Curated OER
Can Scientists Discover a Limit to Discovery?
Is there anything left to discover? Evaluate opposing sides of the debate regarding whether or not there is a future for scientific discovery. Middle and high schoolers assess quotations from the articles included to evaluate claims and...
Oakland Unified School District
Class Animal Report
Whether preparing your second graders for an expository writing proficiency assessment or just planning on introducing the writing process, this 37-page packet is for you. The unit has everything you need from scripted lessons to...
National Institute of Open Schooling
Hydrocarbons
The vast majority of hydrocarbons humans use help fuel cars, homes, and provide energy. A comprehensive lesson teaches pupils all about hydrocarbons. From alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes to benzene, classes study the preparation of these...
Curated OER
Science: Matter and Energy
Designed to use when teaching adults preparing for their high school equivalency exam, the resource integrates reading practice, writing, and analytical thinking in every lesson. The unit covers 23 topics, but it only includes three...
Lesson Plans
Analogy of the Cell Project
Intended to supplement your existing cell function and organelle lessons, pairs work together to develop a real-world analogy for cell structures. In addition to writing paragraphs about the comparison, each group will make a short...
NASA
Einstein and His Times
Scholars research and present on the historical happenings of 1919. After sharing their findings, pupils debate about how Congress dealt with the moral issues of the time. The evaluation asks learners to write a persuasive...
Columbus City Schools
To Measure its Mass or Volume?
Atoms, elements, and molecules, oh my! Teaching the fundamentals of chemistry to curious sixth graders has never been easier to accomplish. Here is a resource that pulls together everything needed to get them off to a good start,...
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...
PHET
Science and Engineering Conference
Young scientists present their experimental designs from the previous experiment. The ninth lesson in the series outlines what learners should present, what class discussions should happen, and the solution NASA came up with for the same...
Curated OER
Plate Tectonics Writing Assignment
Students complete a writing assignment focused on the use of data to support the theory of plate tectonics. They access data using the "Our Dynamic Planet" CDROM, capture images of the data plots, and incorporate them into their writing. T
Gobal Oneness Project
Passionate Pursuits
Not all technology is digital. Teach learners about the low-tech maker movement with a photo essay about six artisans from California and two articles about the local creator movement. After tackling the photo essay in small...
Population Connection
The Carbon Crunch
Carbon is in the air; should we care? Teach the class why it is important to pay attention to carbon levels and how the world population and various countries across the globe affect the carbon levels in the atmosphere. High schoolers...
New York State Education Department
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 11
You'll C-E-R a difference in classroom achievement after using a helpful lesson. Designed for economics, civics, government, and US history classes, participants practice using the CER model to craft arguments about primary and secondary...
Curated OER
Know It All: Seals! Teaching Plan
Pupils discover information about seals, including behavior and habitat. For this early childhood lesson plan, students identify various aspects about seals. Pupils create an illustration or painting of their favorite seal, and write a...
Kenan Fellows
Determining Stream Health by the Diversity and Types of Benthic Organisms
How diverse are the benthic organisms found in local streams? Using the information learned in previous lessons on identification of macroinvertebrates and on calculating stream index values, groups determine the health of local...
Curated OER
Creek Teach
Students develop lessons which they teach to younger students in a type of outdoor education camp.
Curated OER
Writing about the climate
Learners research the contributing factors to the Earth's paleoclimate. They determine the relevant climate data and use it to construct a science argument. In the process, they access data, capture images of the data plots, and...
Curated OER
Using Compare and Contrast to Write in Science
Fifth graders investigate and compare the behavior of magnetism using magnets. In this physics instructional activity, 5th graders write about the similarities and differences of a variety of magnet types.
Curated OER
Mountain Creation: A Drama Exploration
Students explore mountain formation. In this cross curriculum earth science and legend writing instructional activity, students listen to the poem "The Way to make Perfect Mountains" by Byrd Baylor and identify examples of vivid language...
Curated OER
Snowflake Bentley
Learners explore crystals through the story Snowflake Bentley and then create crystal pictures of their own. In this interdisciplinary lesson, they create a crystal web chart on chart paper, design artificial snowflakes, and write poems...
Curated OER
Pharmaceutical Lesson Plan
Students are able to discuss and prepare a written summary of a scientific article about AIDS. They propose solutions to the opening activity of which drug is more effective in the fight against AIDS.
Curated OER
Rachel's Life is in a Hole
Explore how lack of access to water impacts peoples' lives in poor countries. Through text reading and discussion, middle schoolers are presented with the story of a young girl who lives and functions with limited water resources. They...
Curated OER
Harvesting Energy from Food: How do Plants Help Humans?
Beginning botanists view slides of plant vascular tissue. They watch Magic School Bus Gets Planted, which you can find online, and then write a summary of what they have learned about plants. This lesson could be used with upper...
Curated OER
Digestion & Nutrition: a Case Study
Students explore digestion/nutrition and utilize scientific investigation skills. They complete meal logs for several days and graph their results. After analyzing their data, they write formal lab reports.