Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cutting Down Trees

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Learners research what kind of problems force a city or town to decide to remove trees. Students research what controversy has occurred in other cities or towns. Learners interview those responsible for such decisions in your city or...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is the Rock Cycle and Its Processes?

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Geology beginners examine three different rock samples and determine their origin by their characteristics. By making and recording observations, they become familiar with features of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rock types....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Characters Get What They Want

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders analyze the primary force that drives a character's actions in a character analysis lesson. In this character analysis lesson, 6th graders analyze how characters present their actions and participate in a group activity...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Principles of Flight: Flying Paper Airplanes

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Young scholars investigate ways to enhance an object's flying ability.  In this model construction lesson, students construct two paper airplanes, one of which is twice as big as the first.  Young scholars compare and contrast...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

HABITAT for the other 90%

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners examine the connection between the habitat needs of endemic species to the habitat needs of humans.  In this habitat lesson pupils research the habitat requirements of a given family then develop an idea to improve the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let the River Run

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners explore the environment by reading a story in class. In this water formation lesson, students define environmental terms such as rivers, streams, gulf, oceans and lakes. Learners read the story A River Ran Wild and discuss the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Antacid Tablet Race

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students complete experiments to determine how rocket fuel is affected by surface area and temperature. They compare the reaction rates of antacid tablets. They discuss their results to complete the lesson.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rocks Up!

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Students will design and build a structure to support a rock. Students will use their knowledge of movement of objects to determine the proper base to be built to support their rock. Students will explore their natural area for...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reversible and irreversible changes

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students define the words "reversible" and "irreversible." They complete a worksheet that shows a number of changes. Students must decide which are reversible and which are irreversible.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Unknown Element Project

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students work with a partner to determine the identity of an unknown element based on given descriptions. Groups use classroom textbooks, encyclopedias, and science internet sites to identify their unknown element then write a report as...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gravity

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students perform inquiry in response to the question "Do objects fall at the same rate?", teacher candidates discuss a model experiment for secondary students to discover the answer, including recording and analyzing data.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders experiment with Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion. In this Third Law of Motion lesson, 9th graders develop an experiment that shows their understanding of this theorem. They work in small groups to read an article at a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Magnets

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders classify objects and create hypotheses regarding their magnetic properties. They watch a video about magnets and finally use a magnet to test their hypotheses created earlier.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Acceleration 1

For Teachers 8th - 10th
In this acceleration worksheet, students use weights to increase the mass affecting the force on moving objects. Students plot a graph of their data and answer 3 questions about how the acceleration of the toy skateboard used in the...
Activity
1
1
Teach Engineering

Magical Motion

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
Make solutions to projectile motion problems magically appear using equations. Pupils watch a clip from a Harry Potter movie and find the length of time it takes for a remembrall to fall into Harry's hands. They use a projectile motion...
Lesson Plan
PHET

Soda Bottle Magnetometer

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Introduce learners to set of complete instructions that describe how to build a magnetometer that works just like the ones professional photographers use to predict auroras. The diagrams are wonderfully descriptive, and the written...
Activity
1
1
Teach Engineering

Equal and Opposite Thrust in Aircraft: You're a Pushover!

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
It's the law—every action requires a reaction, no matter how small. Pupils experience two demonstrations of Newton's third law of motion as it relates to thrust in the 10th segment of a 22-part unit on flight. Using their mathematical...
Lesson Plan
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network

An Easy (Bake) Approach to an Edible NanoLab

For Teachers 6th - 8th
You can make it if you bake it! Young scientists model electronic chip fabrication with an easy bake oven. They create a design to embed in their brownie "chips" and compare their models to wafer production in basic nanotechnology.
Activity
1
1
Teach Engineering

Magnetic Fluids

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Teams work as material engineers to create ferrofluids, whose shape is influenced by magnetic fields. The activity, which is the fourth in the six-part series, has the teams create magnetic ink and use it to write, testing it with a...
Lesson Plan
PHET

Measuring the Interplanetary Magnetic Field

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Scientists need to figure out how to measure interplanetary magnetic fields, but the magnetic field of the spacecraft is interfering with their readings. Scholars attempt to solve the problem that has perplexed NASA scientists for years.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Is Chemistry, Anyway?

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students differentiate physical and chemical change. In this chemistry lesson, students list examples of those changes. They apply what they learned in a Jeopardy style team game.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Easter Basket Bonanza

For Teachers K - 1st
Students pass a soccer ball under control so they explain the force necessary to reach a target.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Swinging on a String

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students explore how pendulums work and why they are useful in everyday applications. In a hands-on activity, they experiment with string length, pendulum weight and angle of release.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Converting Metric Units and Prefixes

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students investigate the length of various objects. In this measurement lesson, students convert one metric unit to another. They explain the importance of a uniform system of measurement.