Minnesota Literacy Council
Scientific Method
Here is a resource with a descriptive approach to explaining the scientific method. It's simple, but effective for both introduction and reinforcement of this concept.
Curated OER
Tilted Earth
What causes Earth's seasons? Find out through a series of anticipatory questions, an easy yet powerful activity representing the sun-Earth system, a diagram to label, and follow-up questions. Dispel the misconceptions about Earth being...
California Academy of Science
Sorting the Solar System
Scientists are always sorting and classifying objects based on their characteristics. In a hands-on learning activity, young space explorers work together to categorize solar system cards based on their properties. It is up to the...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Nuclear Synthesis
Start this lesson with a bang! The eighth in a 13-part series of lessons explains the origin of elements beginning with the Big Bang Theory. The reading describes the formation of elements hydrogen through uranium.
Curated OER
Planet Earth Vocabulary Quiz
In this planet Earth vocabulary worksheet, students draw lines to match 14 words that pertain to Earth science with their definitions.
Curated OER
Space Race Word Search
In this space race worksheet, students study the 18 words related to the 20th Century space race and Cold War. Students locate the words within the word search.
Messenger Education
Look But Don’t Touch—Exploration with Remote Sensing
Mars is home to the tallest mountain in our solar system, Olympus Mons. In this set of two activities, learners review geologic land formations through the analysis of aerial maps. They then apply this knowledge to aerial maps of objects...
NASA
Is It Alive?
Determining whether or not something is living can be more difficult than it seems. Put your young scientists to work defining their own criteria to identify life, then work with three samples to see if they are alive or...
Curated OER
Scavenger Hunt Worksheet
Exactly how environmentally friendly is your school? From the air fresheners in the bathrooms to the cleaning solvents used in the classrooms, young conservationists search the school grounds for sources of air pollution in...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Taking a Closer Look at Objects
Take a close look at the world around you with an activity that magnifies everyday objects. Five explorations examine items under intense magnification and pose a series of questions that encourage critical thinking and following...
Michigan State University
All About Insects
Insects are the focus of an activity that looks deep into the anatomy and metamorphosis of everyday bugs. Two worksheets reinforce knowledge obtained through a teacher-guided grand conversation and insect observation.
Journey Through the Universe
How Far is Far?
The earth only revolves around one thing — and it's not any of your pupils. The instructional activity includes two activities dealing with the distance to the sun and the moon. First, scholars create a pin hole camera and use the rules...
Baylor College
Heart and Circulation: Pre- and Post-Assessments
Middle schoolers demonstrate what they know about the structure and function of the heart and blood vessels. A set of 15 multiple-choice questions also addresses how the heart handles microgravity and how animals without...
It's About Time
AC and DC Currents
An informative physics lesson includes two teacher demonstrations, one on AC currents and the other on DC currents, allowing pupils to take notes while watching. The resource includes questions to assign as homework or...
Messenger Education
Exploring Solar Systems Across the Universe
Scientists have theorized that our solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago. In this pair of activities, learners first hypothesize how our solar system was formed. Using this information, groups then determine how scientists search for...
Curated OER
Outer Space
In this space worksheet, students write a sentence for each picture. The pictures show a space shuttle, an astronaut, and a planet.
Florida International University
Simulating Microgravity with Buoyancy
How do astronauts know how to live and work in a weightless environment? It doesn't come naturally! Junior physicists conduct experiments to examine the link between buoyancy and microgravity. Each activity illustrates a different aspect...
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
The Planets and Scale
Scholars gain an insight into the relative size of planets and distance between inner and outer planets with the help of informational text, a data table, and a series of four questions.
Lake Science Collaborative
Blood Circulation Simulation
Act out the circulation of blood in the body with an innovative activity. Kids act as either body parts or blood, and carry necessary nutrients and waste throughout different stations to represent the way that oxygen circulates.
Messenger Education
Design Challenge: How to Keep Items Cool in Boiling Water
Keeping items cool in boiling water... what? This engaging activity challenges high school learners to build a container that keeps butter in a solid state when placing the container in boiling water. Groups use previous knowledge and...
Journey Through the Universe
Is There Anyone Out There?
What is an alien's favorite game? All-star baseball! Scholars start defining living and non-living. Then, they conduct experiments to research if life exists, keeping in mind that life could be in many forms, not just human.
Journey Through the Universe
The Voyage Scale Model Solar System
Young scientists learn how to select a scale factor for a large scale model. Then they figure the scale for each of the planets and the distance between them. Finally, they construct a giant scale model of the solar system and answer...
Journey Through the Universe
Impact Craters: A Look at the Past
The Galle crater on Mars is also known as the Happy Face crater because of its appearance. First, scholars use pebbles and flour to simulate craters and study their properties. They then apply this knowledge to help decipher the history...
Teach Engineering
An Inflated Impression of Mars
Help your class understand the magnitude of the distance between Earth and Mars with an activity that asks small groups to use balloons to create scale models of the Earth, Moon, and Mars. Class members figure out the distances...