Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
A Century of Plastics
After reading about polymer materials, engineer trainees examine how plastics have been integrated into everyday products. In groups, they compile a list of products made entirely without plastics and then, as a closing activity, try to...
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Pesky Plastics: The Problem with Plastic
What can happen to the environment if plastic continues to pollute it? Learners read about the implications of plastic on health, water, and nature in a two-page reading passage. After they finish reading, they work on six comprehension...
Personal Genetics Education Project
Genetics, Jobs and Your Rights
Your class will read an overview of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, passed in 2008 and address the question of whether or not genetic information should be used to influence our career paths. In jigsaw style, they then are...
American Museum of Natural History
All About Horses
Horses come in all shapes and sizes, but all belong to the same species. Young scholars explore the different traits and connect the information to genetic modification. The interactive gives them the option to read about 18 different...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Build a Big Wheel
What does it take to prepare for a construction project? In an engineering lesson, youngsters examine how a Ferris wheel can turn and carry a load without falling apart. After reading up on big wheel designs, they create a model using...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Arduino Blink Challenge
Emerging engineers read about Arduino software and how it can be used. Then they follow a nine-step tutorial to connect an Arduino board to a computer and put it to work! The objective is to code a program that will cause an LED to...
Wild BC
The Greenhouse Effect: Warming the Earth Experiment
First in a two-part instructional activity on the greenhouse effect, this instructional activity involves a classroom demonstration of the phenomenon, and a lab group experiment with color and absorption. Although there are easier ways...
Weebly
Definitions of Conduction, Convection, and Radiation
There's quite a bit in this physical science packet. First, how is heat transferred? Learners read a brief explanation of conduction, convection, and radiation before identifying common occurrences (with pictures) as one of the three....
Curated OER
Simple Harmonic Motion
Back and forth, and back again. A presentation on harmonic motion would make a great backdrop for a directed instruction lesson in Honors Physics. It includes diagrams, formulas, graphs, and a few sample problems.
Virginia Department of Education
Ecosystem Dynamics
Searching for an eccentric way to enhance lessons on ecosystems while ensuring pupils remain creative and motivated? Upon viewing The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, designated groups design and construct a pop-up book that depicts the specific ways...
National Wildlife Federation
An Inconvenient Truth in the Classroom
Global warming — what a hot topic! A thorough unit challenges learners to research, read, explore, and write about carbon, its role and increasing nature in our atmosphere, and how global warming is affecting lives and environments...
McGraw Hill
Neutron Stars Interactive
The universe is full of sources of energy. Explore the energy of pulsars with your classes through a simulation. An interactive lesson allows learners to manipulate the angle of rotation of both the earth and the pulsars. A real-time...
Concord Consortium
Chain Reaction Between Hydrogen and Oxygen
Looking for a simple way to teach conservation of energy in chemical reactions? Pupils can observe energy changes as water forms during a chain reaction between oxygen and hydrogen using an interactive. The resource instructs users to...
Royal Society of Chemistry
Elements 2
Did you hear about the chemist reading the book about helium? He couldn't put it down. Scholars match 12 chemical elements, including helium, to their symbols. Then they complete three Sudoku-style puzzles using these names and symbols...
Tumblehome
Resisting Scientific Misinformation
How do scholars determine if a scientific claim is true? Learners investigate scientific misinformation by watching video clips and reading false advertising claims. They engage in discussion in both class and small group settings to...
Purdue University
The Scientific Process of Conservation Biology: Analyze, Design, Debate
Scientists use data to learn about species survival—and your classes can too! A set of four lessons guides learners through a process to draw conclusions about the fluctuations in the population of the Hellbender species. They read...
American Museum of Natural History
Light Quest
Grab a partner and shed some light on light. A remote learning resource has scholars play a board game to answer trivia questions about light. They also read about how Einstein contributed to the understanding of light as both a wave and...
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 Museum of Natural History
Going, Going...Gone?
Young environmentalists consider how scientists are attempting to save endangered species. They read about what causes extinction and steps to take to minimize the threats.
American Museum of Natural History
What is Earth?
Humans have only inhabited Earth for a short part of its existence. An online resource explains how scientists use clues from rocks and fossils to piece together information about Earth prior to humans. The online instruction includes...
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Learning From Animals
Is all research on animals bad? Learners use a video to understand how animal research benefits humans. Pupils read about a drug modification turned deadly and the result of the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Scholars use a...
Bonneville
Phone Charger Efficiency
Be efficient in learning about efficiency. A fun hands-on activity has pupils calculate the efficiency of cell phone chargers by measuring the power in and power out. They also learn how to read and use circuit diagrams.
Personal Genetics Education Project
Reproductive Genetic Testing: Technology, Access, and Decision Making
Explore the complexities of reproductive genetic testing respectfully in the learning space. Scientists read articles, view a slideshow, and complete a do-now about genetic technologies. A fishbowl activity allows scholars to discuss the...
Curated OER
Holey Story
Sixth graders create a cloze activity based on an article of a current event. They switch worksheets and the next group chooses the words they feel are missing and justify their word choices.