Is your current lesson plan for salt and freshwater literacy leaving you high and dry? If so, dive into part one of a seven-part series that explores the physical features of Earth's salt and freshwater sources. Junior hydrologists...

Evaluate global temperature anomalies using real-world data from NASA! Climatologists analyze a data set using a literacy cube and differentiated question sheets. Team members evaluate global temperature anomaly data with basic...

Students generate vocabulary words synonymous or related to "noise." In this literacy lesson plan, students listen to the book Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do You Hear? by Bill Martin and Eric Carle and discuss the meaning of vocabulary...

Students develop their understanding of the effects of invisible air pollutants. For this invisible air lesson, students complete experiments with a rubber band air test, a bean plant experiment and by exploring engineering roles related...

Scholars become detectives and use science to solve a crime! A complete unit introduces DNA and includes hands-on activities that have learners model DNA and extract it from different food types. A culminating activity challenges...

Analyze years of hard climate change evidence in minutes. Climatologists evaluate graphical data about climate change by answering questions. Scientists work collaboratively using a literacy cube or virtual die that directs them through...

Germination is an amazing process that results in amazing things. The book The Tiny Seed is the inspiration for a set of activities that will help build early literacy, observation, language, and writing skills. The class observes how...

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take your class on an underwater adventure. The final installment in a seven-part series involving salt and freshwater bodies takes junior oceanographers below the surface in...

Do you have young scientists wanting to make new discoveries rather than just completing the same experiments? Young scientists use their observational skills to identify animals and patterns in animal behavior. Through tracking...

What does it take to train your brain? Learners explore the question as they experiment with their own memory and motor skills. They attempt to trace an object using a mirror and then score their results over several trials. They then...

Everyone loves a good mystery ... can your class actually solve one? Partnered pupils take on the role of forensic investigators during a three-part activity focusing on DNA evidence processing. Learners discover the methods used to...

Beginning botanists view slides of plant vascular tissue. They watch Magic School Bus Gets Planted, which you can find online, and then write a summary of what they have learned about plants. This lesson could be used with upper...

What a festive way to examine what happens to the heart in different gravitational situations! Small groups place a water-filled balloon in different locations (on a table top, in a tub of water, and held in a vertical position), drawing...

Here is a chance for environmental studies classes to take a critical look at crises occurring around the globe by reading articles and viewing video clips. The human activities under scrutiny are the extraction of oil, logging, and...

What is an emergency, why is preparing for one important, and how can your pupils help others prepare for an emergency? Answer these questions and more with a short unit. Learners will participate in a variety of collaborative,...

Enhance your middle and high schoolers' research skills with this lesson. After viewing a video clip about HIV and AIDS, high schoolers identify the facts and issues surrounding the disease. They work together to create a newspaper...

How do you feel about cloning? This issue is highly debated, so educate your class before they participate in a similar debate! Read a New York Times article related to the use of cloned pig organs for human transplants. Groups develop...

Students actively listen to the book Nuts To You and learn facts about squirrels. In this squirrels lesson, students listen to the book, and discuss what they learned after.

Good Night, Moon is a classic little ones absolutely love. It's a sweet book that can be used, as in this lesson, to start a conversation about the difference between night and day. After reading the story, the class brainstorms...

Life in the Bering Sea, food webs, and the ocean ecosystem are introduced with a map activity. The instructional activity starts as kids explore maps and images of the Bering Sea, then it kicks into high gear as they start to discuss the...

They say elephants never forget—and your class won't forget an insightful modeling activity either! Junior zoologists take part in a mock elephant census using the sample count and total count methods. The included materials provide...

Dinnertime on the African savanna is a highly choreographed event! Introduce young ecologists to the concept of niche partitioning through a hands-on activity. Pupils research animal behaviors and use data to develop an understanding of...

Here's a workshop for teachers that rocks the academic world! Using earthquakes as a medium for instruction, educators learn about crosscutting engineering with science. Fun, hands-on, collaborative exercises encourage participants to...

After reading about polymer materials, engineer trainees examine how plastics have been integrated into everyday products. In groups, they compile a list of products made entirely without plastics and then, as a closing activity, try to...