Berkshire Museum
Where’s the Water?: Acting Out Science Cycles
Young scientists transform themselves into rivers, oceans, clouds, and drops of water in order to explore the water cycle. After assigning and explaining to students their different roles in the activity, the teacher reads aloud a...
Worchester Polytechnic Institute
Interactive Laboratory Activities for Secondary Education
Do you think the lab smells like rotten eggs? Sorry to hear about your sulfering. A set of five experiments covers many different topics including seasons, gravity, food, precipitation, and photosynthesis. Though not presented as a...
Curated OER
Read Aloud Lesson Plan: Water for One, Water for Everyone
Students listen to a read aloud about African animals as they access a watering hole. They discuss the characteristics of Africa such as the temperature, it distance from the students, and lifestyle of the animals. They talk about how...
Curated OER
NASA Plans Moon Base
Students react to statements about the moon, then read a news article about NASA's plans to build a permanent base on the moon. In this space science and current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a discussion and a...
Rainforest Alliance
Knowing the Essential Elements of a Habitat
To gain insight into the many different types of habitats, individuals must first get to know their own. Here, scholars explore their school environment, draw a map, compare and contrast their surroundings to larger ones. They then write...
Rainforest Alliance
Sounds of the Rainforest
Do you hear what I hear? Encourage scholars to use their listening skills and participate in a series of activities that demonstrate how the sense of hearing is crucial to the human and animal world. Activities guide learners on nature...
S2tem Centers SC
Seasons
Winter, spring, summer, and fall—take the learning of the seasons beyond the elementary level to the middle school classroom. Curious learners begin by watching videos about the seasons and the rotation of planet Earth. Then, they...
Class Antics
Leap Year
What is a Leap Year and why do we have it? Find out with this Leap Day/Leap Year response to reading activity in which scholars read a short passage and use their new-found knowledge to answer five questions with short answers.
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: The Secret Science Project That Almost Ate the School
Students discover the meaning of tier two vocabulary words. In this vocabulary lesson, students read The Secret Science Project That Almost Ate the School, listening for 3 pre-selected, tier two vocabulary words. Words are defined by the...
Curated OER
"What is an Engineer?"
Students describe and draw what an engineer looks like and does. They descrie what they think an engineer does. Students volunteer to read their description to the class. They use their knowledge as well as their classmate;s...
Curated OER
Drought Threatens Huge Man-Made Lake
Students locate Lake Mead, then read a news article about Lake Mead drying up and how that would effect water and power supplies to the region. In this current events lesson plan, the teacher introduces the article with a map and...
Curated OER
Salt Water vs. Fresh Water
Students explore why the oceans do not freeze. They explain why they think the Atlantic Ocean does not freeze. Students are given background information about what they are doing. They create a hypothesis about what they believe...
Curated OER
Recycled Vegetable Oil Powers Vans, Cars
Students share their knowledge about fuel sources, then read a news article about vegetable oil as a cleaner alternative to gasoline. In this current events and environmental science activity, the teacher introduces the article with a...
Curated OER
Scientists Discover Giant Frog Fossil
Students examine a world map and read a news article about the discovery of a giant frog fossil. In this earth science and current event instructional activity, the teacher introduces an article with a discussion about continental drift...
Curated OER
Farmers Use Falcons to Protect Berries
Students share information about falcons, then read about how farmers are using falcons. In this falcon lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a discussion and vocabulary activity, then students read the news report and...
Curated OER
Bike-Sharing Catches On
Young scholars discuss how people are reducing their fuel consumption, then read a news article about a new bike-sharing program in Washington, D.C. In this current events and alternative transportation lesson, the teacher introduces the...
Curated OER
Honeybees are Vanishing
Students decide if they agree with a series of statements about the bee population, then read a news article about the disappearance of millions of U.S. honeybees. In this biology and current events lesson plan, the teacher introduces...
Curated OER
Planting Trees to Help the Planet
Students react to a series of statements about trees, then read a news article about the planned planning of millions of trees to celebrate Arbor Day. In this planting trees lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a discussion...
Curated OER
Permeability and Porosity of Somerset County Sediments
Young scholars predict and test the permeability and porosity of sediments in Somerset County, New Jersey. They discuss what how porous they think the sediment of HMS grounds is and why. Students walk around the HMS campus and collect...
Curated OER
Night Sky
Students discover why stars can only be seen at night. They participate in a read aloud of, "Night Sky" by Carole Stott and, "Switch on the Night" by Ray Bradbury. Using the sky objects described in the readings, they brainstorm and list...
Curated OER
Apples, Apples, Apples
Students complete activities using apples that help improve their science, math, and reading skills. In this apple activity, students read the book Apples, Apples Apples and visit an orchard or farmer's market to buy a variety of apples....
Guam Community College
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
Spruce up a class reading of the children's book Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback with this fun series of activities. Starting with a list of reading comprehension questions and key vocabulary to address during a teacher read...
Seussville
Hooray For Diffendoofer Day!
Eleven engaging activities make up a story guide that accompanies Dr. Seuss' Hooray For Diffendoofer Day! Scholars design a fictional classroom setting including scary face tests, writing job descriptions, adapting the book into a play,...
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Myth or Fact
Are opioids the most abused drug after marijuana? How hard is it for young people to obtain painkillers without a prescription? Middle and high schoolers explore the growing epidemic of opioid addiction with a lesson that prompts them to...