Curated OER
Disasters (Natural & Man-made)
Students chose a natural or man-made disaster, such as a tornado or an oil spill, to research using the assigned web sites. They choose a presentation type from a list which includes poetry, radio broadcasts, and safety brochures, to...
Curated OER
The Eruptor
Students use the internet to research facts about volcanoes. In groups, they locate the nearest volcano near them and find photographs of volcanoes erupting. To end the lesson, they build their own model of a volcano with different...
Curated OER
On The Go! Forces and Motion
Students create a car using physics. In this forces and motion lesson, students create a car and test which changes in design change the performance of the car. Students complete a graphic organizer with the different changes...
NASA
Model Development Assessment Activity
Time to show off what they've learned! The final lesson in the series of six asks young scholars to process their learning from the previous lessons. They identify possible elements of the sun as well as a possible origin.
NASA
Raisin Bread Universe
What is the universal breakfast? The resource includes two activities, the first one observing oatmeal to understand the texture of the universe. Then, scholars measure raisin bread dough before and after it rises to represent the...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Faces of Climate Change
You know global warming is real when your squirrel feeder is full of popped corn instead of kernels! Activity two in a series of five allows learners to explore climate change through the eyes of another. After briefly analyzing their...
Curated OER
Lifestyles of the Eco-Friendly
A helpful instructional activity encourages pupils to make environmentally-friendly choices at home. The packet presents many ways that learners can help the environment, such as taking shorter showers in order to conserve water.
University of Colorado
The Jovian Basketball Hoop
Can you listen to Jupiter on a simple radio? Turns out the answer is yes! The resource instructs scholars to build a simple radio to pick up the radio waves created when the charged particles from the sun hit Jupiter's magnetic...
Purdue University
Design of a Door Alarm
How does electricity work? Budding scientists explore the concepts of electrical currents and open and closed circuits with class discussion and a hands-on activity using a battery to turn on a light bulb. Learners also make predictions...
Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey
The Great Peregrine Scavenger Hunt - On the Internet
The story of one bird provides valuable insight into general animal behaviors and interactions. Young researchers investigate the peregrine falcon using a web search. They analyze the behaviors of the raptor including its migration...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Weather or Not, Seasons Change
Embark on a year long investigation of the seasons with this 10-lesson earth science unit. After being introduced to different types of weather and the tools used to measure it, young scientists perform fun hands-on activities that...
Teach Engineering
Designing a Sustainable Guest Village in the Saguaro National Park
Brainstorm ideas to design a sustainable guest village in the Sonoran Desert. The first installment of a nine-part unit teaches young environmental scientists about the basics of the Saguaro National Park and about sustainable design....
Kenan Fellows
Unit 3: How Drugs Enter/Exit the Body
The third of a four-part series on Pharmacology teaches scholars how drugs enter and exit the body, how they act inside the body, how they affect the brain, and more. Over the course of the unit, groups complete two labs and one...
National Wildlife Federation
Life in the Cold: Climate Challenges
What does it take to make it in the Arctic? Learners examine the cold weather adaptations of a polar bear that help it survive. With everyday objects, they model these characteristics as they become make-shift polar bears. Modeling helps...
Virginia Department of Education
Body Systems
The human body is an amazing thing! Explore the body with your high school class as they investigate each system in detail. They learn components of each organ system and disease processes that can negatively affect general health and...
Virginia Department of Education
Average Atomic Masses
Facilitate learning by using small objects to teach the principles of atomic mass in your science class. Pupils determine the average mass of varying beans as they perform a series of competitive experiments. They gather data and...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Review and Assessment: Causes and Effects of Climate Changes
The last activity in the series of five is a short one where individuals show what they've learned about the causes and effects of climate change. Working independently, they fill in a graphic organizer, then compare their notes with a...
Virginia Department of Education
Three Types of Rocks
Rock out with the second installment of a five-part series on earth materials and processes. Your budding geologists make observations of given rock samples and posit classification systems for rocks. They then learn about the...
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Some Types of Mutations Are Automatically Repaired
Does natural light damage or repair DNA? Learn the answer discover the scientists who researched the topic with an online interactive. Scholars read through an online animation presenting the content at their own pace. Then, they read...
Curated OER
Health Physics: The Effects of Radiation on Living Things
A mix of scientific details and background information about the well-known sites of radiation attacks or accidents. This topic may open up details that you may consider as sensitive, and could be upsetting to some pupils. This is a...
California Academy of Science
A Day inthe Life of a San Francisco Native Animal
Although the lesson is specifically about the San Francisco Bay area, it's good enough to be adapted to any local region. Children research what the landscape in San Francisco was like prior to settlement, they consider the types of...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Non-Point Source Pollution
Investigate the different types of pollution that storm drain runoff carries into oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams with this class demonstration. Using an aquarium and an assortment of everyday items that contaminants like motor oil,...
Colorado State University
Do Cities Affect the Weather? (Making a Cloud in a Bottle)
The dynamics of a city can have a drastic effect on the weather. A hands-on lesson asks learners to build a model to illustrate how city pollution provides a nucleus for condensation. The greater the pollution, the greater chance for...
Curated OER
What are Natural Disasters?
There are several types of natural disasters: quakes, floods, avalanches, and more. This slide show gives a brief explanation of each at an elementary-aged child's level. There are no frightening photos from actual natural disasters,...