It's About Time
Speed and Following Distance
How much distance should you keep between your car and the one in front of you? Did you think of an answer in terms of time when the question clearly stated distance? The lesson covers the relationship between distance, time, and speed....
It's About Time
Life (and Death) Before Seat Belts
Did you know only 80-90% of passengers wear a seat belt in a moving car? Young scholars use clay and a cart to complete an experiment about what happens without a seat belt in a collision. The lesson includes Newton's Second Law of...
It's About Time
Push or Pull - Adding Vectors
Demonstrate Newton's Second Law of Motion with an engaging lesson. Individuals explore the difference between forces in relation to a push or a pull, and they identify various forces that cause an object to move. They explore the concept...
It's About Time
Sounds in Strings
How many of your pupils play an instrument? A musical science lesson will help all of them understand how string instruments work. Young scientists construct a string-and-pulley system to test frequency and pitch. The lesson ends with a...
It's About Time
Color
How can a hand puppet's shadow look like a dog? The lesson explains the science behind shadows, combining paint colors and the colors used in old televisions. Scholars use white, red, blue, and green lights to experiment with colors and...
It's About Time
Accidents
Did you know that cars weren't designed for passenger safety until the 1960s? The lesson starts with a quick quiz on automobile safety. Then, scholars evaluate three cars for their safety features. This is the third in a set of nine...
It's About Time
A Moving Frame of Reference
We often remind pupils to cite their references, but this lesson helps them understand there are many frames of reference. Scholars experiment with throwing a ball straight up in the air and catching it. Then they must do it again while...
It's About Time
Refraction of Light
Don't shine like a diamond, refract light like a diamond. Young scientists use an acrylic block and a laser light to observe refraction. Advanced scholars figure the sine of the angles of reflection and incidence as well as mastering...
It's About Time
Cushioning Collisions (Computer Analysis)
Did you know the car bumper is specifically designed to save the car and not the passengers in case of an accident? Young scientists use a computer, a force probe, and a sonic ranger to experiment with external cushioning on cars.
It's About Time
Force Fields
Young scholars investigate both bar and horseshoe magnets. They explore force fields with a compass and iron fillings before making an electromagnet. This is the first in a series of nine lessons.
It's About Time
Slinkies and Waves
Slinkies® are a great tool for visualizing waves. Pupils work in groups to create both transverse and longitudinal waves before using a polarizer to analyze the ways they are able to travel.
It's About Time
Inferences of Waves
Building on the previous lesson, scholars use Slinkies to create standing waves. They graph waves on a calculator and then apply their knowledge to both sound and light waves. This is the fourth in a series of nine lessons.
It's About Time
Communication Through Space
If humans do find aliens, how would we communicate with them? An intriguing lesson walks through some of the challenges associated with this question. How long would a message take to reach a specific destination, what language should we...
Curated OER
Life Cycle of Trees
Turn your students into young tree-tectives with this fun science investigation into the life of trees. To begin, a class volunteer gets dressed up in a tree costume as the different parts of trees are introduced. Then, the class learns...
It's About Time
Curved Mirrors
Discover concave and convex mirrors using a laser light. Scholars experiment with real and virtual images before reading a handout and completing homework questions. Included extensions greatly benefit learners, so take advantage of the...
It's About Time
Sounds from Vibrating Air
Take note, or notes, as the case may be. A scientific music lesson is the third in a set of eight covering waves and instruments. Scholars use straws, test tubes, and water to create various wind instruments. Then, they read and answer...
Curated OER
An Exploration of Cradle-to-Cradle Design Thinking
Introduce cradle-to-cradle design thinking. Scholars first discuss the importance of natural laws and rights. They then use a variety of online and print resources to research eco-efficiency and cradle-to-cradle design.
Kenan Fellows
Sensors, Sensors…..Everywhere! Middle School Meteorologist Create Weather Bots!
My forecast is that you'll want to use the resource. Pupils design and create a weather bot as part of a project-based unit. These bots should be able to measure temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, and...
Curated OER
Journey to Gettysburg
Students use latitude and longitude to map the path of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Curated OER
What's for Dinner?
View a video presentation comparing chemosynthesis to photosynthesis. Review the findings of the 2004 Ring of Fire Expedition that studied biological communities around the hydrothermal vents of the Mariana Arc. In collaborative groups,...
Curated OER
Week 7: Animal Adaptations - Bird Beaks
Learners use tools to represent bird beaks and pick up different types of food with them in order to discover which beak would help the bird survive depending on their food type.
Curated OER
Wildlife
First, biology pupils research land and marine habitats along the route of skipper Rich Wilson's Great American II. Then, using colored paper clips scattered across a colored paper background, they play the predator-prey game to...
Social Skills Central
Photo Cartoons: How To Give A Compliment
Help learners develop the ability to offer appropriate, meaningful compliments to others—an essential social skill. Here you'll find a quick photo cartoon illustrating a right and wrong way to give a compliment, as well as a brief...
Curated OER
Myths and Misconceptions
Students examine and discuss common myths and misconceptions about persons with disabilities and with a partner plan an outing for a community activity. They read and complete the handout "Developmental Disabilities: Truth or Myth?" and...