Design and build a rover ... then eat it? This activity has groups of two design and build Mars rovers. The teams determine what instruments they want to include with their rover and plan a budget. They calculate the cost of the body of...

It takes a strong foundation to build a house and a stronger one for a bridge. This resource presents the effects of geology and soil on bridge foundations. Working in groups, the class investigates the interaction of shallow and deep...

Bone up on bone density. The second installment of the seven-part series has pupils read articles on two different websites to learn about bone density and its measurement, as well as X-rays and other imaging tools. A quiz assesses their...

In this science and Internet technology learning exercise, students access the given web site to look at a current view of the Earth's surface. They enter longitude and latitude co-ordinates before answering 8 questions. They change the...

Students study cloud data and weather maps to explore cloud activity.  In this cloud data lesson students locate latitude and longitude coordinates and determine cloud cover percentages. 

Get the ball rolling and challenge your class to figure out how to make a ball move. The instruction segment is between two STEM activities devoted to doing just that. The first is simple and involves making a ball move from some...

Sometimes, we all need somebody to lean on. Scholars create a human arch by leaning against each other. They consider different approaches to making the arch sturdier and stronger.

Study and research the American Civil War in this explanatory writing lesson. Middle schoolers complete six activities to learn about the American Civil War and soldiers' views of the war. The lesson includes several options to complete...

Note-taking is an essential study skill, and it needs to be taught! In the context of a research project on energy sources, learners find multiple sources, evaluating, paraphrasing, and citing them correctly. Two lists with note-taking...

A natural disaster could strike at any time: do your learners know the school and community emergency plans? Start the school year by honing research and speaking skills in a practical way with this preparedness instructional activity....

Have your class follow the step-by-step directions in this resource to dissect a sheep heart and gain a better understanding of this amazing organ. Working in small groups, pupils look for specific parts of the heart during their...

Magnetic fields might not be a field of dreams but they are useful. Class members observe the reactions of magnetic fields using a compass, iron filings in a paper container, and iron filings suspended in mineral oil. 

Engage your class by showing them how silly putty and human tissues are alike. Pupils learn more about tissue mechanics by reflecting upon their experiences with silly putty. The lesson covers   collagen, elastin, and...

Can multiple computers sort a list faster than one? Using a network drawn with chalk outside, groups move through the decision network to sort numbers. A series of extension questions come with the lesson and can be used in the same...

Show your class how it all comes together. The last lesson in a unit of 15 has individuals take everything they learned in the data section to analyze the class-generated data. The pupils find a story they want to tell that appeals to...

Use STEM activities within the class to provide connections to concepts. The resource includes activities that range from working with buoyancy to building rockets and launching them. Other activities involve the engineering design...

Can scientists sort molecules based on their interaction with oil and water? The simulation demonstrates how this is possible. Pupils decide when to insert a molecule and observe how they sort themselves based on polarity.

There are a billion reasons to use the resource! Well, not quite. A demonstration using food color and water shows scholars the meaning of nano. An iterative process results in diluting the concentration of food coloring by one tenth...

Using the resource is probably the most efficient way to learn about efficiency. The 18th installment of a 25-part Energy Systems and Solutions unit has pupils investigate energy efficiency through discussions and associated activities....

Take the periodic table into the digital age with QR codes that take the scanner to an audio recording about each element from the Royal Society of Chemistry. Enlarge the image, then use a smartphone or tablet to scan the code for an...

What's the least number of colors needed to color a U.S. map? The lesson begins by having pupils view a video clip on continuous and discrete phenomenon, then launches into an activity reminiscent of Zeno's paradox. A separate video...

Not all variables are created equal. Discover how variables in computer science are different from variables in math class. Scholars learn to work with variables in computer programming by developing a mental model for how variables...

Meet me in the tunnels. Scholars choose a tunnel entrance and mark it on their side of the cardboard. They describe the location to their partners and see if they can guess each other's locations. Punching a hole through the cardboard...

There are patterns in nearly everything — even earthquakes. Pairs research current earthquakes to see if there are any patterns. They determine the mean, median, and mode of the earthquake data, along with the maximum and...