DiscoverE
Harmless Holder
Here's a lesson that's not for the birds! Scholars design and build packaging for soda cans that is environmentally friendly. These packages must be durable, easy to carry, and have no environmental impact.
John Wiley & Sons
Games, Role Plays, and Exercises
Whether you're lost at sea, lost in the woods, or testing communication skills, teamwork is always important. Build your middle and high schoolers' cooperative and collaborative skills with four activities that prompts groups to compete...
DiscoverE
Make a Light Bulb
Could you reinvent the light bulb? Scholars tap into their inner Thomas Edisons to build a light bulb prototype out of a jar and some wires. They see how long the filament wire glows in the jar (batteries not included) to measure their...
DiscoverE
Hidden Alarm
It's time to wake up! Young engineers build an electric circuit that will activate an alarm. The use of switches in the circuit is a must—because you don't want the alarm to keep beeping forever!
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Schoolyard Biodiversity Investigation Educator Guide
In 1980, in the tropical rainforests of Panama, scientists discovered 1,200 species of beetles living in and around just 19 trees, with most of the species new to science—that's biodiversity! In the activity, learners work in teams to...
Practical Action
The Wind Power Challenge
Up it goes! Groups must design and build a windmill able to lift a weight. The packet includes discussion points to use prior to the build that cover topics such as variables, fairness, and the design process.
Bowland
Sundials!
Time to learn about sundials. Scholars see how to build sundials after learning about Earth's rotation and its relation to time. The unit describes several different types of possible sundials, so choose the one that fits your needs — or...
Tech Museum of Innovation
Human Body Exhibit
Explore human anatomy and physiology using models. Scholars study systems of the human body and design a display for a museum exhibit. To complete the activity, individuals create analogous models of their chosen human body systems.
Rochester Institute of Technology
Artificial Hearing
Your sense of hearing depends upon tiny hairs deep inside your ear and if you lose these hairs, you lose your hearing. Here, groups explore hearing through the decibel measurement of common sounds. As a class, participants discuss...
Echoes & Reflections
Contemporary Antisemitism
Despite the recognized atrocities of the Holocaust, anti-semitism continues. The 11th and final installment of the Teaching the Holocaust series explores the long-term effects of the Holocaust on modern anti-semitism, asking pupils to...
Achieve
Dairy Barn
Agriculture is truly a math-based profession! Help the dairy farmer determine the supplies needed to complete his barn. Using given dimensions, learners build equations and use units to determine the correct amount of materials.
RAND Corporation
Project ALERT
Why do people use drugs? What are the consequences? The alternatives? How can young people resist the pressures to use drugs? The Project Alert drug prevention program provides middle schoolers with the information they need and the...
National Arts Centre
Create a Set Design
Groups create a set for a play or story they select, build a model, and share their stage with the class. The team explains the rationale for their choices and the mood they feel their staging creates.
Smithsonian Institution
Weather Widget
What's so difficult about predicting the weather? Scholars work collaboratively to build a device that models how meteorologists use computers to forecast weather. Team members collect and interpret data while working together to...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Generalizing Patterns: Table Tiles
As part of a study of geometric patterns, scholars complete an assessment task determining the number of tiles needed to cover a tabletop. They then evaluate provided sample responses to see different ways to solve the same problems.
Reed Novel Studies
The Wind In The Willows: Novel Study
True friends stick together. In the case of The Wind In The Willows, the friends just happen to be a toad, mole, rat, and badger who team up to beat the weasels. The resource covers the first chapter of their raucous adventures. Scholars...
It's About Time
Photosynthesis, Respiration, and the Carbon Cycle
Provide your class with the opportunity to view our carbon cycle close up. Young scientists research the cycle of oxygen as it completes the tasks of photosynthesis and respiration. They explore the importance of carbon in an ecosystem...
EngageNY
Using Sample Data to Compare the Means of Two or More Populations
Determine whether there is a difference between two grades. Teams generate random samples of two grade levels of individuals. Groups use the mean absolute deviation to determine whether there is a meaningful difference between the...
EngageNY
Creating a Histogram
Display data over a larger interval. The fourth segment in a 22-part unit introduces histograms and plotting data within intervals to the class. Pupils create frequency tables with predefined intervals to build histograms. They describe...
Cornell University
Beam Focusing Using Lenses
Explore optics using an inquiry-based experimental approach! Young scholars use a set of materials to design and build a unit capable of focusing a beam of light. They experiment with different lenses to determine the best approach to...
DiscoverE
Arts and Engineering Activity Packet: Grades 3-5
Art and science sometimes go hand in hand. A set of four activities for learners in grades 3-5 teaches engineering concepts as part of art projects. Class members build homemade robots, elastic puppets, musical instruments, and...
Curated OER
Words in the News Solar Sail
Bring current events into your classroom! Middle schoolers complete word work activities before reading and discussing an online article. They complete worksheets and an online quiz. They discuss the Solar Sail as radical new idea and...
Curated OER
Can You Count on Cans?
How can a canned food drive be connected to math? It's as simple as counting and organizing the cans! Children demonstrate their ability to sort non-perishable foods into categories that include soup cans, vegetable cans, boxed items,...
Curated OER
WHALES: GIANTS OF THE DEEP
Young scholars study humpback whale migrations, feeding, social organization, population, scientific investigations and compare humpback whales , research to explore a specific type of whale, and create their own replica of a whale.