Curated OER
Solar Cooker Challenge
Young scholars use the scientific method to design a slow cooker. In this experimental method lesson students measure temperatures and conversions of the solar cooker that they create.
Curated OER
Classifying Commercial Marine Species
Students investigate taxonomy. They explore some of the commercial marine species caught in Magdalena Bay and develop a classification system for presented animals.
Curated OER
Animal Behavior
Students investigate stimulus-response behavior, learned behavior in animals and innate behavior in animals. For this animal behavior lesson plan, students answer questions about their reactions to a toy cap gun that is fired off in...
Curated OER
Sucker Science Lesson
Fourth graders follow the scientific lesson to investigate flavor. In this scientific method lesson, 4th graders conduct a flavor test with mislabeled Tootsie Pops. Students record their experiment.
Curated OER
Where Do Plants Get Their Food?
Students think about the historical development of the scientific method. They design an experiment that replicates van Helmont's, using only specified materials. Pupils then improved upon van Helmont's procedure and also consider the...
Curated OER
Natural Inquirer
Students explore the research process. In this scientific method lesson, students analyze data from an article, write their own informational article and express what they have learned. Students create their own article using the given...
Curated OER
Let's Get Warm!
Students investigate various methods that animals use to warm up in cold weather. They also explore the science principals involved. They then identify a human parallel, discuss what we can learn from nature, and create multimedia...
Curated OER
Why Cheerios Don't Sink
Students investigate Archimedes' Principle and show how it relates to density. In this Archimedes' Principle lesson plan, students experiment with a beaker of water, a Styrofoam "boat" and a weight. They predict what will happen when the...
Curated OER
Have a Ball with Bernoulli
Third graders investigate Bernoulli's Principle. In this Bernoulli's Principle lesson, 3rd graders examine blowing air through a tube and the movement of the ball. Students make inquiries into what effect the air has on the ball and...
Curated OER
Dried Meat
Students investigate the traditional method of drying meat used by Native Americans. They apply math concepts such as ratio, proportion, percent, and scientific notation to determine the amount of meat the is dried from an animal using...
Curated OER
Oil Spills
Third graders examine the San Francisco oil spill and the effects it has had. In this investigative activity students view a demonstration on oil clean up and how it works. They see how wildlife is rehabilitated, how the oil...
Curated OER
Weight in Water
Students investigate why some materials are able to float while others sink. They carry out a scientific investigation, predict and test their predictions. They record their results in a spreadsheet, and use a forcemeter in another...
Curated OER
Communication in Bees
Eighth graders identify and interpret a scientific investigation and a hypothesis through experimentation and testing a hypothesis. They identify what scientists hypothesized about the communication of stingless bees. Finally, 8th...
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...
PBS
Blow the Roof Off!
Blow the minds of young scientists with this collection of inquiry-based investigations. Based on a series of eight videos, these "hands-on, minds-on" science lessons engage young learners in exploring a wide range of topics...
Curated OER
Measures of Central Tendency Using Scientific Calculators
Learners explore mean, median, and mode as they model mathematics in real-world problem situations. The lesson requires the use of the TI 30X IIS.
AAAS
Identification and Classification of Grassland Plants
Take learning outside and start classifying grasslands. Young ecologists observe grassland plants in order to classify them into the appropriate species by family. They note their characteristics and where they grow. A true...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Diseases
During a cholera outbreak, scientists presented two theories; one theory was based on miasma and the other on germs and contaminated water. The lesson looks at the scientific process for finding the real culprit.
Curated OER
Do Touch!
Students explore the sense of touch. They investigate unknown solids using the sense of touch. Pupils use their senses of touch to match feely gloves. Students explore body parts, by tracing their hands and feet on paper. They create a...
Space Awareness
Coma Cluster of Galaxies
Scientists classify everything from the smallest cells to the largest galaxies, but how do they decide on a classification system? Scholars use 40 pictures of galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope to sort and try creating their...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Rocks & Minerals
Take young geologists on an exploration of the rock cycle with this six-lesson earth science unit on rocks and minerals. Through a series of discussions, demonstrations, and hands-on investigations your class will learn...
Olomana School
Mixtures and Solutions: Paper Chromatography Experiment
Why does some ink bleed through paper, and other ink doesn't? Practice some paper chromatography to separate the colors from a pen with an interactive experiment for middle and high schoolers. Learners use a variety of solutions to track...
Big Kid Science
Exploring Shadows
What's that lurking in the shadows? An activity that demonstrates how eclipses happen. Science scholars investigate how light and distance interact to form shadows. The experiment uses simple materials to generate data and observations...
Curated OER
Scientific Method Study Guide
In this scientific method activity, students answer questions about the various steps of the scientific method. They distinguish between the variables in an experiment and between a hypothesis and a theory.