National Energy Education Development Project
Great Energy Debate
If someone yelled for eight years and eight months, they could produce enough energy to heat one cup of coffee. A lesson on energy encourages scholars to research 10 different energy sources in groups before playing a game. Twenty...
Carolina K-12
Who the People? Representative Democracy in North Carolina and Congress
Our elected officials are supposed to represent us, but what does it mean when they aren't like us? Budding citizens explore the demographic makeup of the US Congress, the role of money in political elections, and the Citizens United...
Curated OER
Weightlessness
Students compare and contrast the terms "weight" and "mass". In this physics lesson, students observe an experiment in which objects are placed on a balance scale and weighed under different circumstances. Partners drop items and observe...
Curated OER
The Bunny Trail
Students practice 'delivering' eggs for the Easter Bunny along an obstacle course through which they perform various locomotor skills. They can also practice number and shape matching skills as they navigate the course.
Curated OER
Balanced Forces
Young scholars are able to explain why football running backs benefit from having a lower center of gravity when opponents are trying to tackle them. They explain why racing cars are designed to have a low center of gravity. Students...
Curated OER
Hanging Around
Learners explore weight by building a spring scale and observing how it responds to objects with different masses. Each team of students can make their own spring scale by following steps which are specifically outlined in the plan. As...
Curated OER
Introduction to Forces and Inertia
Students explore the basic underlying concepts of Newton's first law of motion. They discuss forces and brainstorm different examples of force and what they act on. Students examine force by observing springs and gravity. They discuss...
Curated OER
Observing Objects
Students observe the motion of both a pendulum and a spring pendulum . They then explain the differences and the similarities between the two types of motions.
Curated OER
Student Exploration: Weight and Mass
In this student exploration-weight and mass instructional activity, student use the Weight and Mass Gizmo to answer questions and fill in charts with estimating and measuring.
Curated OER
Weightlessness
Eighth graders study weight, force and mass as it pertains to the earths pull. In this weightlessness lesson students are divided into groups and complete an activity.
Curated OER
Making Sense of Density
Students identify the concepts of density, mass, and volume that define the property of a substance. They also determine that the properties of materials, such as, density and volume, can be compared and measured by using rulers,...
Curated OER
Biodiversity Activity
Young scholars are introduced to biodiversiy. They use a simulation of two forests, one planted with only Douglas Fir trees, and one with diverse species of trees. Students also use the simulation of two forests, one a monoculture of...
Curated OER
Convection Currents
Students explain and understand the circulation of air in the atmosphere. They identify that energy can be carried from one place to another by heat flow or by waves, including water, light and sound waves, or by moving objects. ...
Curated OER
Soil Porosity, Moisture Content, pH, and Density
This lab activity does not have to be done with AP environmental scientists. It can also be done with middle to high school earth scientists. The procedures aren't complex. Learners determine the density of dry and wet sand in order to...
Curated OER
What is a Seed?
Students share experiences they have had with different types of seeds. After being read a story, they are given a lima bean in which they split apart and examine the inside. To end the lesson, they share their own ideas on how they...
Curated OER
Simple Machines - Graphics, Experiments, Animation
Twelfth graders display simple machines through the use of graphics, experiments, and animation. They apply problem solving and design and skills.
Curated OER
Toting the Log and Lifting the Babe
Students use simple machines that demonstrate force, friction, work and power. They investigate and explain simple machines.
Virginia Department of Education
The Particle Theory of Matter
Demonstrate the particle theory of matter to high school scientists with an engaging experiment that allows them to visually see the results as substances change from one state to another. The class concludes with a discussion about how...
Curated OER
Banned Book Week: Tips for Teaching Censorship
Consider how book censorship erodes our right to free speech and intellectual freedom.
Gwinnett County Public Schools
Analysis of the Tuck Everlasting and The Birchbark House Text Exemplars
Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...
University of California
Hot! Hot! Hot!
Calories are not tiny creatures that sew your clothes tighter every night, but what are they? A science instructional activity, presented at multiple levels, has learners experiment with heat, heat transfer, and graph the function over...
Virginia Department of Education
The Law of Conservation of Matter
The Law of Conservation of Matter can be complex for young scientists to fully grasp. Use this experiment to help simplify the process as pupils perform two experiments to determine mass: one that melts a substance and the other that...
Curated OER
Measure Mania
Groups of students rotate through five classroom stations to estimate, measure, and record volume, length, weight, mass, and area using both customary and metric measure. They evaluate their data to determine how close their estimates...
Texas State University
Earth: Deposition and Lithification
Geology geniuses analyze sediment samples with a hand lens and sort according to physical characteristics. They also learn about the processes of cementation, compaction, and lithification within the rock cycle. The lesson plan is...