Aristotle explained the idea of spontaneous generation, a concept which lasted almost 2,000 years before scientists proved it wrong. Scholars learn about the history of our understanding of the origins of life. They read examples of...

The Big Bang Theory is more than a television show. Pupils read how Edwin Hubble observed other galaxies and noticed that the galaxies are moving away from each other. Scholars learn about the idea of the big bang and what happened next...

Molecules to the Max! refers to a movie released in 2009 about the world of atoms and molecules. A helpful discovery guide provides five posters on science topics typically covered at the middle school level. It also explains the...

It wasn't called the Age of Enlightenment for nothing. Covered here is a basic overview of the main players and innovative thinking that led to the spread of the scientific revolution. Upper graders will learn about Galileo, Heliocentric...

Curing cancer or finding the fountain of youth—the answer may be understanding the structure and function of telomeres. The relationship of telomeres to both aging and cancer have triggered aggressive research. A thorough lesson...

Aspiring aeronautical engineers demonstrate different forces as they construct and test paper airplanes. This lesson plan links you to a website that models the most effective paper airplane design, an animation describing the forces...

Four activities demonstrate the chain reaction of nuclear fission to your physical science fans: falling dominoes, snapping mouse traps, throwing paper wads, and igniting a series of matches. They perform additional...

Immerse your young marine biologists in the world of marine animals. The lesson includes several activities that are age-appropriate for preschoolers and kindergartners, including coloring pages, gluing feathers and sand onto paper...

Fifth graders identify all parts of an egg, and explore their importance to the life cycle of a chicken. Learners compare all sorts of birds and place them in categories based on what they look like. This five-day lesson effectively...

Life science learners read a set of six short Discovery Readings that describe historical events in the field of microbiology. For each, they identify clues about when the event occurred and then they try to arrange events in...

Students discuss the factors that make a good children's book. After reading an article, they explore the prevalence of science in children's literature. In groups, they research a topic and translate it into easy language for a child...

Take a blinded tour. Pairs take turns leading each other on a blindfolded exploration of the natural world and take stock of their surroundings using their remaining senses. After the tour, pupils try to map their paths and follow them...

Students explore the three-phase strategy used by NASA for scientific exploration. In this space science lesson, students research past missions to Mars. They share their discoveries and create a timeline as a class.

Just a heads up: this lesson is based on a book, Dinosaur Eggs Discovered! Unscrambling the Clues. If you do not have or do not want to purchase the book, you may still find the other activities and worksheets useful in your earth...

West of the West's documentary Arlington Springs Man and a two-page scientific article about the same topic provide the text for a reading comprehension exercise that asks individuals to craft a one page summary of information gathered...

Second graders view a video about butterflies and recall its life cycle. They will also complete a Kidspiration slide show to illustrate the life cycle of a butterfly and study a word list of butterfly vocabulary to include in their...

Students experience, through a "dig," the historical discovery of fossils which increasingly link whales to earlier land-dwelling mammals. They encounter the intermediate forms which show changes that lead to the modern whale.

From the start of the Industrial Revolution, it only took 147 years for someone to invent plastic. This may seem like a long time, but in the history of inventing or discovering new materials, this is incredibly fast. An informative and...

Students analyze the factors that affect exploration such as religion, trade, territorial expansion, and science. In this Great Explorations instructional activity, students determine the names of famous explorers as well as their routes...

Students name objects that are the same size, shape, and weight as the human brain. They touch the model brain, feeling the folds, etc. They make connections to the chart displaying the brain-like objects. They touch the 'potato flake'...

Students read and discuss an article about carbon dating, then participate in a hands-on lab to discover how carbon dating works. Students also write a letter to a friend explaining the process, and how archeologists use the process to...

High schoolers explore the Big Bang Theory and the Theory of Plate Tectonics. In this history of life lesson, students explain two ways the Theory of Plate Tectonics and the Big Bang are of direct benefits to humans.

Hands-on stations in which groups of primary learners experience what mirrors can do provide opportunities for experimenting and authentic discovery. Recording their observations in complete sentences seems age-inappropriate. Drawing...

Discover the science behind astronomy. After reading the book Maria's Comet, which is about a young woman who breaks new ground by becoming a female astronomer, young learners practice reading comprehension with...