Better Lesson: Waves Performance Assessment Part 1

Water may appear to be crystal clear, but there could be dissolved substances present. Lab groups make a one-part-per-million of a food coloring solution to demonstrate this concept. As part of an outstanding unit about water, this...

Plants provide a variety of delicious foods essential for human survival. In the fourth lesson of this series on food science, young scientists investigate common fruits, vegetables, and grains in order to determine which plant part is...

Students will use tools and materials to design and build a device that uses light or sound to solve the problem of communicating over a distance. Resources included are videos of the lesson in action, a student worksheet, and an...

For this direct instruction lesson, students draw sketches in their science notebooks in order to make sense of wave properties. Resources include a slideshow presentation on the properties of waves and multiple examples of student work.

In this very detailed lesson plan, students explore and create a stringed instrument that demonstrates their understanding of sound waves and how energy is transferred. Multiple videos are included showing this lesson in action in a...

This is part 2 of a two-part lesson on understanding how speed changes when two objects collide. Students will conduct an experiment, collect data, and draw conclusions about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide....

Students will create a food chain model and use it to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment. Resources include a detailed lesson plan, student handouts, pictures of a completed chain,...

Using squirrels as an example, students will understand that some animal groups' inherited traits enable them to adapt and spread into many environments. Included in this activity are videos showing the activity in action, discussion...

In this instructional activity, students use marbles of various sizes to see how collisions can transfer energy from one object to another. Resources include videos of the instructional activity in actions, examples of student work, and...

Students will demonstrate how energy can be transferred from one object to another. They will work with pennies to develop questions and predict what happens when objects collide. Resources include videos of the lesson in action and a...