Curated OER
Sands of Time
Young scientists take a close looks a samples of sand that come from three different beaches. They use microscopes to view the three slides, and make observations on a worksheet. At the end of the lesson plan, learners share their...
NASA
A Different Perspective
What can we learn from the data? Young scholars analyze actual solar data to answer specific questions. The activity presents an opportunity for an open-ended investigation of the data to conclude a five-part series on solar winds.
Curated OER
New Hampshire Unplugged
Young historians explore how technology and science affected life in the state of New Hampshire. They define technology and give personal experiences of how technology affects people and how people have used technology. They compare the...
Curated OER
Get the Picture!
Astronomers practice downloading data from a high-energy satellite and translate the data into colored or shaded pixels. As a hands-on activity, they use pennies to simulate high-energy satellite data and they convert their penny...
STEM for Teachers
Temperature and Bounce
Take part in a fun experiment and hold an impromptu bouncing contest with your class. Young scientists heat and cool balls before bouncing them to determine whether temperature changes affect how they bounce. The set of...
University of California
Hot! Hot! Hot!
Calories are not tiny creatures that sew your clothes tighter every night, but what are they? A science lesson, presented at multiple levels, has learners experiment with heat, heat transfer, and graph the function over time....
Centers for Ocean Sciences
Ocean and Great Lakes Literacy: Principle 7
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take your class on an underwater adventure. The final installment in a seven-part series involving salt and freshwater bodies takes junior oceanographers below the surface in...
American Chemical Society
Isolation of Phytochrome
Why do soybean plants that are planted weeks apart in the spring mature simultaneously in the fall? Four independent activities cover the history of phytochrome research, scientist collaboration, the electromagnetic spectrum, and...
NOAA
Ocean Layers I
How is it possible for ocean water to have layers? The sixth installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program investigates factors that cause different water densities to occur. Experiments...
Cornell University
The Science of Snowflakes
Who can grow the best crystals? Challenge class members to develop strategies for enhancing growth in the crystals. Through a lab investigation, learners study the properties of crystals and test the effectiveness of different...
Cornell University
Catapult
Studying levers couldn't be more exciting! Learners build their own catapults and test the results as they make adjustments to the fulcrum. They compete against other groups to create the most accurate apparatus.
NASA
The Search for Critical Questions
A puzzle isn't about the individual pieces, but how they work together. Scholars assemble a puzzle and discover missing pieces. They write a description of what they expect these pieces to look like, including as many details as...
Curated OER
Energy in Today's Global Society
Young scholars explain how heat is used to generate and produce electricity. In this energy lesson students complete several activities that show them about the different fuels used for heating.
Curated OER
Where In the World Are the Resources?
Students use the internet to research the amount of natural resources in a specific area on Earth. In groups, they locate the supply of each natural resource on a map in that area and what can be done to reduce their usage. They also...
Curated OER
Principles of Flight
Learners explore the principles of flight. In this flight lesson, students construct a model plane and investigate the forces acting on the flier. They will measure the thrust and calculate the stored energy.
Curated OER
Inertia
Pupils conduct an experiment to apply Newton's first law of motion. They observe the inertia of an object in regard to its mass. The students record and graph the outcomes of their investigation and present the relationship between...
Curated OER
A Cut Above the Rest Administration Procedures
High schoolers analyze how the Law of Conservation of Energy applies to the design and use of scissors. Working in groups, they determine the output work for a standard pair of scissors.
Curated OER
Kites: Patang - The Indian Fighter Kite
Students investigate the history of fighter kites and build their own. For this aeronautics lesson, students discover how other countries utilize fighter kites and where they originated. Students create their own fighter...
Curated OER
Major Functions
Seventh graders investigate the basic characteristics and needs of living things. They identify the major parts of plants and animals by making lists. Students focus upon one living thing and speculate how if one part is changed how it...
Curated OER
Breaking the Food Chain
Students investigate the food chain. They brainstorm questions about the human food chain and explain what would happen to living things in the food chain if organisms or resources were removed. They role-play situations in which the...
Curated OER
No Creation-No Destruction--All in a Baggie
Students investigate the concepts of conservation of mass and simple chemical reactions. Students complete lab experiments and record all observations as well as conduct experiments on their own to determine which reactions created...
Curated OER
Real Family Genetics
Students research genetic disease and mutation causing traits in family pedigrees simulated in a class activity. Students are each assigned a genetic trait and a "spouse" and must conduct research on their traits and the probability of...
Curated OER
Bird Populations
Students gather data about bird populations. They study bird migratory patterns using the methods that researchers use. They write an essay explaining the differences between the four types of population movements.
Curated OER
Survival
High schoolers determine the best material from which to make a jacket to keep the body warm in a cold, dry, windy climate. This task assesses the student's abilities to perform an entire investigation.