Curated OER
Let's Take a Rock Apart!
Students examine a crushed rock and sort the minerals they find in that rock by color and other properties.
Curated OER
Fred the Fish -- A River Ran Wild
Young scholars apply cause and effect relationships to water pollution in a stream. In this pollution lesson plan students recognize the importance of clean water in their daily lives. Young scholars accompany "Fred the Fish" as he...
Curated OER
Let the Sun Shine!
Students investigate how the sun can be used for energy. They read a handout, discuss the pros and cons of passive solar building design, develop flashcard questions, and identify jobs that can be helped by solar energy.
Curated OER
Soil Treasure Hunt
Students explore the concept of soil and decomposition. In this soil and decomposition lesson, students investigate bags of soil. Students then learn how animals and other organisms help in the decomposition process.
Curated OER
Plants and Animals: Partners in Pollination
Students describe the complementary relationships between pollinators and the plants they pollinate, identify adaptations that flowers have developed to "encourage" pollination, and create and draw their own "designer" flowers.
Curated OER
Water Wonders
Learners explore hydrology concepts. In this environment and biology lesson, students identify and describe macroinvertebrates using a variety of pictures and resources. Learners observe and write about a classroom aquarium in which...
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Honing in on Hummingbirds
Young scholars explore ruby-throated hummingbirds. In this cross-curricular hummingbirds lesson, students listen to the book The Mystery of the Missing Hummingbirds and choose related topics to research with a partner. Young scholars...
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Funny Putty
Students are introduced to the properties of solids, liquids and gases. They see that colloids are mixtures which display the properties of more than one of these states. They engage in an excellent experiment which demonstrates this fact.
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Powerful Pulleys
Students explore the building of a pyramid and how pulleys were used to change the direction of applied force. They demonstrate the mechanical advantage of using a pulley and apply it to modern engineering.
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TE Lesson: Renewable Energy
Students examine renewable energy sources such as solar, water, and wind. They experiment to determine how renewable energy is transformed into electricity. They investigate the role of engineers who work in the field of renewable energy.
Curated OER
"Dr. Xargle's Book of Earthlets"
Students examine the expressive and descriptive language used in the books "Dr. Xargle's Book of Earthlets" and "Planet of the Robots." In pairs they take notes about each other's physical appearance and conduct interviews, identify the...
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Collecting Leaves with Lewis and Clark
Fourth graders collect data on leaves collected, observe different species of leaves, and implement different methods of leaf preservation.
Curated OER
Where Am I: Navigation and Satellites
Students explore the concept of triangulation that is used in navigation satellites and global positioning systems designed by engineers. They determine ways these technologies can help people determine their position or the location of...
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Indoor Environment: A Magazine Publication Project
Students demonstrate knowledge of Indoor Air Quality by creating a class magazine. A link to order a free Action Kit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is provided so teachers can build background knowledge. Performance...
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Stream Table
Students explore channelization, riparian habitats and soil erosion to find out about the aquatic habitats in Iowa. In this aquatic habitats activity, students define important terms and read an article about pollution. Students...
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A Day In My Life
Young scholars brainstorm how they can conserve energy in their daily lives. In this energy lesson plan, students discuss how they use energy and ways to conserve it.
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Food Math
Fourth graders explore healthy habits by completing caloric measurement activities. In this food choice lesson, 4th graders discuss what types of foods give you protein or fat and utilize a food chart to measure caloric intake. Students...
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Engineering: Simple Machines
Fourth graders participate in activities to examine how simple machines help build things. They identify the six types of simple machines. They discover how simple machines where use historically to build pyramids and how they are still...
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Good Food, Good Health
Students investigate how food provides energy for the human body. In this physical health instructional activity, students access online resources to identify how certain foods can affect their health. Students discuss how many servings...
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Human Machine
Students explore the human body by conducting an exercise in class. In this human anatomy lesson, students view a diagram of the human body and identify the specific bones and joints that allow us to perform specific exercises like...
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The Energy of Light
Students discuss different ways engineers use light. In this engineering lesson, students are introduced to the properties of light and the way light is used. They view a demonstration of light waves using a slinky, and practice using...
Curated OER
Solar Power
Young scholars discover how engineers use solar energy to heat buildings. They investigate the thermal properties of different materials. They evaluate the usefulness of each material.
Curated OER
Pop Rockets
Students work together to design and build a paper rocket. They place a propellant in the contraption to make it fly. They discover Newton's third law of motion.
Curated OER
Strawkets and Thrust
Students investigate the effect of thrust on rocket flight. They construct two paper rockets, one with a smaller exit nozzle, and compare/contrast the distances traveled by the rockets.