National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Understanding Wave Motion - Slinky vs. Snaky: Which Spring is Dominant?
Ride the wave to an understanding of refraction! The first in a series of two inquiry-based lessons challenges learners to create transverse waves with two different types of springs. As their wave hits an object, they observe the change...
EngageNY
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 15
What do a cheetah, Audi commercial, and air have in common? They're all topics of an engaging inquiry-based, hands-on workshop for educators about background knowledge, reading strategies, the CER model, and argumentative writing. The...
American Psychological Association
Facebook Activity
Imagine if Sigmund Freud or Charles Darwin had a Facebook page. As part of a study of major historical figures in the field of psychology, class members are assigned a psychologist and design a mock Facebook page that includes...
Mathematics Vision Project
Module 6: Quadratic Functions
Linear, exponential, now it's time for quadratic patterns! Learners build on their skills of modeling patterns by analyzing situations with quadratic functions. The sixth module in the Algebra I series has pupils analyze multiple...
Curated OER
Refining the Why? Turning Student Questions into Research
Middle schoolers have years of experience when it comes to how their bodies work. Surely they have some questions as well. Here is an opportunity for them to practice the scientific method in an attempt to answer some of those questions....
US Department of Energy
Sunlight and Evaporation
Here is a simple inquiry experiment designed to demonstrate that the energy from sunlight can evaporate water. Young scientists follow provided procedural steps to construct a model of our atmosphere using a bowl, a cup, water and...
Curated OER
Window Gardens
Students use a plastic sandwich bag containing a damp paper towel taped to a window as a model system to observe the germination and early growth of radish seeds. They are challenged to pose a question about seed germination and growth...
Curated OER
Formation of Rain
Learners sequence the steps leading to the formation of rain, and design a model to represent these steps. This task assesses students' abilities to classify, generalize, infer, interpret and communicate data, and construct a pictorial...
Curated OER
Friction of a Block Weight
Fifth graders hypothesize and design an experiment to study the relationship between a block weight and the number of washers it takes to pull a block across various surfaces. Students graph results and apply their findings to a...
Curated OER
Aluminum Foil Boats
Students design a boat of aluminum foil and calculate the density of the boat. Washers are added to the boat until it sinks. Students then redesign boat to hold more washers and recalculate the new density.
Curated OER
A Fiedl Study of an Integral Species
Students compile baseline population information on a local species. They design and conduct a scientific investigation of a local species. Students interpret, analyze and communicate results based on sound scientific and mathematical...
Curated OER
Solar Relatives
Learners examine the solar system by creating a model representation. In this space science lesson, students research our solar system and the distances between planets. Learners create a model solar system in their gymnasium...
Curated OER
What Floats Your Boat?
This open-ended boat building exercise is meant to be part of a three-lesson series on ships. Links to the other two lessons are included. This particular part is mostly a group lab activity in which they build a boat, find its load line...
Curated OER
Our Universe: Designed or Evolved?
Students brainstorm and write arguments for Evolution and Intelligent Design. They research the history of each of these ideas. They also examine the controversy of teaching one or both ideas in schools.
Curated OER
Design a Zoo Project
Middle schoolers research animals to become experts on them. They design a zoo to fit their animal's climate and region. They create a computer drawing of their zoo at the end of the lesson plan.
Curated OER
Apply Scientific Inquiry and Scientific Habits of Mind
High schoolers review the components of the scientific inquiry method. In groups, they develop hypothesis on the issue given to them by their teacher and inquiry questions. They state the data in terms of qualitative and quantitative...
Curated OER
Apply Technological Design and Scientific Habits of Mind
High schoolers are introduced to the principles involved with technological design. In groups, they use the Internet to research an important historical innovation and how it changed the world. They discover the barriers that were...
Curated OER
It's All Greek to Me!
While the ideas for Ancient Greek research are solid, there is little detail to help make your job easier. The focus here is familiarizing your class with online databases and print resources in their school library. After direct...
Science 4 Inquiry
Trick or Science: Catching the Light
Your class might be surprised to learn that mirrors have been around since the first century AD! Young scientists explore reflection and refraction of light through a series of challenges. They use this knowledge to design their own...
NASA
Einstein's Gravity
Assist your high school class with researching and applying the principles of gravity so they may further understand why Einstein is so widely recognized, even today. Individuals compare and contrast two different models that demonstrate...
Curated OER
Our Solar System and Seasons
Sixth graders investigate the relative diameters of planets and distances between them and the cause for seasons on Earth using the 5-E Learning Model. They appreciate the size and distances involved with objects in the real universe....
Curated OER
Wright Again: 100 Years of Flight
Aspiring aeronautical engineers demonstrate different forces as they construct and test paper airplanes. This lesson plan links you to a website that models the most effective paper airplane design, an animation describing the forces...
Curated OER
Investigating Factors That Affect Cell Membrane Permeability
Cell membranes and the factors that affect its integrity are studied, with Beet tissue used as the model. A poster to display findings of the permeability of the membranes would clarify understanding and also allow a layer of language...
Curated OER
Using FoilSim to Measure Your Elevation
Students, after designing model wings, demonstrate an understanding of wing design by testing models of the wing types both experimentally and by computer modeling in FoilSim and then presenting their results.