Pupils participate in a board game activity in which landing on a space called "Decision Card" presents them with a land-use situation to consider and decide how to act. In order to advance in Hydropoly, players must think critically and...

Students examine the importance of good quality safety gear. In this investigative lesson, students will tests various polymers, collect data, and analyze the data to determine which polymer is best for safety helmets. They will design a...

Middle schoolers explore the concepts of potential and kinetic energy by bouncing assorted balls on different surfaces and calculating the momentum for each ball. They give examples of collisions and momentum in sports and understand...

Ninth graders research early mining in California. They study the "placer method" for mining gold, which is surface mining that does not involve tunneling. They examine what it was like for the early miners to pan for gold with...

Young scholars understand the sea ice cycle and can explain its stages. In this Sea Ice lesson, students play a game to identify types of sea ice. Young scholars answer critical thinking questions about sea ice. Students complete a sea...

Fifth graders create a flying wing from a pastry tray. In this flying wing lesson, 5th graders understand how the shape of the wind affects flight. Students compare the flying wing to the zanonia seed in nature. Students make changes in...

Students make a windmill.  For this wind lesson, students learn background information about the windmill, complete an activity where they create a windmill, discuss using wind as a natural resource and brainstorm other inventions...

Fourth graders investigate air pollution. In this air pollution lesson plan, 4th graders test the air quality by using a block of wood and petroleum jelly. Students investigate the pollutants on the wooden block.

Students conduct an experiment. In this wind measurement lesson plan, students learn about instruments that measure the wind and then make a weather vane. Students record wind speed over a few days.

Students explore fungi. In this fungi instructional activity, students take a slice of bread and leave it outside for a day. Students record their observations of the fungi on the bread the following day.

Students examine different types of extreme weather and how to prepare for them. In this weather lesson students explore different types of extreme weather and create disaster preparation posters for different types of extreme weather.

Students investigate how tides affect sea life. In this video based lesson, students view a video on how tides affect sea life. They do web-based research to find the answers to a series of questions and then play Tidal Trivia to test...

Students conduct an experiment on glacial scraping. In this glacial scraping instructional activity, students create a small glacier in a plastic cup. Students remove the cup and scrape the glacier across wood and note the markings....

Young meteorologists examine the four main types of weather fronts and how they appear on a weather map. Participants learn about the difference between the types of weather fronts along with their distinguishing features. A...

A hands-on activity helps learners explore the water cycle. After discussing how they use water, classes discuss water pollution and then move into a simulation where 20 pupils move through the water cycle based on description cards. 

Introduce your class to map projections and coordinates, the basics for the work done in a GIS, with an activity that uses Google Earth to challenge learners to think about the earth's shape. 

Introduce your class to Mars with a resource that provides information about its size, location, length of day, length of year, number of moons, and average temperature. Also includes is information about the lans for past...

High schoolers choose an interesting view for an art relief project. They outline their composition, and shade their relief using charcoal pencil. The results are fabulous! One nice thing about this art project is that the materials...

Young scholars discuss different ways engineers use light. In this engineering instructional activity, students are introduced to the properties of light and the way light is used. They view a demonstration of light waves using a slinky,...

Students create original examples of the trapunto quilting technique in this middle-level activity sutied for the Art classroom. Assessment and discussion questions are included for this activity.

The theory that adding iron to ocean water may increase phytoplankton ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is examined. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute is monitoring conditions off the California coast to...

Though this is meant to be second in a two-part lesson, the two are not dependent on each other. Pupils play the roles of visible light rays, light or dark surfaces, and carbon dioxide molecules. They interact and react according to...

Students engage in lesson concerned with the concept of the ozone layer. They write a reflective journal using prior knowledge. Students read sources of information about the existence of a hole in the ozone layer. Finally they create...

Students using the scientific method, study bacteria as a covering surface of the earth in many forms. They discover that not all bacteria is bad and introduce the topic of antibiotic resistance. Science Fair expectations are addressed.