Curated OER
Amphibian Spawns
Students observe tadpoles as they gradually change into adults. In this amphibian biology lesson plan, students watch tadpoles in a tank in the classroom, keep a daily record of what they observe, and chart the growth development...
Curated OER
Teeshirt Printing
Learners become responsible and involved citizens. In this t-shirt printing lesson students design and create a teeshirt with a message about citizenship and responsibility. Natural objects are used as stamps.
Curated OER
Classification of Matter
Students investigate common household items and classify them into types of matter. In this matter lesson, students group given items into categories based on their characteristics. They also complete a concept map about matter and...
Curated OER
Using Soil properties and Vegetation Differences to Hypothesize the Land Use History and Topographic Differences between Two Locations
Ninth graders take soil samples and perform tests on these samples.
Curated OER
Water, Water Everywhere, Even Underground
The "Engage" section of a wetlands lesson plan asks young ecologists to examine a wetlands poster. You can easily find one online and display it using a projector. Pupils immerse a piece of sandstone and a piece of granite in water to...
Curated OER
Junior Engineering Retaining Walls
Students name the properties of sand as related to the properties and the building of retaining walls. They build a retaining wall and state how retaining walls are used.
Curated OER
Water-Holding Capacity
Students design and conduct an experiment to compare the water-holding capacity of sand, soil, and moss. They measure the change in weight for each material after adding the same amount of water to each material.
Curated OER
Basic Units of Time
Students review fundamental concepts of time such as A.M. and P.M. and learn about elapsed time. In this Unit of Time instructional activity, students review the basics of how to tell time and then are given examples to figure out how...
Curated OER
To Every Thing There Is A Season...
Pupils use the artwork by Robert Harris to examine the four seasons. In groups, they identify the clothing worn in the artwork and create a dance which resembles the painting. They also practice reading a thermometer and identify which...
Curated OER
Frozen Film
Students discover how light reflects off surfaces. In this hands-on demonstration, students examine how variations in color are produced by light interference.
Curated OER
Nebraska's Wild Weather
Students examine the weather in Nebraska. Using this information, they describe the cause and effect relationships in the environment based on these changes in weather. They write various types of poems with weather themes and share them...
Alabama Learning Exchange
What Color Are The Leaves?
Young scholars identify the colors in leaves. In this chromatography lesson, students read the book Why Do Leaves Change Color? and construct chromatography strips to identify the colors of leaves.
Curated OER
Bell Live! The Great Lakes: A Superior Adventure
Students participate in a virtual field trip to Lake Superior. In groups, they perform experiments in which test the level of toxins and bacteria in the water. They also watch video segments life in the lake and discuss their observations.
Curated OER
Air Pollution Over Where?
Students predict the movement of an air borne pollutant using their understanding of air currents. They determine which governments and/or communities should be contacted to be forewarned. They also explore the properties of their...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Investigating the Rock Cycle: Looking at Similarities and Diff in Rocks
In this activity students will be given three rocks representing the three main rock types in the rock cycle. They will make observations on those rocks and develop a hypothesis on how each rock formed. We will meet as a class and...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Investigating the Rock Cycle Through Writing and Illustrating
In this writing and illustrating activity, students will be able to follow a simple rock cycle to follow the life of "Rocky the Rock". After investigating the rock cycle, students will then be able to illustrate the rock cycle, along...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: The Rock Cycle: A Hands on Simulation
Students simulate the rock cycle by manipulating wax crayons to represent different forms of rocks. Students will learn the vocabulary of rocks and the formation of the rock cycle.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Earth History: Crayon Rock Cycle
Introduce to the students the three main types of rocks and the processes that form them. Wax crayons are eroded into sediment, compacted into sedimentary rock, partially melted and pressed into metamorphic rock, and finally melted and...
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas Mc Donald Observatory: Rock Cycle
This activity combines the concept of Earth's rock cycle with the characteristics of other planets in the solar system.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Investigating Minnesota Rocks: The Properties of North Shore Rocks
Young scholars will investigate rocks from the North Shore of Minnesota. Students will begin by forming questions that they have about the rocks. They will use observation skills to identify attributes of the rocks. The young scholars...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Mn Step: Rock Cycle Skit
After learning about and researching the rock cycle, middle schoolers create a skit about it that must include relevant vocabulary words. The final skits are videotaped.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Exploring Rocks: Rock Identification and the Rock Cycle
In this earth science activity, students informally investigate unknown rocks. After their investigation time they share what they have learned about their rocks.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Collecting and Identifying Rocks
Students investigate rocks in an outdoor field trip, and then place them into groups by characteristics. The different groups could be the size, shape, color, and texture of the rocks. After classifying, students are introduced to the...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Investigating the Rate of Weathering on Various Rock Types.
In this Earth Science field investigation, students will make observations of the rock above and below the Minneopa State Park waterfalls. Students will then make observations of gravestones at Minneopa Cemetery. Through these...