Lesson Plan
NOAA

History's Thermometers

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How is sea coral like a thermometer? Part three of a six-part series from NOAA describes how oceanographers can use coral growth to estimate water temperature over time. Life science pupils manipulate data to determine the age of corals...
Lesson Plan
Advocates for Human Rights

The Right to a Clean Environment in the United States

For Students 8th - 12th
Even if a school has gone digital, chances are there's still plenty of paper being used. The three activities help scholars learn about the environmental impact of paper and another consumer products of their choosing, the issue of...
Unit Plan
University of Minnesota

C. elegans and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Introduce the topic of astrobiology in a unit that's out of this world. Biology scholars examine the search for extraterrestrial life by culturing roundworms, a species that has been key in helping researchers understand the...
Lesson Plan
Polar Trec

Why Can’t I Eat This Fish?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Can turning on the television lead to toxins in the food supply? The lesson offers an opportunity for young scientists to complete guided research. A worksheet lists each question as well as the web page necessary to answer the question....
Lesson Plan
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Lesson 5: Tracking Lion Communities

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Researchers in Gorongosa National Park placed cameras there many years ago to understand what was happening with the lion communities that lived there. Little did they know, they opened a door to so much more! Inquisitive...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life Systems- Zoo Central

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students investigate the various aspects associated with living things while also concentrating on their basic needs. They explore the aspects of movement and growth in plants and animals. This is done through research and other...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rainforest Rescue

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students explore threats to diversity in the Central African rainforest. They use a guided website to research animals that are threatened with extinction, examine human uses of the rainforest and think about what they can do to help...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Current Earthquake Activity

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders record any earthquake activity throughout the school year on various maps. In groups, they identify a map locating the points given to them by their teacher. To end the lesson, they add the date, strength and damage to each...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Simple Machines

For Teachers 5th
Have your class conduct research to learn all they can about simple machines. They use the web, take notes from a video, write a script, then make a film describing various simple machines found in real life. These videos are then...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 6: Crowded Skies

For Teachers 5th - 12th
This is a treasure-trove of multimedia resources to help your scholars analyze transportation methods. They discuss different forms of movement, utilizing several infographics to spur conversation deeper and get visual learners engaged....
Activity
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3
Teach Engineering

Earthquakes Living Lab: The Theory of Plate Tectonics

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Find out if your class agrees with Ice Age: Continental Drift ... or if it's just a fun family movie! Class members research the theory of continental drift, examine evidence of plate tectonics, connect...
Unit Plan
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

Schoolyard Biodiversity Investigation Educator Guide

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
In 1980, in the tropical rainforests of Panama, scientists discovered 1,200 species of beetles living in and around just 19 trees, with most of the species new to science—that's biodiversity! In the activity, learners work in teams to...
Handout
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Adaptations – Designs for Survival

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
What's the difference between behavioral adaptations and physical adaptations? Learn about the various ways that organisms adapt to their environment with a worksheet about the creatures of the Hudson River.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How About a Classroom Epidemic?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Have individuals wash their hands with soap and water, give one of them a yeast-covered piece of candy, and then have him shake hands with the person next to him. Handshakes continue down the line until everyone in the class has had...
Lesson Plan
Garden Earth Naturalist Club

Parts of a Flower! Flower Dissection

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Sometimes the best way to learn about plants is to see the different parts of a plant yourself. Groups of learners dissect flowers to answer questions about what they observe and what they wonder about their flower.
Workbook
Pearson

The Skeletal and Muscular Systems

For Students 7th - 12th
Introduce future doctors to medical terminology and phrases associated with the skeletal and muscular systems. As they work through a series of worksheets and exercises, high schoolers apply their knowledge of the bones of the...
Interactive
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NOAA

Energy from the Oceans

For Students 6th - 12th
Can Earth's oceans produce a steady supply of clean energy? Scholars explore the uses of tidal and thermal energy in the 11th installment of a 13-part series about ocean-based alternative energy sources. Learners examine the...
Activity
Colorado State University

If You Can't Predict the Weather, How Can You Predict the Climate?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Why is the weather man wrong so often? Young climatologists discover how chaos rules both weather and climate through a math-based activity. Using an iterative equation, the class examines how small day-to-day weather events total up to...
Lesson Plan
Nuffield Foundation

Going up in Smoke

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Don't let all your hard work go up in smoke. Pupils conduct an experiment to see the harmful effects of cigarette smoke. They observe how smoke changes the color of white wool and an indicator solution.
Website
American Museum of Natural History

All About Cloning

For Students 6th - 12th
Start seeing double. The American Museum of Natural History website provides pupils with information about Dolly, the cloned sheep. Learners find out the procedure used to create Dolly along with why scientists clone animals.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sensational Seaweed

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students compare kelp and land plants. In this sea plant lesson, students look at the role of algae in aquatic environments. They research the properties of kelp and explore seaweed. 
Lesson Plan
United Nations

Compost Monitor Training

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
What should go in the trash, and what can be composted? Guide your young conservationists through the process of composing their trash with a instructional activity about the different ways we can dispose of garbage. Using a trash bag...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

You're My 'Karyo'-Type: Karyotype For Chromosomal Disorders

For Teachers 9th - 11th
What's your type? Genetically speaking, of course! Immerse your class in the world of karyotypes through an insightful activity from the K20 Center. Scholars take on the role of genetic counselors to determine the karyotype of offspring...
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Viral Lysis and Budding

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How do some viruses spread so quickly, and why do they make us feel terrible? Answer these (and many more) questions through a simple yet impactful lessons. Pupils observe demonstrations that show the two methods viruses use to escape...