Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Areology-The Study of Mars

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students examine core samples from Mars and discover what they can use it to tell the history of Mars.  In this core sample lesson students create and analyze their own core samples then eat them at the end.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Life in a Sod House: Get a Sense of It

For Students 3rd - 12th
For this history of Nebraska worksheet, students read information about pioneer life in a sod house.  Students conduct 4 experiments where they use measurement skills and observational skills to imagine the size, light levels, smell...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hawaiian Bird Beak Adaptation

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Young scholars explore adaptation by participating in a lab activity. In this bird characteristics lesson, students discuss the different purposes birds have for their beaks and conduct an experiment testing which beaks collect food...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Modern Mona

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students use contour drawings of the Mona Lisa. Students turn the drawings upside down and cover 3/4 of the drawing with a sheet of construction paper. They "erase from their minds" what the drawing is, and complete the quarter section...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Food Classification

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars are introduced to classification and some of the difficulties surrounding classification and how classification systems need to be able to adapt and how they may need to be changed when new information is discovered. ...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Ask Rustle the Leaf About...Acid Rain

For Students 6th - 8th
In this acid rain learning exercise, students read about acid rain from a leaf's perspective. They fill in the blanks with 9 terms to complete a paragraph about acid rain. They also are given 8 clues to complete a crossword puzzle. Their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pumpkins . . . Not Just Part of Halloween

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students study the pumpkin. In this pumpkin lesson, students participate in different activities that explain the history of pumpkins and how pumpkins develop and grow, read "The Great Pumpkin Story" and answer comprehensive questions...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Watch Babies Grow

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars explore the changes of life in different generations. In this change of life lesson, students help out families with new babies and learn about their needs. Young scholars participate in interviews, creating timelines and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Finding Your Center of Gravity: Science, Math, Measurement, Math

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students use bathroom scales, rulers and boards to explore how to measure their own center of gravity.
Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Measuring Earthquakes

For Teachers 4th - 8th
After a brief discussion on earthquakes, make a makeshift seismograph to record the shaking of the table that it sits upon. While the background information will be useful to you as a teacher, the seismograph does not seem like it would...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Mole as a Large Number or an Exercise in Dimensional Analysis

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students complete an activity and make "provable estimates."  In this dimensional analysis lesson students use dimensional analysis and complete an activity. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Simple Machines, Odd Machine

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine levers and design a machine that uses a lever as a central component.  In this lever machine lesson students test various machine designs and evaluate their effectiveness.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Generation of Fractions

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students explore the process of reducing fractions to simplest form by using a multiples grid. In this simplest form lesson, students pull different fractions out of a bag and then consult their grid to discover all the multiples that...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Show Me the Way To Go Home

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers place a pencil perpendicular to the ground and trace its shadow between 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM. They measure the length of the shadow, periodically over several hours, in either English or Metric units. Using the data,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Simple Machines, Odd Machine

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students hypothesize, collaborate, and present their ideas on uses of simple machines. They research an invention, make a model of their cartoon or invent a new tool.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Determining the Percolation Rate of Soil

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students discover how water moves through different types of soils. In groups, they use the same sample from a previous activity and empty it into a milk carton in which they have layered with cheesecloth to determine the percolation...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Growing and Graphing

For Teachers K - 2nd
Learners visit a 2nd and a 4th grade class to measure the heights of older students using large building blocks as a non-standard unit of measure. They can also measure adults in the school community. Results are displayed in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Seismology in the Classroom

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students work together to use a sample seismograph. They role play the position of an engineering firm that is to analyze the machine. They discover how engineers develop new machines to take measurements.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

You Can Take the Pressure!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students construct and use a barometer over a period of 1-2 weeks to investigate and predict upcoming weather from barometric pressure.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reflection

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders use a stencil to make a figure with which they discover the horizontal line of reflection, the vertical line of reflection, and the diagaonal line of reflection using coordinates.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Topographic Maps

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars are introduced to the characteristics and uses of topographical maps. Using a worksheet, they examine the use of specific terminology and use cutouts to create their own topographical map of an area. They answer...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Climate and Temperature

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore what the soil temperature would be on the north and south sides of a building. For this temperature lesson, students hypothesize what the results will be using a thermometer and then after a week see what the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Simple Machines, Odd Machine

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate simple machines. In this simple machines lesson, students identify the six simple machines from an object or drawing. Students also use various objects to identify the simple machines found in a compound machine.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Make a Map

For Students 2nd - 3rd
In this mapping activity worksheet, students finish the map by following the 5 directions and using the map key. Students the map key, scale, and an inch ruler for help.