Teach Engineering
Bend That Bar
Bend it, but don't break it. Groups investigate the strength of different materials. Using a procedure in the seventh segment of a 22-part series on aviation, pupils determine how far a rod will bend. They determine the strength-to-mass...
Center for Learning in Action
Challenge with Solids, Liquids, and Gases
There's a container for every matter—liquid, solid, and gas. Pupils design three different containers, each with the capability to hold one of the states of matter, and share their design with the class.
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.
Energy for Keeps
Getting Current: Generating Electricity Using a Magnet
Give your class a magnetic charge with this creative experiment designed to teach emerging scientists about electromagnetism. Pupils construct a model that demonstrates the function of an electrical generator and test this creation in a...
Center for Learning in Action
Water—Changing States (Part 1)
Here is part one of a two-part lesson in which scholars investigate the changing states of water—liquid, solid, and gas. With grand conversation and up to three demonstrations, learners make predictions about what they think will happen...
Teach Engineering
Fun With Nanotechnology
Introduce your class to nanotechnology applications with three demonstrations that showcase scientific principles related to ferrofluids, quantum dots, and gold nanoparticles. Groups will work more closely with these applications in the...
NOAA
What's a CTD?
Why are the properties of the water important when exploring the ocean? Young scientists discover the tools and technology used in deep sea exploration in the fourth installment in a five-part series. Groups work together to examine...
American Chemical Society
What is a Chemical Reaction?
When a candle burns down, what happens to the mass that appears to be shrinking? Lesson begins with a demonstration of the chemical reaction of a candle burning. Then scholars use atom models to observe conservation of mass concretely.
University of Colorado
Rings and Things
Galileo first observed Saturn's rings in 1610. Through the use of a flashlight and baby powder, classes see how they can observe the rings of the outer planets from far away. Another demonstration shows how these rings, made of ice and...
National Wildlife Federation
An Energy Mix: Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources
What did the windmill say about renewable energy? I'm a BIG fan! Lesson three in the series of 12 has classes discuss potential and kinetic energy and then, in pairs, they complete a web quest over the different types of energy...
Columbus City Schools
What’s Up with Matter?
Take a "conservative" approach to planning your next unit on mass and matter! What better way to answer "But where did the gas go?" than with a lab designed to promote good report writing, research skills, and detailed observation. The...
Center for Learning in Action
Introduction to Matter
Begin your states of matter lessons with a demonstration designed to introduce the concept that all matter has properties. Reinforce this concept through vocabulary exploration, and the creation of atom models; salt, water, and carbon...
Savvas Learning
Let's Get Moving
Scholars examine, cut, paste, and sort 12 images featuring different types of movement in order to show what they know about energy—potential and kinetic.
STEM for Teachers
Temperature and Bounce
Take part in a fun experiment and hold an impromptu bouncing contest with your class. Young scientists heat and cool balls before bouncing them to determine whether temperature changes affect how they bounce. The set of STEM lesson plans...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lego Atoms and Molecules: Chemical Reactions
Show young chemists what a chemical reaction looks like with two parts of a hands-on experiment. First, learners conduct a wet lab where they observe the reactants (baking soda and calcium chloride, with phenolsulfonphthalein) before,...
NOAA
Oceans of Energy
Are the earth's oceans really just giant batteries, waiting for their energy to be harnessed? Middle school mechanical engineers will be shocked by the amazing amount of energy that forms around them after diving into part four of a...
Discovery Education
STEM Camp—Urban Infrastructure
Build a bridge to learning in a STEM-aligned unit about urban infrastructure. Young engineers explore the many aspects of civil planning and design in a five-day unit. Content includes the challenging aspects of balancing building with...
Teach Engineering
Identifying Possible Underground Cavern Locations
Teams continue with the Asteroid Impact challenge and determine possible locations to construct their underground shelters. Participants cut scale area models of their shelters from paper and place them on the map to find locations to...
Science Matters
Electricity and Magnetism Formative Assessment #1
A formative assessment is a great tool for planning further instruction. The fifth lesson of a 14-part series exploring magnetism and electricity provides questions to gauge current understanding of magnetic fields, compasses, and forces...
Science Matters
Static Electricity
Working with static electricity is sure to give the class a charge! Budding scientists experiment with balloons and different materials to discover how to create static electricity. They learn about the transfer of electrons and the...
American Museum of Natural History
Space and Time
Carve out some time to learn about space-time. Young scientists use a remote learning resource to read up on the relationship between space and time. They consider the idea of relativity, see how objects with a large mass can bend space...
American Museum of Natural History
Thinking in the Three Dimensions
Discover different dimensions with paper folding. Pupils first read about zero, one, two, and three dimensions, and then learn about the fourth dimension, time. They then use origami to create models of shapes in three dimensions and use...
American Chemical Society
Diapers: The Inside Story
There shouldn't be any accidents with this activity! An inquiry-based lesson has learners explore the absorption properties of the gel compound in diapers. After testing its properties, they learn the science of the molecules that make...
Curated OER
Gauss' Law
Students derive the equation of Gauss's law. In this physics lesson, students investigate the factors affecting the strength of the electric field. They perform simulation on Gauss's law.