Curated OER
Caesar Ciphers: An Introduction to Cryptography
Students brainstorm and discuss the concept of cryptography, the science of secrets in today's world and then focus on a system for sending secret messages used by Julius Caesar. They make a Caesar wheel assessing encrypting and...
Curated OER
Ping!
Seventh graders study side-scan sonar and discover how it can be used to locate objects underwater. They complete a sonar simulation activity in which they create and map mystery landscapes inside shoeboxes.
Curated OER
Staying Up
Students will explain the Archimedes's Principle. In this lesson on plankton, students will describe three factors that can affect the buoyancy of plankton. This lesson contains extensive background information, extensions, and multiple...
Curated OER
What's In Our Backyard?
Eighth graders investigate the importance of an ecosystem by studying their own backyards. For this environmental lesson, 8th graders examine a schoolyard or backyard by marking quadrants and recording any animal or plant findings...
Curated OER
It's Going to Blow Up!
Students discover the major characteristics of volcanoes on the Pacific Ring of Fire. They describe the processes that produce the "Submarine Ring of Fire." students explain the factors that contribute to explosive volcanic eruptions.
Curated OER
Corrosion to Corals
Students study galvanic exchange and how it produces electric currents. In this ocean lesson students predict what metals deteriorate in salt water.
Curated OER
Building Shapes From Numbers
Students experience how to illustrate some of the many connections between number and geometry. Through this 2-3 day focus on square numbers and triangular numbers, students make connections among mathematical topics.
Curated OER
Designing "Green" to Save Our Green Planet
Students design an environmentally friendly home. In this middle school math/science lesson, students watch videos on creating green design. Students work in collaborative groups to determine what makes a house green and to...
Curated OER
Deep Lights
Students investigate materials that emit light. In this deep ocean instructional activity, students compare and contrast materials that emit light under certain conditions and infer the light-producing process. They explain three ways...
Curated OER
Have It Your Way...and FAST!
Students explain the importance of technology in a wide range of businesses. They focus on the application of technology in fast-food restaurants, then interview an upper-level employee at a local business.
Curated OER
Friendly Volcanoes
Young scholars discuss the benefits of volcanic activity on marine life. They explain the process of tectonic plates.
Curated OER
Galvanic vs. Titanic?
Students discover how galvanic exchange has contributed tot he deterioration of the Titanic. They perform an experiment in which they predict which of 2 metals deteriorate when placed in a salt solution.
Curated OER
Boom and Bust
Students investigate commercial fishery. In this fishery lesson, students describe stages in commercial fishery, interpret data and predict when a fisher stock is showing signs of overexploitation.
Curated OER
Wreck Detectives
Students investigate shipwrecks. In this marine archaeology lesson ,students collect data and make inferences about the causes of shipwrecks. Students work in groups to create their own model of a shipwreck using clay. Students then...
Curated OER
WaterWeb
In this water instructional activity, students answer 10 multiple-choice questions about the water cycle. Students also describe how they think their community is involved in sustaining water resources and write a pretend radio...
Curated OER
Treasures in Jeopardy
Learners study how coral reefs can be protected from humans and their activities. In this conservation lesson students explain the benefits of coral reefs and what humans can do to help protect them.
Curated OER
Publication Project
Ninth graders publish a magazine during a ten week marking period. They make individual contributions to the group project that is based on career choices. They write and publish articles, poems, entertainment pieces, and a play that...
Curated OER
I, Robot, Can Do That!
Students describe underwater robots. In this robot instructional activity, students describe and contrast three types of underwater robots used for scientific exploration. This instructional activity includes several activities, a...
Curated OER
Frozen Out
Young scholars investigate how climate changes affect top predators in Arctic marine ecosystems. Students complete a worksheet and write a report based on their responses to a scientific paper.
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...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Literature: What Is Happiness?
Jack London's heart for adventure has come to define the spirit of America and its frontier. Selected passages from the foreword The Cruise of the Snark take eighth graders through London's construction and voyage of his ship before...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Informational Text: Beyond the Beyond—Galaxies
Everyone has a different point of view, even when it comes to the enormity of the universe. Two separate text passages explain the scope of a galaxy, prompting young readers to write an essay about each author's argument and how the...
PBS
Technology: Conveniences and Consequences
It's a delicate balance—using technology to improve our lives while still protecting the environment, and ourselves, from the hazards of technology use. Class members examine statistics about the increase in media use, complete a survey...
National Literacy Trust
Mark The Bard!
Commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death with a packet of cross-curricular literacy lessons and activities centered around two of the Bard's most popular plays, Macbeth and The Tempest. Class members look for...