NASA
Discovering the Milky Way
What do you call a tiny collection of galaxies? A puny-verse! Young scholars graph data gathered by scientists studying Cepheids. They attempt to identify a relationship between the variables through standard and logarithmical...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Patterns in the Distribution of Lactase Persistence
We all drink milk as babies, so why can't we all drink it as adults? Examine the trend in lactase production on the world-wide scale as science scholars analyze and interpret data. Groups create pie charts from the data, place them on a...
Curated OER
Coral Bleaching in the Caribbean
Learners practice analyzing images, maps and graphs from Internet-based educational resources. They explore the correlation between sea surface temperature and coral bleaching. Students comprehend that coral reefs are collections of tiny...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Ocean Acidification
Human impacts on the environment can sometimes be difficult to measure, especially under water! An activity centered on ocean acidification gives science scholars the opportunity to examine the effects of carbon dioxide on marine life....
Virginia Department of Education
Average Atomic Masses
Facilitate learning by using small objects to teach the principles of atomic mass in your science class. Pupils determine the average mass of varying beans as they perform a series of competitive experiments. They gather data and...
Curated OER
Estimating Turtle Size and Age
Students investigate how to estimate the age and size of turtles, and examine variability in scientific data. They read an informational handout, identify the parts of the shell, measure the shell and estimate the age, and record the...
Curated OER
Global Warming - The Heat is On: Global Climate Change Revisited
After listening to your lecture on climate change, young scientists access NOAA's database listing Mauna Loa's carbon dioxide data. They graph the monthly means and then compare their graphs to NOAA's. This is a concise plan that could...
Curated OER
Scientific Problem Solving
In this problem solving activity, students will conduct an experiment to answer this question: "How does watching too much television affect us?" Students will form a hypothesis, collect data, analyze their data, and draw a conclusion....
Curated OER
The Blizzard of 1993
Students read and interpret the information from a barograph from a major winter storm. This task assesses students' abilities to interpret and analyze graphs, construct data tables and graphs, generalize, infer, apply knowledge of...
Curated OER
Graphing Pendulum Results
Sixth graders set up a pendulum experiment deciding which variable to manipulate (length of string or weight on the string). They create a hypothesis, collect necessary equipment, and write out each step of their experiment. They then...
Virginia Department of Education
DNA Structure, Nucleic Acids, and Proteins
What is in that double helix? Explain intricate concepts with a variety of creative activities in a lesson that incorporates multiple steps to cover DNA structure, nucleic acids, and proteins. Pupils explore the history of DNA structure,...
Curated OER
How Are Stars Like People?
A beautifully written lesson plan delves into a beautiful topic: stellar population. Engage aspiring astronomers with activities that examine human populations and then transition onto the stars of the universe. Data and photographs for...
Virginia Department of Education
Vapor Pressure and Colligative Properties
Hate to vacuum, but enjoy using a vacuum pump? Explore a lesson that starts with a demonstration of boiling water at various temperatures by using a vacuum pump. Then scholars design their own experiments to measure vapor pressure and...
Virginia Department of Education
Thermochemistry: Heat and Chemical Changes
What makes particles attract? Here, learners engage in multiple activities that fully describe colligative properties and allow the ability to critically assess the importance of these properties in daily life. Young chemists...
Virginia Department of Education
Determining Absolute Age
How can radioactive decay help date old objects? Learners explore half-life and radioactive decay by conducting an experiment using pennies to represent atoms. Young scientists graph data from the experiment to identify radioactive decay...
Population Connection
The Peopling of Our Planet
How many people live on the planet, anyway? The first resource in a six-part series covers the topic of the world population. Scholars work in groups to conduct research and make population posters after learning about the global...
Virginia Department of Education
Prokaryotes
Lead your biology class on a cell-sized adventure! Emerging scientists construct models of prokaryotes, then design an experiment to properly grow a bacterial culture. They conclude the activity by viewing the culture under a microscope....
Curated OER
"Croak" Science Mystery
Solve the mystery of a declining frog population! Lead your junior ecologists on an investigation that simulates actual events concerning pollution, predation, poaching, and more. Investigators read a story online, then analyze survey...
Curated OER
Weather, Sea Level Rise and Climate Change
Eighth graders compare and contrast weather and climate. In this earth science lesson, 8th graders research weather data site and analyze historical data. They present their findings in class and explain identifiable trends.
Curated OER
Shake, Rattle and Roll
Sixth graders explore the causes and effects of earthquakes. They also collect and analyze data in graphs. They also use the Internet to research earthquakes
Curated OER
Charting and Graphing Sales
Young scholars analyze and represent weekly sales figures using tables, bar graphs, and pie charts. They draw conclusions using bar graphs and pie charts. Students are told that each day at school they have the option of buying or...
Curated OER
Scientific Method
In this science activity, students identify and locate each of the words to the right in the word search puzzle on the left. Then they list as many words as they can from the letters in scientific method.
Curated OER
Experiment Report (Normal Form)
Here is a handy handout to give any science class as a guide to writing lab reports. It is a blank outline that you can have aspiring scientists fill out when they experiment, or imitate as they record their experiments in a lab journal....
Curated OER
A Wet Welcome Home
Learners investigate data collection and analysis. In this Algebra I lesson, students create a scatter plot and find the equation of best fit in a simulation of a leaking water pipe.