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. Next,...
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...
Sargent Art
Protect Our Marine Life
Encourage water conservation and boost art skills with a hands-on activity that challenges young painters to create a scene highlighting marine life. Using oil pastels, scholars draw an underwater scene and write a tip for viewers 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
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...
Curated OER
Old Solutions - New Solutions
Students examine descriptions of a mining company's land-reclamation project. They share information to analyze the environmental impact of the project. Independently, they answer questions on environmental and economic issues...
Curated OER
Mother Earth
Students compare natural and human made items and gain an awareness of the importance of Mother Earth to the Nez Perce people.
Curated OER
HOW SMALL AM I? THE SCIENCE OF NANOTECHNOLOGY
Students study nanotechnology and investigate the dimensions of a nanoscale. In this nanometer study instructional activity students will see how truly small a nanometer is by measuring things such as a piece of hair.
Education Outside
Papermaking
Imagine recycling food scraps and using them to make paper. The directions are all here in a seven-page packet that details several paper-making strategies.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Climate Change Impacts on Ecosystem Services
The fourth activity in a series of five has classes participate in a jigsaw to learn about global impacts of climate change and then share their new information with a home group. Groups then research impacts of climate change (droughts,...
University of Colorado
The Jovian Basketball Hoop
Can you listen to Jupiter on a simple radio? Turns out the answer is yes! The resource instructs scholars to build a simple radio to pick up the radio waves created when the charged particles from the sun hit Jupiter's magnetic...
University of Colorado
Are All Asteroids' Surfaces the Same Age?
Did you know scientists can tell the age of an asteroid by looking closely at its craters? This final lesson of a six-part series focuses on two asteroids, Gaspra and Ida, in order to demonstrate the concept of dating asteroids. Scholars...
NOAA
It's a Roughy Life
Scientists recently discovered several previously unknown species at the Bear Seamount off the coast of New England. Scholars research these new species — benthopelagic, benthic, and seamount fish — and find out what makes them unique....
Curated OER
Wow! Water, Trees, Fish!
Students observe the wildlife shown on the Washington state quarter and discuss what the world would be like if there were no natural resources. They complete a worksheet of drawings that depict the world without trees, water or fish.
Curated OER
Applied Evolution: How Will We Get There from Here?
Students explore the basic process of natural selection and how people can manipulate that process today. The consequences of natural selection on daily life and the implications of evolutionary biology in basic and applied science is...
Curated OER
Tree-mendous!
Fifth graders identify the ways people use trees. In this Science lesson, 5th graders play a word game with tree classification. Students determine the need for protecting natural resources.
Curated OER
Earth Kids: Kindergarteners Taking Care of the Earth
Pupils explore a variety of ways of how to care for the environment in the nine lessons of this unit. They observe how to be responsible "Earth Kids."
Curated OER
Science: Avalanche!
Eighth graders examine avalanches after reading excerpts from John Muir's book, "The Yosemite." In small groups, they conduct experiments with flour, sugar, and potato flakes representing different snow consistencies. Then, 8th graders...