the point of view of one of the key players in the...

Beginning in 1851, Thoreau recorded the dates of the first spring blooms in Concord, and this data is helping scientists analyze climate change! The culminating instructional activity in the series of four has pupils graph and analyze...

Unplugging from technology for one day per week will decrease your carbon footprint—are you up to the challenge? Part two in a series of three allows individuals to explore their personal carbon footprints. By first taking a quiz at home...

Decide whether weather is changing! A two-part activity first challenges classes to review the differences between weather and climate. Once finished, individuals then analyze historical data to determine if climate change is happening...

You know climate change is happening when you see a bee take off its yellow jacket. Part four in a series of five lessons explores all factors affecting climate change: temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, and carbon dioxide. By...

There's so much to learn about dinosaurs. A 10-question quiz tests knowledge of the more detailed characteristics of the Tyrannosaurus Rex. As individuals complete the quiz, they better understand how fossil records helped define some of...

A tube worm's outer covering is made of chitin, the same material that makes up the shells of lobsters and crabs. Scholars create tube worms and analyze and discuss the longevity of organisms living near cold seeps. They then discuss and...

The last activity in the series of five is a short one where individuals show what they've learned about the causes and effects of climate change. Working independently, they fill in a graphic organizer, then compare their notes with a...

Teach animal lovers how to decipher frog speak. Classes learn about the different calls using audio clips. They then imitate the calls as a group and make a recording. The challenge is to try to recognize individual sounds—can they do it?

Is cloning good or harmful? Help your class understand the risks and benefits as they read, research, and discuss human cloning. Individuals form teams, research information, and present to the class before concluding with an in-depth...

This webpage sports a clever Jeopardy-style review game for the periodic table of elements. There are five columns of questions, and five rows that range in value from five to twenty points. Beneath the question selection board is a link...

How big is that carrot? Why one hand span, of course. As an exercise in measurement, individuals trace their hand in their science journal and search the school garden for one object the same size as the span between their thumb and...

Lead your high school class on an exploration inside the cell. Individuals investigate the relationships between cells structure and function given their relative locations on the cell membrane. They explore the concept of homeostasis...

When you have to flow, you have to flow. The lesson plan introduces class members to microfluidic devices and their uses in medicine. They watch a short video on how the diameter affects the rate of flow. The worksheet has individuals...

When will a wind farm pay for itself? Individuals calculate the anticipated annual revenue for two proposed wind farms. By comparing the number of years it takes to pay back the initial investment, they determine which site makes the...

Examine the behavior of energy as water freezes and melts. An engaging activity provides a hands-on experience to learners. Collaborative groups collect data and analyze the graphs of the temperature of water as it freezes and then...

Steel is a man-made alloy or a mixture of metals. Lesson 18 in this series of 36 focuses on metals and their extraction from Earth. Individuals read about, discuss, and answer questions after learning how people find most metals, the...