Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Communications

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers incorporate different disciplines into this lesson. For this science lesson, students investigate the use of communicating without words, and how it is different than communicating with words. They discuss the pros and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Giraffe Riff Raff

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students study the effects of wildlife conservation and relocation.  In this conservation lesson students view video on the preservation of the giraffe populations and discuss the impact that humans have had on them.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Young scholars study the different types of volcanoes and how they erupt.  In this volcano lesson plan students identify where volcanoes are most prevalent and options for predicting eruptions. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ozone and Temperature Data Analysis, South Pole Antarctica

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students discuss the layers of the atmosphere, and the history of the ozone hole. They discuss the chemistry of the ozone formation. Students compare seasonal data collected with ozonesondes. They compare Antarctic and Arctic ozone hole...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where are the Dinosaurs?

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students construct their own diorama based on the life of a dinosaur. In this dinosaur lesson, students create models of dinosaurs and dinosaurs' eggs to explore the life cycle of this extinct species.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hatching Chickens

For Teachers Pre-K - 3rd
Learners observe chicks hatching from eggs. In this science lesson, students view a video to develop an understanding of the proper care and needs of eggs and live animals. This is a great precursor activity for hatching eggs in class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stream Table

For Teachers 3rd - Higher Ed
Students explore channelization, riparian habitats and soil erosion to find out about  the aquatic habitats in Iowa. In this aquatic habitats lesson, students define important terms and read an article about pollution. ...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Naturral Born Robots: Robots Have Feelings Too

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore robotics. They design a simple device that simulates a human arm lifting a mass. Students test the strength of their arm. Students discuss artificial intelligence.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Snack Attack: Food Packaging Activity

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students design and create packaging material for food. For this snack attack lesson, students design a package to protect a food item from heat and water. Students consider costs of materials, design, and test the package to see if it...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's That Tree?

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders identify trees along a nature trail. Using a dichotomous key, 5th graders answer questions to aid in their identification of trees along a specified nature trail. Observations are recorded in their science journals. Sample...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Boomerangs Keep Coming Back

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students investigate the flight of paper boomerangs. In this flight lesson plan, students examine the flight variables of paper boomerangs, which they make, by investigating the concepts of lift and drag. They examine what happens when...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Energy Motion in the Ocean

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the wave energy that is generated and transferred in the ocean. Through the use video and the Internet, students explore the aspects of a wave and how its energy affects the ecology of the seashore.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Deep Jungle: New Frontiers

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners watch a series of videos and observe the different plants and animals found in the rainforests. In this ecology lesson, students discuss how technology helped scientists study the jungle. They create 3D maps of Borneo rainforests.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is Plastic?

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students experiment with plastics.  In this what is plastic lesson plan, students make a simple polymer and discuss recycling.  Students identify various types of plastics. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shark Attack

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners study the white shark and the red triangle.  In this critical thinking lesson students assess the validity of facts about sharks and create a public service announcement either promoting shark or human protection.
Lesson Plan
Michigan Sea Grant

Fish Identification

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Using a dichotomous key, pupils identify characteristics of fish who live in the Great Lakes and explain how these features help them survive. In small groups, class members discover what features scientists consider important and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Electronic Components

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students review new terminology and computer circuits and the value of a resistor. They complete three experiments, "Resistance Activities," Transistor Activities,"Diode Activities" and enter data, results and their findings on Student...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Quality: Water Filtration

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students build a water filtration system. For this water quality lesson, students work in groups to construct water filtration units that can purify contaminated water. This lesson is part of a larger unit on water quality.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mendelian and Non-Mendelian Heredity

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders discuss their physical features, and why they look the way they do. They listen as the teacher discusses DNA, alleles, and dominant or recessive genes. Students perform an experiment with different colored markers...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Leaf Chromatography

For Teachers 8th - 10th
In this leaf chromatography worksheet, students separate the pigments of a leaf using paper chromatography. They answer 4 questions about their results and draw the colors they observe on their chromatogram from the leaf.
Lesson Plan
Michigan Sea Grant

Invasive Species

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Learners identify invasive species to the Great Lakes and analyze their impact on the ecosystem. Using photo cards with pictures and facts, young scientists work in small groups to match invasive species with their corresponding...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Solution Shapes

For Students 7th - 9th
In this solutions worksheet, learners soak a pipe cleaner in hot water and a supersaturated solution of 20 Mule Team Borax. Students leave their pipe cleaner in the solution for 30 minutes and then observe. They put it back in over night...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Molecules

For Teachers 7th - 9th
In this making molecules worksheet, students complete a table of elements with their symbol, atomic number, atomic mass, number of protons, number of electrons, period and group. Students then make models using pipe cleaners and beads of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Waves

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers identify the different parts of a wave. In this physics lesson plan, students explain how animals communicate using sound waves. They discuss the effect of Navy's sonar on dolphins and whales.