What does it take to be considered a smart material? Learners investigate the properties of Nitinol, a smart material, through a hands-on lab activity. They examine the crystal lattice structure and the conditions required for Nitinol to...

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.

You won't have to force your classes to complete these engaging activities! Through exploration, young scientists learn that force has both magnitude and direction. They draw force diagrams, investigate force models, and complete a...

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is one of several garbage patches around the world where garbage accumulates naturally. As part of a GIS unit that combines oceanography, environmental science, and life science, class members investigate...

Explore the scientific method of classification. An interactive activity asks learners to create a classification system for a group of objects and develop a flow chart to communicate their systems. In addition, individuals use a...

Explore vocabulary related to three-dimensional shapes. An instructional website describes the characteristics of different geometric solids. Learners can use an interactive component to view nets, faces, vertices, and edges of common...

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)...

What's life like aboard an ocean exploration vessel? Junior oceanographers examine the important role of communication in ocean research in lesson two of a five-part series from NOAA. The materials introduce the class to life on...

Beautiful music doesn't just write itself, but if you ever feel bad about procrastinating, remember that Mozart wrote the overture to Don Giovanni the morning it premiered. Introduce young scientists to the elements of sound including...

Don't worry, optics is a light topic! The presentation covers reflection, refraction, fiber optics, mirages, prisms, rainbows, dispersion, mirrors, lenses, telescopes, diffraction, the human eye, and much, much more. Presentation is...

Why did lightning shock the man? Because it didn't know how to conduct itself. Presentation covers electric charges, insulators, conductors, electroscopes, lightning, generators, grounding, static electricity, and more. Presentation...

The tension of the 236 strings in a grand piano exert a combined force of 20 tons on the cast iron frame. The presentation includes topics such as work, forms of energy, conservation of energy, gravitational and elastic potential energy,...

Here's a presentation that not only covers momentum, impulse, conservation of momentum in both one and two dimensions, angular momentum, torque, and the moment of inertia, but offers many applied guided practice problems as well.

Lights out! Scholars build on their understanding of a simple circuit by adding a switch and creating schematic drawings. The eighth lesson in a series of 14 has pupils use everyday materials to create circuits and make observations as...

It's time to get moving! The 13th lesson in a 14-part unit on electricity and magnetism explores the relationship between electricity and mechanical energy. Budding scientists build motors and experiment with different components to...

Fifth graders explore conductors and insulators. In this science lesson plan, 5th graders act as electrons moving through a wire. Students break into groups representing conductors and insulators and explore how they work with electrons.

Third graders explain the basic healthy eating and physical activity concepts.  In this healthy lifestyles lesson, 3rd graders describe two main components of a healthy lifestyle, demonstrate two different types of physical...

Students describe properties of liquids and use descriptive language as a springboard to develop precise vocabulary for properties of liquids. They also use vocabulary as practiced with liquid-vocabulary card games. Finally, students...

Students come to understand vocabulary words through pantomime. In this vocabulary lesson, students first review several vocabulary words and their meaning, then they work in groups to pantomime the definitions.

Learners play a game in physical education class to examine how a deer survives. Using nature as a guide, they discover how it is constantly changing due to weather, food, water, pollution and predators. They discuss the characteristics...

Students use the internet to research the streams and rivers found in Illinois. Using the information, they identify and describe the rivers and streams along with the physical characteristics of a river ecosystem. They share what they...

Sprouting scientists explore the concept of density by making mass and volume measurements for five different liquids. From these measurements, they calculate densities. They apply their learning to explain Galileo's thermometer works...

Students investigate the environment by designing a group project.  In this ecology lesson, students identify the man made threats to the Amazon while reading environmentally conscience vocabulary terms.  Students collaborate...

Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble! Find out what drives a turbine to generate electricity and whether or not it has an impact on the environment. A discussion and lecture is divided by a hands-on activity in...