Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biofilms Are Everywhere

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research biofilms and create brochures. They role play as advertising firm members assigned to educate the general public about biofilms. They create "wanted dead or alive" posters about harmful and helpful biofilms respectively.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Storm Watch: Knowing What To Do

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students study the different types of weather and how storms form.  In this weather lesson students make their own "tornado in a bottle" and create brochures.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sound

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore sound wave motion and conduct simple experiments to demonstrate how sound travels.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rainforest/Informational Web Sites that are Credible

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders evaluate whether various rainforest websites are credible and can be used for research purposes. They listen to the story "The Great Kapok Tree," discuss what makes a website credible, and examine and evaluate various...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Monitoring Energy Expenditure

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students use heart rate monitors and complete a swimming and running test. These tests allow students to obtain personal data, to manipulate the data through calculations of various parameters, and to graphically represent the data.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biomechanics of Joints

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers investigate range of motion in human joints and the mechanical devices they emulate. They construct a human arm model with three joints which emulate the wrist, elbow and shoulder.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Calibrating a Roverbot

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars build and program a Lego Mindstorms Roverbot to travel for a given amount of time. They gather data on time versus distance traveled to determine a calibration constant for their robot, which relates time to distance.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Love Canal-A Man Made Disaster

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars watch a "Waste Management" Power Point as well as a "Love Canal" PowerPoint (a link is provided for the second presentation). Students write the chemical formula for each chemical and convert the contamination to grams...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ammonium Nitrate - Jeckyl or Hyde

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study how chemicals can be very dangerous when not treated with care. They watch Ammonium Nitrate power point and read about accidents involving ammonium nitrate: Halifax Explosion, Oklahoma City Bombing.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ammonium Nitrate - Is it worth the Risk?

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students consider that ammonium nitrate is used as a fertilizer and an explosive. They study the chemistry of ammonium nitrate and consider the advantages and disadvantages of this compound. The dual nature of Ammonium Nitrate was...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Steam Engines

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students investigate the invention of the steam engine. In this technology lesson, students investigate the advancement of technology over time. They relate science and technology together.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plugged in to CO2

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Learners use a meter to measure the energy used and carbon produced by electronics and appliances. In this environmental science and technology lesson, students use a Kill-A-Watt meter to determine the electricity used by everyday...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Growing Crystals

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore the different types, visual appearance and creation of crystals. They grow an edible crystal - rock candy.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

One Square Meter

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore the concept of a quadrat study. Students select and investigate a site and conduct a quadrat survey. They take measurements, observe the area and analyze their findings.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Does Sound Travel As Waves?

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders participate in a number of activities designed to increase their understanding of how sound is generated and how it travels.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Behind the Mission To Mercury

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars assess the goals, benefits, success, and limitations of technology (instruments) on a space mission.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Design a Running Shoe for a Triathlete

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers examine the design and construction of athletic footwear. They analyze the magnitude and directions of forces on the foot and leg in different sports, interview people, and design a running shoe for a triathlete.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rainforest Alliance: Biodiversity

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders compare biodiversity in their neighborhood and in the rainforest. In this biodiversity instructional activity, 5th graders read stories and gather information about the diversity of life found in their area and in the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fossil Fuels vs. Alternative Fueling Systems

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders brainstorm the differences between the fossil fuels that people use in their transportation now and what they could use to minimize greenhouse gas emissions. They use a variety of techniques from webquests to writing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African American Inventors Study

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students learn about African American inventors. In this inventing lesson, students are assigned an African American inventor to research. Students work in pairs to complete their research. Students write a compare and contrast paragraph...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Much Energy is a Kilowatt Hour?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars study the conservation of energy.  In this energy lesson students explain the differences between potential and kinetic energy.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Keep It Clean…Or Pass It Around

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students identify the harmful and beneficial effects of bacteria. In this biology lesson, students test the effectiveness of antibacterial cleaners. They create a presentation based on researched information and experimental results.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Seasons

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students identify and define the vocabulary words: summer, spring, fall, and rotation. They describe how the earth's rotation affects the seasons. Students match appropriate clothing with each season. They discuss why a particular...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Art as a profession

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students research a possible career in computer animation. In this computer animation lesson plan, students research the amount of money you could make in computer animation and the kinds of jobs you could acquire.