Curated OER
Fractals, An Inquiry: Day 3
Students develop questions for their inquiries and plan their experiments. They are supported by a modeled case study of Max the Dog's Inquiry Planning Process, as well as supported by a planning template, The Inquiry Organizer.
Curated OER
Fractals, An Inquiry: Day 4
Students put their growing understanding of the scientific inquiry process to work. They use paint to implement their plans to experiment with how changing one aspect of the fractal making process influences their appearance.
Curated OER
Life Science: My Pyramid
Students examine how the school food program compares to the food pyramid recommendations. In this food pyramid lesson, students compile data regarding the food choices available in the school through the lunch program and vending...
Curated OER
Inquiry into Infectious Disease: It's a Germy World After All
High schoolers choose a question from a given list and develop an investigation about it. For this biology lesson, students analyze bacterial growth by carrying out a guided experiment. They present their findings in class.
Curated OER
The Science of Weather
Middle schoolers read an article. In this seasons lesson, students discuss the seasons and seasonal affective disorder. Middle schoolers find an article that illustrates other ways that the environment negatively effects humans.
Curated OER
Popcorn Science: Pop Goes the Kernel!
Students conduct various experiments to determine why popcorn pops. They design tests to determine the effect of water in the kernels on its popping. Once the experiments are completed, they write summaries of them proving or...
Curated OER
Finding Science in An American Childhood by Annie Dillard
High schoolers read excerpts from Annie Dillard's memoir, "An American Childhood," with the teacher. They experience opportunities to connect English, science, nature and art together from a new and unique perspective. This approach...
Curated OER
Lesson Plans for Sweet Dreams: How Animals Sleep
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...
Curated OER
The Science of Ghana
Students explore the climate and food sources of Ghana. In this lesson plan on climate students view diagrams of global convection and complete a convection experiment.
Curated OER
Insect Inquiries
Students explore the topic of insects. In this biology lesson plan, students develop a curiosity about the insect world. Students will collect and observe insects native to the area.
Curated OER
Lesson 12: Ho'olaulima: Let's Make a Hawaiian Garden
Second graders grow a classroom garden that acts as a living laboratory for cross-curricular activities. In this classroom garden lesson, 2nd graders follow directions to build and plant a garden that is used to teach math, science, and...
Curated OER
Life Science- Learning About Tadpoles
Students investigate a frog's life cycle. In this tadpole lesson, students observe tadpoles in an aquarium and record results. Students fill in a KWL chart as an assessment.
Curated OER
Natural Inquirer Ecosystem Article Lesson
Students discover new ways to preserve the ecosystem by completing graphic organizers. For this environmental lesson, students read an article from the Natural Inquirer in small groups and fill out a graphic organizer based on the...
Curated OER
Introduction To Fractals: an Inquiry
Students evaluate a playful case study about a dog searching for fetching sticks to identify the steps in the science inquiry method. They read the case study and fill in a worksheet with the examples of questions, observations and...
Curated OER
Gravity: What is it?
What is gravity and how do you explain it? Use this presentation to guide an inquiry-based lesson centered on understanding gravity through hands-on experience. Each slide provides a definition, example, or activity for students to...
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...
NASA
Measuring Dark Energy
You're only 10 minutes late? Do you know how much the universe has expanded in those 10 minutes? Scholars graph supernovae based on their redshift and see if the results verify Hubble's Law. If it does confirm it, the universe is...
NASA
Determining the Nature, Size, and Age of the Universe
Prompt scholars to discover the expansion of the universe themselves. Using photographs of other galaxies, they measure and then graph the size and distance of each. Finally, they draw conclusions and prove the universe is...
NASA
Just How Far is That Star?
Pupils often wonder how we know the distance to various stars. Starting with a thought experiment and progressing to a physical experiment, they determine the brightness and distance to various stars. The evaluation requires...
NASA
Moon Phases and Eclipses
Starry-eyed astronomers draw different views of the Moon in order to introduce its phases. Then they experiment with a ball and a lamp to recreate the phases. A demonstration ensures every pupil understands the process, and the...
Curated OER
Physical Science- Sink or Float?
Learners investigate which objects sink and which ones float. Learners engage in an experiment, make predictions, and record results on a graphic organizer. This is a comprehensive and easy to follow resource.
NASA
Climate Change Inquiry Lab
With global temperatures on the rise faster than ever recorded, the effects of a heating planet could be devastating. Allow learners to discover just what the world is in store for if the warming continues through a series of videos, a...
Curated OER
Is the Coast Really Toast?: A Lesson About Volcanoes, Phase Changes, and the Art of Estimation
Clever! Use a clip from the 1997 film, Volcano, to get your chemistry class knee-deep in heat concepts related to lava. In the movie scene, lava flow is stopped in the nick of time. Your class must use calculations to determine if this...
Discovery Education
Jets in Flight
This Discovery Education activity provides the information needed to understand the basics of flight. Before taking off, young pilots learn the eight stages of the engineering design process. Small groups then design and build...