Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Measuring Biodiversity in Gorongosa
Take your biology class' understanding of biodiversity to a whole new level! Ecology scholars use data to calculate three different diversity indices based on the organisms in the Gorongosa National Park. The four-part activity uses an...
Curated OER
Genre Lesson: Science Fiction
Sixth graders explore the components of science fiction in a science and literacy activity. As they define and record definitions of the term on the board, learners identify a text as science fiction using the terms they have listed to...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Gorongosa: Making Observations Activity
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...
Curated OER
What Science Suggests About 'Weather Weirding'
Here is an activity that you can use to help upper elementary or middle schoolers to meet Common Core literacy standards for science and technology. Youngsters read the article on extreme weather patterns, "Weather Runs Hot and Cold, So...
College Board
2001 AP® Computer Science A Free-Response Questions
Develop an array of solutions. The released questions provide an insight on how to use C++ programming to work with arrays. Pupils respond to the questions by creating lines of code to accomplish specific tasks. The 2001 exam uses the...
College Board
2009 AP® Environmental Science Free-Response Questions
How do genetically modified crops affect agricultural practices? This is one of four environmental questions scholars respond to in an AP® test prep resource. Other topics include methane digesters, water runoff, and nitrogen-based...
Curated OER
African Americans in Science
Young scholars explore the careers of prominent African Americans in science, mathematics, and technology. They use The Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences website, which includes profiles of past and present African...
Curated OER
Polar Bear Literacy Activity
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...
National Wildlife Federation
Stifling, Oppressive, Sweltering, Oh My!
Looking for a hot date? Pick any day in August, statistically the hottest month in the United States. The 15th lesson in the series of 21 instructs pupils to investigate the August 2007 heat wave through NASA data, daily temperature...
National Wildlife Federation
It's A Bird...It's A Plane...It's...CARBON!
An interesting instructional activity takes pupils on a trip through the carbon cycle. A reading passage allows scholars to take notes and make choices about what happens to the carbon on its journey. This third instructional activity in...
National Wildlife Federation
Conceptualizing Module III
Many researchers focus on one impact of climate change in isolation, but researchers gain a global perspective when they come together. A timely lesson teaches scholars about the projected impacts of global temperature increases. Then...
National Wildlife Federation
Wherefore Art Thou, Albedo?
In the sixth lesson in a series of 21, scholars use NASA data to graph and interpret albedo seasonally and over the course of multiple years. This allows learners to compare albedo trends to changes in sea ice with connections to the...
National Wildlife Federation
I’ve Got the POWER! Solar Energy Potential at Your School
Should every school have solar panels? The 19th lesson in a series of 21 has scholars research the feasibility of using solar panels at their school. They begin by gathering data on the solar energy in the area before estimating the...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Utah Open Textbook: 8th Grade Science
The cycle of energy is important to many different systems on Earth. Scholars use questioning and observation to investigate the differences between renewable and non-renewable resources and how they relate to global changes. They...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Biomimicry in Engineering
Take a look with your class at how nature supplies inspiration to engineers. In cooperative groups, youngsters research biomimicry and then develop a system that would help support people living on the moon. Each team also considers...
Agriculture in the Classroom
"Steer" Toward STEM: Careers in Animal Agriculture
Think like an engineer and an agricultural scientist over the course of 12 lessons in a STEM based unit. Young scientists take on the roles of animal physiologists, animal geneticists, agricultural engineers, animal nutritionists, and...
Curated OER
Showdown in the New Wild West
What is the root of the conflict between ranchers and environmentalists? Middle schoolers write their impressions of what an environmentalist is and does. They read the New York Times article "In New Wild West, It's Cowboys vs. Radical...
Curated OER
A Yen for Maximum Residue Limits in Food
Future public health officials or agriculturists read an article and answer questions concerning the Japanese regulations for pesticide exposure. They compare the maximum residue limit for two, 4-D of Japan with other countries. This is...
Curated OER
Rachel's Life is in a Hole
Explore how lack of access to water impacts peoples' lives in poor countries. Through text reading and discussion, middle schoolers are presented with the story of a young girl who lives and functions with limited water resources. They...
Curated OER
Wildlife Study Comparison
Environmental science classes read articles about two different scientific studies. One is about the effects of contraceptive chemicals on fertility, and the other is about how a pesticide may be reducing bone density in exposed...
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
Applying Newton’s Third Law of Motion in the Gravitron Ride
Here is a collection of readings to be discussed in the science classroom. This one is in the form of a dialog between two boys in an amusement park, talking about the forces involved in a Graviton ride. Questions are listed at the...
Curated OER
Home Living/ Daily Living: Food Pyramid
What did you have for lunch? Did it contain all four food groups? Help your special education class make good food choices and recognize foods in each of the four food groups. They look at images and discuss the foods on the food pyramid...
Lawrence Hall of Science
DIY Sun Science
Get an up-close-and personal look at the sun from the safety of your classroom with this fun science application. Offering numerous activities, images, and videos, the resource supports children of all ages as they learn about the sun.
Fluence Learning
Writing About Literature: Nature in the Writings of John Muir and Emily Dickinson
As an assessment of their skill in crafting a compare and contrast essay, class members read and compare the portrayals of nature in excerpts from naturalist John Muir's My First Summer in the Sierra and from poet Emily Dickinson's "The...