Curated OER
Weather Instruments
Middle school meteorologists get acquainted with basic weather instruments: the thermometer, barometer, psychrometer, and anemometer. For each, the question is asked, "Do you think you can make a _______________?" At these points, you...
Curated OER
Unit 0 Review - Measurement Lab Equipment
Review questions like these can be used in your biology, chemistry, physics, or earth science classes! They assess scientists' understanding of laboratory measurement tools including graduated cylinders, thermometers, and balances. They...
Curated OER
Use Models to Compare and Order Integers
Young scholars investigate the concept of integers and how they should occur in the realm of irrational numbers. The lesson includes the use of positive and negative integers. The lesson is a good foundation in order to move into...
Perkins School for the Blind
Conductors of Heat - Hot Spoons
Why is the end of a spoon hot when it's not all the way in the hot water? A great question deserves a great answer, and learners with visual impairments will use their auditory and tactile senses to get that answer. A talking...
American Chemical Society
Keeping Warm in the Cold
Bundle up to stay warm! A fun-filled investigation opens with a group discussion about heat loss and using materials to prevent it. Young scientists then view an animation about thermometers and the Celsius scale and practice reading...
Perkins School for the Blind
Human Body Regulation
The human body can regulate itself through sweating and resting. Learners with visual impairments discuss how the body changes when it is under stress and what it does to regulate itself. To start, kids use talking thermometers to take...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Keep it Cool
This cool lesson plan is ideal for elementary engineers or physical scientists, especially when learning about heat transfer and insulation. After reading a page of background information, engineering teams collaborate to design and...
Space Awareness
Greenhouse Effect
A greenhouse provides additional warmth and protection to the plants inside, but what if the greenhouse gets too hot? Pupils discuss and experiment with the difference between natural and anthropogenic greenhouse effect. They measure the...
Curated OER
Know Your Angles
Explore types of angles and the characteristics of each. After observing a PowerPoint Presentation, learners tour the school facilities and use a digital camera to capture prescribed angles. Using the digital pictures and written...
Virginia Department of Education
States and Forms of Energy
Energy is just energy, right? Explain various forms of energy to your young scientists by using an interactive experiment that contains common objects to demonstrate complex concepts. Pupils conduct experiments for radiant, thermal,...
Virginia Department of Education
Thermochemistry: Heat and Chemical Changes
What makes particles attract? Here, learners engage in multiple activities that fully describe colligative properties and allow the ability to critically assess the importance of these properties in daily life. Young chemists...
Polar Trec
Frozen Fish? Unique Adaptations of Antarctic Fish
Some fish contain proteins that act like antifreeze in order for them to live in the frigid waters of Antarctica! High schoolers determine how much antifreeze a fish needs to lower its body temp to -2.5 degrees. Teachers act as a...
NOAA
The Oceanographic Yo-yo
How does chemistry help deep-sea explorers? Part four of a five-part series of lessons from aboard the Okeanos Explorer introduces middle school scientists to technologies used in ocean exploration. Groups work together to analyze data...
Virginia Department of Education
Macromolecules
Finally, a chance for the class to play with their food! Allow pupils to simulate stomach acid with common foods, and introduce specific macromolecules into the mixture to explore characteristics of carbohydrates, lipids,...
Space Awareness
Oceans on the Rise
Temperature rises and land disappears! Through a lab exploration, learners understand the effect of temperature increase on water similar to the effect of global warming on our oceans. As they heat the water in a flask, they measure the...
Colorado State University
How Can Freezing Make Something Warmer?
Crazy fact—freezing liquid actually gives off heat! Young scholars investigate the transfer of energy when liquids freeze using a chemical heat pack. The heat pack gives off heat as its liquid core freezes.
DiscoverE
Solar-Heated Water
Heat up some interest in solar energy. Young engineers create a water heater that runs on solar power (simulated by a lamp). Using thermometers, they determine the change in temperature before and after the water goes through the heater.
Virginia Department of Education
Mathematics Vocabulary Cards - Kindergarten
Enhance your math lesson with a series of pictures that illustrate different math concepts. The vocabulary includes a variety of ideas and pictures including fractions, ordinal numbers, picture graphs, and number lines.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Understanding the Greenhouse Effect
Dive into the power of the sun with a two-part activity. Budding scientists model the greenhouse effect in a hands-on activity, and then participate in a skit that explores the earth's energy balances and what really occurs in the...
K12 Reader
Galileo and His Telescope
Learn about Galileo Galilei's contribution to modern science with a reading passage that focuses on reading comprehension. After kids read several paragraphs about his life, they answer five questions about the information they have just...
Florida International University
Pipeline to the Coral Reefs
Discover firsthand the effects of internal waves on coral reefs. Through a series of experiments, learners simulate internal waves and upwelling events as they make observations on the movement of water and other debris. They then...
Curated OER
Celsius or Fahrenheit?
Second graders create a thermometer. In this Celsius or Fahrenheit lesson plan, 2nd graders create an individual thermometer to use for measuring the temperature. Students convert the outside temperature.
Curated OER
Weather
Second graders study the basic components of weather. They construct a thermometer and anemometer to measure temperatures, precipitation, and wind speed. In addition, 2nd graders discover how to find these components on weather maps.
Curated OER
Deep Ocean Currents
High schoolers observe the interactions of different temperatures of water using colored ice and a thermometer and then compare the results with global ocean current solar heating. They identify where floating ice would be found in the...