Curated OER
The Lorax
Students read The Lorax and discuss how human actions can affect the environment. They conduct a simple experiment to see how much air pollution is in the air that they breathe.
Curated OER
Solids and Water
Students investigate mixtures made of water and familiar solid materials. They observe and discuss the changes that occur immediately and set the mixtures aside for a day. Finally, students observe the mixtures, note changes, and graph...
Curated OER
What Part of the Earth's Surface is Covered by Oceans?
Third graders investigate oceans. In this Earth science lesson, 3rd graders predict how much of the Earth's surface is covered by oceans. Students determine if their predictions are accurate by throwing a globe to...
Curated OER
How Many Drops?
Learners conduct a simple test to determine how many drops of each of three liquids can be placed on a penny before spilling over. They come up with an explanation for their observations about different amounts of liquids a penny can hold.
Curated OER
Track Stories
Students identify animal tracks. In this animal track instructional activity, students look at "track stories" and identify the animals that made the tracks. Students discuss if they believe the animals are predators or prey.
Curated OER
Forms of Water
Students experiment to show the three forms of water. They watch a "hand" made of ice as it melts observing and drawing what they see.
Curated OER
Clearing the Air
Students learn to recognize air as an actual substance and come to understand that clean air is important and why. They become aware of adverse effects that air pollution can cause and examine how simple steps can be used to keep our air...
Curated OER
Build a Pizza Box Solar Oven
Students build a solar oven. In this solar energy lesson, students follow directions that show them how to build a solar oven made from a pizza box that can heat up food.
Curated OER
Static Electricity
In this electricity worksheet, students read about static and current electricity and then draw pictures of an electric cell and circuits. Students draw 3 pictures total.
Curated OER
Toy Dissection Graph
Students explore simple machines and how they are made. They examine the parts of the simple machine and collect information about its parts. Using Excel, students create circle and bar graphs from the collected data.
Curated OER
Science: When Autumn Leaves Fall
Students conduct Internet research to discover the reason why leaves change color in autumn. On a nature walk around school grounds, they collect leaves of various colors and shapes over a three-week period. finally, students select...
Curated OER
Seeing Interference Fringes with a Telescope
High schoolers construct an interferometer using a simple telescope. In this physics lesson, students explain how light waves create the fringe patterns. They observe patterns made by different objects in the sky and compare them.
Curated OER
The Science of Papermaking and Paper Recycling: A Research Experience for Teachers
Students explore the concept of paper recycling and the fiber that is yielded from the process. Students perform a coarse screening of recycled fiber and calculate the yield of the process.
Cornell University
Bridge Building
Bridge the gaps in your knowledge of bridges. Individuals learn about bridge types by building models. The activity introduces beam bridges, arch bridges, truss bridges, and suspension bridges.
Curated OER
We're Off To the Races!
Second graders use a magnet to "race" objects from one side of a racing track to another. They predict what the results are, then run the race. Pupils sort and graph which items were successfully moved, they attempt to race again. This...
Curated OER
Busted Bubbles
Using the scientific method, and bubble gum, learners conduct a motivating experiment. After conducting a series of tests involving bubble gum, they graph and analyze their results. This is the type of activity everyone loves.
Curated OER
Magic Color
First graders discover that a chemical reaction is responsible for the effects seen with Crayola Color Wonder markers. They observe that the color changes are the result of a chemical reaction between chemicals in the Color Wonder paper...
Monroe City Schools
Clouds! Clouds! Clouds!
Here is a beautiful lesson on clouds designed for your 1st graders. Learners study three different types of clouds. They construct drawings of cumulus, cirrus, and stratus clouds. The Cloud Book, by Tommie dePaola is used to...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
An Easy (Bake) Approach to an Edible NanoLab
You can make it if you bake it! Young scientists model electronic chip fabrication with an easy bake oven. They create a design to embed in their brownie "chips" and compare their models to wafer production in basic nanotechnology.
Curated OER
How Does the Air Get Polluted?
Students listen to or read a story that introduces awareness of environmental issues and in particular pollution.
Curated OER
What a Hard Test!
Fifth graders complete an exercise that introduces them to Moh's scale of mineral hardness. The scale is presented on the worksheet, and learners answer three questions which have them assign a hardness rating based on some clues. For...
Center for Learning in Action
Introducing Physical and Chemical Changes
Young scientists investigate chemical and physical changes to the states of matter—gas, liquid, and solid—as well as solutions and suspensions with a variety of demonstrations, grand conversation, and an interactive quiz to check for...
Curated OER
Amazing metals: Nevada quarter reverse
Nevada's nickname is "The Silver State" and metal is what this lesson is all about. Pupils will make a T-chart to discuss the differences between metals and minerals, then write and explain the properties of metal. They will get into...