Learners develop an understanding of autism by engaging in an inquiry-based discussion. Pupils are exposed to the vast array of defining characteristics of autism spectrum disorders. They create posters about the developmental...

Students determine how diseases are spread from one person to another. They investigate the importance of hand washing to reduce the spread of common colds and other diseases. They listen to teacher read alouds and complete an inquiry...

What is the relationship among the heart, circulation, and exercise? Your class members will explore first-hand how different physical exercises affect an individual's heart rate. They will begin by learning how to measure their own...

Are serving sizes for different foods always appropriate for what you need? In this hands-on activity, learners work in groups to estimate what one serving size of various foods are, and then evaluate their hypotheses by measuring...

Students conduct inquiry-based research for basic information about microbes, infections, and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. After gathering answers to their questions, students develop a presentation to post on their school's Web site.

Do you know how much water you have had in the last 24 hours? Do you know how much your body needs? In this hands-on activity, your class members will estimate how much water our bodies lose each day by filling and emptying one-liter...

Did youknow that chicken causes the greatest risk of food-borne illness. The fourth unit in a six-part series addresses food safety. Scholars research common scenarios of food causing illness through the National Institute for Health....

Interesting! Have your high schoolers watch this 13-minute clip from the documentay, "Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death?" It examines the fear we have as a culture about death and whether or not the media increases those fears. The focus...

Students explore the sleeping patterns and sleeping habitats of animals. In this where animals sleep lesson, students research different animal species. Students also write and illustrate an animal picture book, make connections...

Some scientists argue that air pollution now causes more deaths than smoking. The second unit in a six-part series focuses on air quality. Scholars learn what's in the air, how clean the air around their school is, and what they can do...

Can a sidewalk increase the amount of pollution in local streams? Scholars learn the answer to this question though research and experimentation in the fifth unit in the six-part series. Pupils study runoff, impervious surfaces, and the...

Emerging nutritionists explore what it means to be healthy. In the beginning of the unit, your class will examine the five food groups and learn how food gets from the farm to our plates. This leads into the investigation of...

Should bottled water be sold in schools, or should they only provide tap water? The summative unit in the six-part series encourages scholars debating this topic. The lessons teach how to build an argument, how to gain background...

Time to come clean! Scholars continue preparing the shampoo they created in the previous two lessons. The purpose of this stage is to calculate the perfect amount of additive to make the shampoo lather. 

Your biology class plays the role of epidemiologist when a mysterious illness breaks out in Kildare, USA. Using interviews with doctors, patients, and local citizens, maps, the results from different materials sampling, they work to...

Test your learners' sensory awareness with three hands-on activities that ask pupils to use their other senses to identify and describe everyday objects hidden from sight.  

Fourth graders experiment to find the effects of exercise on the heart rate.  In this exercise and heart rate lesson plan, 4th graders create questions about exercise and heart rate. Students use the scientific method to test and...

In this digestion and nutrition instructional activity, 3rd graders test foods to find their vitamin content. Students test for starch and fats then compare their findings on charts and oral reports. The instructional activity...

Is it a fruit or a vegetable? Youngsters place an F next to each fruit they see and a V next to the vegetables. Corn is tricky. It is a grass, so it's actually not a fruit or a vegetable, but a grain!

Students, after researching/analyzing the concept of environmental health to air quality, role-play the basic principals of epidemiology. They act out a specific scenario to generate questions, draft a research plan, and generate...

Students practice analyzing skeletal remains for clues by using the Internet.  In this scientific investigation instructional activity, students research the La Belle shipwreck using the Internet and written materials, later...

Students gather information about the H1N1 virus, and share this information. For this pandemic lesson students read about Influenza A, or Swine Flu, compile information on the disease, and then present their findings to the class.

Students investigate the current environmental movement by cleaning up their own campus.  In this environmental care instructional activity, students practice cleaning their "environment" by picking up trash on their campus and...

Young scholars research the nutritional value of fast food. They assess which fast foods are best and worst to eat. They organize their data into tables and graphs and explain their findings to other students.