New York State Education Department
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 11
You'll C-E-R a difference in classroom achievement after using a helpful instructional activity. Designed for economics, civics, government, and US history classes, participants practice using the CER model to craft arguments about...
EngageNY
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 12
How can opinions slant facts? Workshop participants learn how to examine primary and secondary sources and identify the author's point of view. They also examine how visual art impacts the meaning and rhetoric of sources. Full of...
Curated OER
The Greenhouse Effect
Why does it get so hot inside of our cars in the summertime? The greenhouse effect! Lab groups experiment to see what happens to an ice cube enclosed in a jar and placed in sunlight as compared to an ice cube outside of the jar. They...
K20 LEARN
No Imitations, Please! Avoiding Plagiarism
With all the stuff available online, good essays are just a click away. But talk about tracking! Writers beware! New tech can now identify plagiarism, and the consequences of presenting someone else's work as your own are severe. Here's...
Curated OER
The Big6 Skills
Seventh graders research a biome using the Big6 skills. They prepare their own notes and cite sources. They create a PowerPoint presentation to share their findings with the class.
Curated OER
Allocating Energy from a Photovoltaic System
How much electricity do you use in a day? Physics fanatics calculate their energy use by consulting a chart of the watts required to run typical household appliances. They compare power to amounts of electric energy used or generated....
Curated OER
Energy for Earth: The Sun
Super science learners examine the sun's production of energy by the process of nuclear fusion. Hands-on activities make this lesson engaging for middle schoolers. The lesson is made up of four parts. Part I is an introduction to the sun...
Personal Genetics Education Project
Genetics, Jobs and Your Rights
Your class will read an overview of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, passed in 2008 and address the question of whether or not genetic information should be used to influence our career paths. In jigsaw style, they then are...
NOAA
I Can't Breathe!
The Gulf of Mexico dead zone, an area of low oxygen that kills marine life, costs the United States $82 million every year. Young scientists research anoxic ocean environments then come up with a hypothesis for the cause of the Gulf of...
Curated OER
Ziplock Chemistry
Students investigate various chemical reactions when creating mixtures in ziplock baggies. In this chemistry lesson, students will recognize various chemical reactions and cite evidence. Safety and assessment strategies are included in...
Curated OER
A Scientific Approach to Teaching about Evolution
Students examine fossils and analyzing their significance in relation to theories of evolution. Hand-outs are provided. This lesson could be supplementary to a broader unit on evolution or geology.
Curated OER
Science and Technology Timeline and Report
Young scholars research one area where science and technology have affected our lives. Using the internet, and other sources, students identify six important events that have benefited society. They create timelines, cite references,...
Teach Engineering
Get the Word Out at McDonald's!
To get the word out that the Great Pacific garbage patch (GPGP) contains millions of pounds of non-biodegrading plastics, individuals research the GPGP and write an article for a newsletter. Researchers present their facts in a...
Curated OER
Animal Science Research Report
Students research an animal. In this research instructional activity, students utilize various types of technology to gather information about an animal. Students create a class blog and use digital photography for their research.
New York State Education Department
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 5
Are video games sports? Pupils investigate this question as well as various nonfiction selections to learn more about claims and the support that defines them. All of the selections mimic the rigor on state tests and encourage close...
Curated OER
Human Evolution: Biology, Bones
Learners will love a weeks worth of bone study. They use bones and characteristics of bones to explore the evolution of hominoids. Bones are compared, categorized, and considered. A great way to bring physical anthropology and material...
Curated OER
The Sun: Earth's External Heat Engine - Part 1 of the Astronomy Model
Designed by School Power...NaturallySM, this lesson plan familiarizes advanced earth science and physics learners about the variables that affect our supply of solar energy. They examine gas spectra and perform calculations. There is an...
Curated OER
Molecular Sequences & Primate Evolution: Amino Acids, Hemoglobins in Evolution
Students compare differences in amino acids in the beta hemoglobin from representative primates, complete a matrix of those differences, and from these data, construct and interpret cladograms as they reflect relationships and timing of...
Curated OER
A STEP IN SPECIATION
Learners place different subspecies of a CA salamander are placed on grid map of CA according to where samples were collected. Then discuss patterns of their distribution, their likely evolutionary relationships, and probable sequence of...
Curated OER
Mystery Boxes: Uncertainty and Collaboration
Students manipulate boxes with unknown internal structure and contents to become familiar with the concept of uncertainty in science.
Curated OER
Avoiding Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Burning Fossil Fuels
Students calculate stoichiometrically the amount of carbon dioxide that would be emitted from burning a mole of varios alkanes that comprise fossile fuels. If the energy released from burning a mole of these alkanes is known, then the...
Curated OER
Finding the Ages of Rocks and Fossils
Students practice dating fossils. They learn the concept of "deep time"--that earth was formed billions of years ago. They experience excellent hand-outs and virtual age tutorial links.
Curated OER
WHAT DARWIN NEVER SAW: Evolution, Science, Biology, Natural Selection
Students view video showing recent field work on a twenty two-year study of finch beaks on a small island in the Galapagos, showing natural selection clearly operating in the wild.
Curated OER
PRIMATE CLASSIFICATION: Evolution, Cladograms,
Students transfer examples (names) of primates from their location in an outline hierarchy of primate groups into a set of nested boxes reflecting that same hierarchy. A cladogram can then be drawn illustrating how these groups are...