Curated OER
Designing Experiments - Overview
Learners explore the concepts that enable them to design and conduct sound scientific experiments. They critique a faulty experiment and become familiar with some of the criteria of a good experiment. They conduct their own experiment.
Curated OER
The Life Cycle of the Mealworm
Fourth graders provide a habitat for live mealworms and observe their life cycle. In this animal life cycle and scientific inquiry lesson, 4th graders create a habitat for a live mealworm and observe and record related data as it grows....
Curated OER
Does Soap Float?
Students form hypotheses and carry out an investigation in order to answer a central question: Does soap float? The focus of this lesson is on scientific inquiry, but it incorporates scientific topics such as sinking and floating.
Curated OER
Animal Investigation
In this lesson, Animal Investigation, 2nd graders will develop investigative and inquiry skills. Students choose one animal as a class to observe. Students ask questions about the animal and record observations, or answers to the...
Novelinks
Things Fall Apart: Bloom’s Taxonomy
Promote critical thinking and literary analysis with a short activity. Readers of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart respond to a series of questions modeled on Bloom's Taxonomy.
Curated OER
Working with Questions
Students explore questions in a scientific context. They consider what makes questions testable. After reading short scenarios, students come up with their own testable questions about the reading.
Bonneville
Setting Expectations for Science and Engineering Projects
What is science? Sitting in a whole group discussion, scholars first share their ideas on science and how to conduct investigations. They learn about the steps for scientific inquiry and experimentation. Once finished, individuals then...
Curated OER
Moon Craters Lab
Learners explore characteristics of mass. In this scientific inquiry about mass lesson plan, students drop rocks of different weights from various heights and record the depth of the "crater" created. Learners record their findings...
Curated OER
What it means to be a scientist and What is the Scientific Process?
Young scholars read an article and describe the scientific method. In this scientific process lesson, students compare basic science and applied science. Young scholars discuss ideas such as team work, application of an idea, how...
Curated OER
Diffusion
Students design and carry out an experiment according to the scientific method. The experiment must test the effects of time and concentration on the rate of diffusion of potassium permanganate into potato cubes. After performing the...
Curated OER
Death On Board La Belle: Finding Clues from Old Bones
Students practice analyzing skeletal remains for clues by using the Internet. In this scientific investigation lesson, students research the La Belle shipwreck using the Internet and written materials, later completing a Skeletal...
PBS
Predicting/Making a Hypothesis
As an introduction to the hypothesis and testing method of investigation, young history detectives engage in a special investigation of a family artifact. After watching a short video that demonstrates the method, they develop a...
Curated OER
Habitat Basics
First graders get out and explore two different habitats to examine how each one meets the needs of the plants and animals that dwell there. They discuss what they've learned about animal habitats as they explore the outdoor environment....
Curated OER
Plants In Space
In this biology worksheet, students grow corn plants in growth pouches as the control group in an experiment on plant growth in microgravity. Then they analyze any differences that occur between Earth-grown and space-grown corn plants.
Curated OER
Rusted Roots
Middle schoolers create a flowchart on the root cause method. In this inquiry lesson plan, students compare RCA and the DMAIC model with the scientific method of problem solving. They investigate a problem in school and present their...
Curated OER
A "Real" Picuture of a Scientist
Students share their own stereotypes when they talk about scientists. In groups, they draw a picture of a scientist where they are working and the tools they most commonly used. Using the internet, they discover how archeolgists use the...
Curated OER
Discover Science
Students practice scientific research skills. In this lesson plan about science, students gain experience with the following skills: comparison, observation, identification, and data gathering. Students will go from station to station...
Curated OER
Physical Changes of Water
Students observe changes in water. For this lesson about water and its forms, students perform an experiment to determine how water changes. Students analyze what causes water to be solid, liquid, or gas. Students record their...
Curated OER
Classification of Cerealites
Students create a dichotomous key. In this categorizing lesson, students create a dichotomous key for different types of cereal. Students classify the cereal into groups such as flakes and cereal with holes. Students discuss their...
Curated OER
Scientific Method in Action
High schoolers investigate the current environmental movement by cleaning up their own campus. In this environmental care lesson, students practice cleaning their "environment" by picking up trash on their campus and decrease...
Newspaper Association of America
Cereal Bowl Science and Other Investigations with the Newspaper
What do cereal, fog, and space shuttles have to do with newspapers? A collection of science investigations encourage critical thinking using connections to the various parts of the newspaper. Activities range from building origami seed...
Curated OER
Gathering, Traditions, and Nutrition of Our Food
Students gain a better understanding of what it means to eat seasonally through learning about traditional hunting, gathering, and food preparation methods of Athabascan tribes. By interacting with Native American Elders and...
Curated OER
Walk and Learn
Fourth graders take a nature walk on a nice sunny spring day. They discuss different things in nature. They write down observations in their notebook.
Curated OER
An Introduction to Simple Machines
Students investigate simple machines and their uses in everyday life. In this scientific method lesson, students examine physical tools such as wedges, screws, and levers using a "how does it work" approach. Students complete...