Curated OER
What's the Matter with My Snow?
Students collect snow samples around their school. They explore the concepts of density and phase change as well as the math skills of measurement and statistics. Students explore the water cycle through an interactive, down loadable...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: Global Warming
Students explore the concept of global warming. In this climate change lesson, students explore the provided links to PBS NOW sources and research the greenhouse effect and the effects of global warming. Students support their stances on...
Illinois Valley Community College
STEM Activities for Middle School Students
Use STEM activities within the class to provide connections to concepts. The resource includes activities that range from working with buoyancy to building rockets and launching them. Other activities involve the engineering design...
Curated OER
How Much Carbon is Held by the World's Forests?
Seventh graders identify how much carbon is held by the world's forests. For this forestry lesson, 7th graders study the carbon cycle and discuss what role humans have had on climate change. Students write a one page paper on how the...
Curated OER
Plant Cycles
Young scholars identify plants parts and their functions. In this plant cycle lesson, students examine parts of plants and how the parts help them survive in its environment. Young scholars use graphic organizers, the internet, books...
Curated OER
Looking At Water: a Walking Field Trip
Fourth graders observe the effects of water on the soil and record those effect by drawing sketches of water erosion and conservation practices.
Curated OER
The Hudson's Ups and Downs
Fifth graders practice interpreting line graphs of the Hudson River water levels to assess the tides and tidal cycles in the estuary. They explore how weather can affect water levels and tides and observe that high tides and low tides...
Curated OER
Establishing a Baseline Ecology of a Creek Ecosystem
Students investigate the physical, chemical and biological parameters necessary to establish an ecological baseline. Establishing an ecological baseline not only shows the ecological characteristics of a creek but makes the possible...
Curated OER
What Makes Up a Healthy Watershed
Students, after observing the elements of a local watershed, explore the need to protect watersheds as water resources for the future. They examine the factors involved with a watershed: geology, ecology, and the effect of man's...
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Eyes on Dissolved Oxygen
Learn about the factors that affect the way oxygen dissolves in salt water with a chemistry lab. After studying the molecular structure of water, young scientists figure out how aeration, temperature, and organic waste affect dissolved...
Curated OER
Meteorology (Condensation)
Second graders define condensation and evaporation. They identify and describe the steps in the water cycle. They ask questions to end the lesson.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Cycles, Systems, and Webs
Fourth graders review the parts of the plant and their functions. In this plant lesson plan, 4th graders recognize that plants must transfer energy to make food. Students understand the interdependence of organisms in an ecosystem.
Curated OER
Up, Up, and Away
Second graders observe the changes that water has when there is a change in a state of matter. In this lesson plan they observe the results of applying heat to water with the end result of conversion to a gas.
Curated OER
Plants
First graders explore the specific needs, characteristics, and uses of plants. They discuss the needs of plants as they grow. Students observe plants in various settings as they grow and note the changes they see.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Carbon, Greenhouse Gases, and Climate
Climate models mathematically represent the interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, land, sun, surface, and ice. Part two in the series of four lessons looks at the role greenhouse gases play in keeping Earth warm and has participants...
Curated OER
"Dead-Zones" and Coastal Eutrophication: Case-Study of Chesapeake Bay
Take an in-depth look at nutrient loading, eutrophication, and hypoxia using data on The Chesapeake Bay as an example. This comprehensive presentation includes detailed graphs, photos, and details about the changes in marine organism...
Curated OER
Seed to Soup Organic Garden
Have your young biologists visit decomposition stations as they explore the process of organic material. This activity involves some set-up as kids will be visiting 13 desks to collect colored paper each representing a different element...
Serendip
Using Models to Understand Photosynthesis
Is your class in the dark about photosynthesis? Shed some sunlight on an important biological process with a thoughtful activity. After answering questions to help determine their level of knowledge, learners work with chemical equations...
Curated OER
Soil Investigations
Students examine the basics about soil. In this soil activity students describe the physical properties of soil and explain what soil profile is.
Curated OER
Rock Cycle SIOP Unit
Pupils collect rocks, identify them, classify them, investigate their properties, and more. In this rocks lesson plan, students also experiment with soil and erosion and weather.
Curated OER
Mystery Polymers
Middle schoolers examine how some natural substances are polymers. In this polymer lesson students complete a lab and give examples of a physical change.
Curated OER
What's the Matter with My Orange?
Students use oranges to informally explore decomposition, dehydration, fermentation, the water cycle, bacteria, yeast, food webs, the needs of living things, and physical vs. chemical change over a period of three or more months.
Curated OER
Where Does the Water Around Our School Go?
Students in groups, map quadrants of the area around the school and make predictions about the direction of waterflow and zones of accumulation that will occur when it rains. Then when it does rain they check to see if their prediction...
Curated OER
Rocks and Soil
Students explore the physical properties of rocks. They explore the three different types of rocks and are able to compare and contrast their different properties. Students simulate the creation of sedimentary rock, they also...