Curated OER
Why Garden in New York State Schools?
A lovely presentation in which slide after slide outlines the many educational, physical, emotional, and social benefits of gardening in schools. This presentation is meant to be shown to parents, and would be a terrific choice to...
Curated OER
Nuclear Reactions - Rutherford's Alpha Scattering Experiment
Neat! Show your physics class exactly how Ernest Rutherford fired alpha particles at a piece of gold foil and so determined that most of an atom is composed of empty space. Not just a slide show, but almost an animation, this...
Curated OER
Blueberries
The blueberry is the star of the show. Young farmers take a close look at the blueberry in order to begin to understand the production of small fruits. They describe the factors that affect a blueberry crop, how blueberries are grown,...
Curated OER
Power
If you need to teach about power, this is an outstanding educational resource! It provides definitions of work and power, and gives examples to help junior physicists apply the information. The format is neat and the graphics are...
Curated OER
Design a Bobsled
Students apply their knowledge of friction, drag, mass and gravity as they design, build, and test mini-bobsleds.
Curated OER
Pump It Up!
Students design a pumping device that will effectively pump fluid through a model "cardiovascular system." They explore the effects of too much and too little pressure on a circulatory system.
Curated OER
Pooper Scooper
Science Students build a pooper scooper tool that helps them clean up after a dog without getting their hands dirty or their noses too close. They research the diseases that can be transported through animal waste and work in teams to...
Curated OER
Rat Round Up
Learners build a device that captures and carries a pet rat safely back to its cage with out "harming" the rat or themselves. They build and experiment with wind-up or battery operated rat cat toys after predicting the outcome of their...
Curated OER
Circle of Pong
Students, in groups, use given materials to devise a way to deposit a ping-pong ball into a paper cup that is located in the middle of a 6-foot diameter circle, while standing outside the circle.
Curated OER
Listening Devices
Students design and construct a listening device that will allow them to listen to the sound generated by specific object inside a box.
Curated OER
Pet Rescue
Learners, in teams, follow the process of design, including the stages of investigation, creation, and reflection, as they devise a way to help "save" a (simulated) pet who is trapped in a pipe.
Curated OER
Sensational Soil
Fourth and fifth graders explore soil by taking a simulated field trip under the earth. They go to an Internet site that runs a simulation which charges them with finding a source of pollution that could destroy all of Earth's soil, and...
Curated OER
Physics of Roller Coasters
Students design a roller coaster and demonstrate their knowledge of Potential and Kinetic Energy. They determine the average velocity a given marble travels on their roller coaster and apply their knowledge of various measurement systems...
Curated OER
Celery
Here is a wonderful series of lesson plans that use celery to faciliate all sorts of learning. By the end of the lessons, youngsters should know how celery is grown, how celery is used in homes and restaurants, and they will understand...
Curated OER
Plant Power
One of the most amazing processes for youngsters to witness in class is the germination of a seed, and the subsequent growth of the plant. Here is a version of this classic instructional activity that is actually quite good! There is...
Curated OER
The Rocks Under Illinois
The goal of this fine geology lesson is to have learners create a map that shows how the rock layers are arranged far underground where they can't be seen. The ambitious lesson plan requires high schoolers to learn the law of...
Curated OER
Insect Anatomy
A wonderful lesson plan on the many benefits of having spiders and bugs around us. Learners discover how important these bugs are to our ecosystem. The lesson helps young biologists see the differences between spiders and caterpillars,...
Curated OER
Three Dimensional Geology
Here is a fine lesson plan on geology designed for high schoolers. Learners use rocks, fossils, and other geological clues to determine the geology of an area. Then, they make recommendations to a fictitious city council about the...
Curated OER
Exploring How Rocks Are Formed
These lessons produced by the Illinois State Museum are quite good. In this one, third and fourth graders are introduced to the three basic types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. They perform activities which help them...
Curated OER
Streetfilms' Moving Beyond the Automobile
This is an exceptional series that you can use in an environmental or engineering unit. There are four lessons: "Sustainable Transportation," "Designing for Safety," "Changing the Landscape," and "Engaging in Policy." Each lesson...
Curated OER
Cell Wall Recipe: A Lesson on Biofuels
Biotech engineers discover that changes in the DNA code for cell wall formation can help create crops better suited for biofuel production. They extract DNA from wheat germ. They decode paper strips with codes and relate the activity to...
Curated OER
Get a Half-Life Student Worksheet
Young scientists use a worksheet to help them perform a lab on the decay of a radioactive element. The worksheet serves as both a task guide and a lab sheet for pairs of learners. This activity requires a calculator and has excellent...
Curated OER
The BEAM Project: Building Efficient Architectural Models
Technology or engineering teams are given a task to design, construct, and test the efficiency of a structure that will foster an even temperature throughout an entire sunny day. Intended as a long-term project, pupils research, plan,...
Curated OER
The Four Groups of Biologically Important Compounds
This is not they typical set of teacher instructions. It is an organized chart of the important organic compounds. For each, the involved elements, the name of the building block monomers, the names of polymers, extra information, and a...