Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Newton's Laws

For Teachers 9th - 12th
In this motion worksheet, students read about the 3 laws of motion and then complete a graphic organizer describing the laws and giving an example for each one.
Lesson Plan
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Motion Experiment

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students experiment with the laws of motion. For this motion lesson, students explore Newton's Laws of Motion. Students work in groups experimenting with different objects and observing different types of motion.
Lesson Plan
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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
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Is There Liquid Water on Mars?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students assess whether there is liquid water on Mars by analyzing images and data.  In this planetary lesson students analyze temperature and pressure graphs and hypothesize about how water could have flowed on Mars.
Lesson Plan
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Mohs Hardness Test

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders listen as they are told about another way to classify rocks; by their hardness. They observe the Mohs Hardness Test overhead, discover how the test works, and then use materials such as pennies, butter knives, nails, and...
Lesson Plan
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Water Resources

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study water resources that are important to the people of North American and Africa. They use satellite images and data to explore how human actions can degrade, improve, or maintain water resources. They analyze and interpret...
Lesson Plan
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Food Webs

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students identify predator/prey relationships based on the food web of the tropical rain forest ecosystem and realize they need a food web for survival. In this food web lesson plan, students complete a role play activity being animals...
Lesson Plan
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Balloon Rockets

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students, after reviewing and analyzing Newton's third law of motion, make balloon rockets and experiment with a variety of models. After the experiment, they chart the results and form conclusions. In addition, they compare/contrast...
Lesson Plan
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Weather Instruments

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders make predictions about weather and utilize weather instruments and weather reports. They match weather components with weather instruments, and demonstrate how to read a thermometer. Students also construct and use a wind...
Lesson Plan
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Planets in Balance

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students study the solar system by researching the planets.  In this exploratory lesson students divide into teams and create mobiles.
Lesson Plan
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All Shook Up

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students calculate the amount of displacement after an earthquake.  In this seismic event lesson students research the Internet, and fill out a CORS data sheet.
Lesson Plan
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Rivers, Maps, and Math

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers use maps to locate and label the major rivers of North and South America. Using the internet, they identify forests, grasslands, mountain ranges and other landforms on the continents as well. They compare and contrast...
Lesson Plan
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CO2 and You

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students study the scientific evidence about carbon dioxide emissions. They learn to calculate the amount of energy used by different appliances. They complete a worksheet which analyzes the amount of energy that their home uses.
Lesson Plan
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University of Wisconsin

What’s a Square Foot Anyway? Laying Out the Design Plan

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Clever! Participants don square-foot cardboard shoes to mark out the rain garden plot that they have spent the last few weeks designing. In this way, they are practicing scale modeling as well! Note that this lesson is part of a unit,...
Lesson Plan
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Physical Changes and the Water Cycle- Three

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders take note of the changes in the water level in a cup of water that is left out. Using a model of the water that depicts a lake and landscape that is being heated by a heat lamp, the students observe precipitation, and...
Lesson Plan
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Environmental Science/Water Pollution

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students study natural habitats, aquatic life, renewable and non-renewable resources. They discuss conservation efforts for sea otters and desert toad in this units.
Lesson Plan
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Science: What Happens to Create the Lode?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students understand how mineral deposits are formed and why they are not evenly dispersed. They create and describe three different precipitates from four solutions simulating mineral ore deposit formation in sedimentary rock.
Lesson Plan
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Arsenic and Human Health

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders concentrate on arsenic poisoning as an example of the connections among health, geography, and geology as they develop a persuasive presentation about the dangers of arsenic in the drinking water, targeting a specific...
Lesson Plan
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Circular Motion

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research physical science by completing worksheets. In this gravity lesson, students read assigned text regarding the rotation of Earth and the gravitational force caused by the speed of which it rotates. Students complete a...
Lesson Plan
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What's down there?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
students analyze how oil is formed and where in the Earth we find it. Students take a core sample to look for oil in a model of the Earth. They analyze their sample and make an informed decision as to whether or not they should "drill...
Lesson Plan
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Postcards from California: A Unit on Geography, Social Studies, History and California's Resources

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine patterns that influence population density in the various regions of California. The unit's three lessons utilize graphic organizers for the interpretation and presentation of data.
Lesson Plan
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Candy Quakes

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders, using a candy bar, gum, and Twizzlers, demonstrate the effects of deformational forces on the earth's crust. They examine the processes of rock and fossil formation.
Lesson Plan
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Earth's History

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders study the law of superposition by creating models of fossils in layers of rock. They examine how fossils are usually found in sedimentary rock which leads to the study of geologic history in those rocks.
Lesson Plan
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King of the Mound

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners investigate water as an agent of change. They conduct an experiment involving a mound of soil, observe and record any changes that occur when ice melts on the mound of dirt, and create a drawing of the changes that take place...