Get kids' heads spinning by challenging them to design a top that will rotate for a minimum of 10 seconds without leaving a 30-cm circle. Groups of learners collaborate through a planning stage, testing stage, and evaluation stage. Some...

Here is a chance for environmental studies classes to take a critical look at crises occurring around the globe by reading articles and viewing video clips. The human activities under scrutiny are the extraction of oil, logging, and...

What a festive way to examine what happens to the heart in different gravitational situations! Small groups place a water-filled balloon in different locations (on a table top, in a tub of water, and held in a vertical position), drawing...

Over several days, learners communicate and defend an argument regarding environmental justice issues in Chester, PA. After discussing the issue and viewing a video about the location of several toxic waste facilities in Chester, they...

What are the differences between coniferous and deciduous trees? Supplement your tree lessons with a set of activities that has learners describing, naming, comparing, and reading about deciduous and coniferous trees. The activities are...

Here is a collection of readings to be discussed in the science classroom. This one is in the form of a dialog between two boys in an amusement park, talking about the forces involved in a Graviton ride. Questions are listed at the...

High schoolers examine the "quiet crisis," the lack of clean water, by reading articles and viewing video clips. They discuss the situations in Ethiopia, Yemen, Kenya, and Nepal. There are two options for the lesson, but one of them...

Tornadoes, blizzards, and hurricanes, oh my! In this lesson, meteorology majors compare stories of historical storms written by two or more different sources. As a result, they understand how the media portrays such catastrophes and...

High schoolers plot particle sizes of common airborne materials on a log scale. They read an article on particle size and its relationship to the ability to pass through the lungs, into the bloodstream, and eventually into the cells...

Can a sidewalk increase the amount of pollution in local streams? Scholars learn the answer to this question though research and experimentation in the fifth unit in the six-part series. Pupils study runoff, impervious surfaces, and the...

Students read an article on sharks prior to beginning a dissection lab. As part of the lab, students identify differences between the shark anatomy and human anatomy and hypothesize why those differences exist.

The I-STOP law was designed to regulate the distribution and tracking of prescription drugs. After reading an article about its signing and implementation, middle and high schoolers work together to come up with their own ideas for an...

Young historians view and analyze photos and documents from WWII that are related to blood transfusions and blood plasma. A demonstration of correct and incorrect blood donors visually shows the importance of knowing blood...

"Humans have become a geologic agent comparable to erosion and [volcanic] eruptions ..." Paul J. Crutzen, a Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist. Using Landsat imagery, scholars create a grid showing land use type, such as urban,...

It's alive! Or is it? Through a series of shared readings, whole class activities, and independent exercises children explore the difference between living and non-living things, creating a pair of printable books...

Life in the Bering Sea, food webs, and the ocean ecosystem are introduced with a map activity. The lesson starts as kids explore maps and images of the Bering Sea, then it kicks into high gear as they start to discuss the types of...

For this science worksheet, students use basic scientific concepts to complete the series of puzzles that are intended to increase science literacy about the parts and formation of the solar system.

Break your class in to the general structure and function of the brain. Brainiacs discuss what they know about it and create personalized brain development timelines. They also take a true-false, pre-assessment quiz to get them thinking...

Students develop their technology skills by accessing web sites and evaluating information.  In this research lesson students research forestry topics and write a paragraph on the accessed websites.

Get the ball rolling with this upper-elementary science unit on forces and motion. Offering over three weeks of physical science lessons, this resource is a great way to engage the class in learning about simple machines, friction,...

Students engage in a study of science and mathematics with the practice of creating graphs. A guest speaker comes to the class to share statistics from the community and the students are shown how he uses the coordinate system in the...

Students discuss methods used by forensic scientists and the basics of DNA and how it can be used to identify an individual after reading an article from The New York Times.

A wonderfully designed, and very thorough lesson plan on the planets in our solar system. Designed for third graders, this lesson has learners use technology and multimedia tools to research, explore, and create information about the...

Students listen to the story, Earth Day - Hooray!, and discuss the story as it is being read.  In this Earth Day lesson, students discuss incentives and penalties in regards to taking care of the Earth.  This lesson plan also...