Curated OER
Diversity/Natural Selection
Students examine mechanisms behind biological evolution and the theories that feed it, and are able to demonstrate their knowledge of these theories in a story.
Curated OER
Evolution: Natural Selection
Students analyze and discuss the evolutionary history of dinosaurs. In this investigative lesson students monitor different organisms in the environment and analyze the pressures that affect the chances of survival.
Curated OER
Lessons for Atlatl Users with Some Experience-Grade 6
Sixth graders experiment with an atlatl and dart. In this sixth grade data management mathematics lesson, 6th graders explore and determine the most suitable methods of displaying data collected from their experimentation with...
Curated OER
This Life Stinks
Chemosynthetic communities of cold seep areas are considered in this lesson. Working in collaborative groups, marine biology or oceanography learners research and prepare a report about oxidation-reduction reactions involved with...
Curated OER
Beans and Birds: A Natural Selection Simulation
Students examine the problem concerning the evolution of seed color in pinto bean plants "How does natural selection change the frequency of genes or traits over many generations"? Students work in teams to design an experiment that...
Columbus City Schools
ABC: Acid Base Chemistry
Bubble, bubble, boil and trouble! What causes common substances like baking soda and vinegar to react the way they do? Welcome your junior chemists to the wonders of acid-base chemistry using a comprehensive and fun...
Curated OER
Science: Lead Shot and Waterfowl
Young scholars examine data to investigate the impact of lead shot pellets on waterfowl populations. They graph their findings and discover how lead in ingested by birds and poisons them. As an extension, students research legislation...
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
Quantifying Land Changes Over Time Using Landsat
"Humans have become a geologic agent comparable to erosion and [volcanic] eruptions ..." Paul J. Crutzen, a Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist. Using Landsat imagery, scholars create a grid showing land use type, such as urban,...
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...
Curated OER
Activity #9 Extending Oil Well Production
Pupils simulate methods used to extend the effective life of an oil well by extracting less available oil. They identify techniques which can be used and evaluate their effectiveness. Pupils are introduced to rock size and temperature of...
Curated OER
First Grade Goes to the Zoo
First graders summarize their trip to the zoo. In this summarizing lesson plan, 1st graders will study animals that they may see at the zoo including their characteristics and habitats. Once the trip is done, they create a word document...
Curated OER
Hurricanes and Tornadoes (Grade 4-8)
Students investigate the concepts of hurricanes and violent weather conditions. In this violent weather lesson, students access an Internet site and watch a video about how air masses behave, how a tornado forms, how hurricanes form, and...
Curated OER
Erosion: Natural or Unnatural
Students explore how water has the power to erode, how developing the land (building roads, buildings and parking lots) increases the amount of water reaching our rivers, and how this greater quantity of water increases erosion. They...
NASA
Gravitational Waves
Young scientists participate in a hands-on experiment to explore Einstein's theory of relativity in a creative manner. They investigate various waves and compare their characteristics as they discuss how each wave is created....
NASA
Cosmic Times 2019
NASA is planning a journey to Mars, and current scholars could very well be a part of a future mission. During the unit, pupils research the advances in space exploration and knowledge about the universe. Then they work in groups to...
Journey Through the Universe
A Scale Model Solar System
Between the time scientists discovered Pluto and reclassified it as a dwarf planet, it did not even make one full revolution around the sun. In two activities, scholars investigate scale models and their properties. Pupils find that it...
Curated OER
Anthropogenic Biomes
If you teach a man to fish, he will never go hungry—or he will overfish and permanently damage the ecosystem? Address the traditional biomes as well as the human-included ecosystems and contrasts the biotic and abiotic factors in each....
Curated OER
Animals in Art
Second graders demonstrate visual awareness by listing seven to nine types of animals shown in the artwork on the tour. They draw three types of textured lines or patterns shown in the tour artwork and model an imaginary animal using clay.
Curated OER
How Diverse is That?
After reviewing biodiversity, learners work in small groups to analyze actual species distribution data. They learn to calculate the Shannon-Weaver diversity index for different communities. Though not particularly engaging, the content...
Curated OER
Prairie Plants Lab
Students recognize and identify 3 grasses and 9 common forbs of the fermilab prairie and which were common in IL, identify using resources and write 3 critical attributes of each plant.
Curated OER
Iron Fertilization - Pumping Iron
The theory that adding iron to ocean water may increase phytoplankton ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is examined. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute is monitoring conditions off the California coast to...
Curated OER
Crowley's Ridge: An Upland in the Lowlands
Young geographers examine how Crowley's Ridge was formed. This is one Arkansa's six natural geologic divisions. The history of Crowley's Ridge is important in that the first settlers of the state were attracted to this region, and it...
Scholastic
Prescription Pain Medication: What You Need to Know
The national epidemic of opioid addiction is making its way into high school populations. Educate the students in your class about the ways prescription opioids can both block pain and deliver large amounts of dopamine that make it very...