Science 4 Inquiry
Carbon and Climate
The carbon cycle is natural and has happened for millions of years, so can humans change it? Young scientists play the role of carbon as they travel through the carbon cycle. They complete two rounds, once before the industrial...
Curated OER
Indirectly Direct
Students use prior knowledge of angle and lines as they conduct an experiment with a rolling marble to determine the shape of a mystery object located under a metal pie tin.
Science 4 Inquiry
Layers of the Earth
We can't dig a hole through the Earth, so how do we know about the layers beneath our feet? Scholars learn about layering through hands-on exploration of common materials. They study the characteristics of each layer and apply their...
Science 4 Inquiry
Investigating How Heat Flows
It is impossible to cool down a glass of water by adding ice. Young scientists explore heat transfer through videos, experiments, and interactive games. They quickly catch on that the water melts the ice and things aren't always as they...
Curated OER
Create Hydrogen Energy
Learners complete an experiment to understand changes to the environment over time. In this hydrogen lesson, students discuss electrolysis and conduct an electrolysis experiment. Learners observe and record their experiment.
Curated OER
Learning to use and understand a database
Second graders were given a research paper and they were to answer the questions using the information found on the website. The website was a dictionary where the students would click on the letter to where they would go to find the...
Curated OER
Catapults
Pupils are introduced to the concept of a catapult and how it is used with the help of a media presentation. They use catapults in a large, open area and record the distances objects travel. Students use the scientific method while...
Curated OER
Was Goldilocks Telling the Truth?
Sixth graders explore the movement of heat between objects. In this heat lesson, 6th graders use the scientific method to conduct guided experiments regarding conduction, convection, and radiation.
Curated OER
Past and Present
Middle schoolers compare fossilized specimens to contemporary specimens. They use a computer and a Proscope Digital USB Microscope to collect and compare images of ferns, sand dollars and sow bugs to those of similar fossilized samples.
Curated OER
Crafting Models of Efficiency
Young scholars build and compare models of both an energy inefficient and efficient classroom. In this energy efficiency lesson, students creatively use recycled materials to build two separate classroom models. They factor in concepts...
Curated OER
What's The Big Deal About Accutane?
Students take on the role of epidemiologists. They investigate an "outbreak" in serious birth defects that occur in infants born to teenage girls. students discover a link between the use of the acne drug called Accutane and birth defects.
Illustrative Mathematics
Mr. Brigg's Class Likes Math
A quick discussion question that brings some collaboration into your classroom will allow your thinkers to make a decision about sampling. Mr. Briggs wants to know if the results from his class are a valuable comparison to the entire...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Are All Plants Created Equal?
Photosynthesis requires energy and produces food, and cellular respiration produces energy and requires food. An interesting lesson analyzes the factors that affect the rates of photosynthesis and respiration. Classes spend one day...
Curated OER
Map that Habitat
Students participate in an activity that replicates the creation of sea floor bathymetry by taking a simplified form of soundings in the classroom. They discuss sea floor mapping technologies, sonar, soundings, and remote sensing,...
Curated OER
Boat Hull Design
Working in small groups students develop three alternative boat designs. They discuss the rationale for the type of hull, propeller, location of ballast, and type of building material used in their design. They build their boat.
Science 4 Inquiry
Battle of the Waves
Which travels faster, light or sound? Scholars work in groups to simulate the ability for waves to travel through solids, liquids, gases, and through a vacuum. Then, they learn about the properties of a mystery wave and must determine...
Science 4 Inquiry
Monster Mash-Up of Genetics
It's alive! Young mad scientists create monsters as they explore the probabilities of genetic traits during a well-structured inquiry lesson. Pairs travel from station to station, rolling the dice and adding traits to their creations as...
Curated OER
Science: Seed by Design
Students, working in groups, create "artificial seeds" for a wind dispersal experiment. After trial runs, they redesign their seeds, and re-test them under the same conditions. Finally, they interpret, compare, and evaluate the original...
Science 4 Inquiry
The Ins and Outs of Photosynthesis
The most important chemical process on Earth is photosynthesis. Scholars explore the changes in the gases in our atmosphere as life on Earth developed. They create a model of photosynthesis and consider simple questions.
Curated OER
Can You SEA Walls?
Students explore how wave energy that is generated and transferred in the ocean. They explore the aspects of a wave and how its energy affects the ecology of the seashore. Students engage in an activity that uses the nature of science...
Curated OER
Energy Motion in the Ocean
Students explore the wave energy that is generated and transferred in the ocean. Through the use video and the Internet, students explore the aspects of a wave and how its energy affects the ecology of the seashore.
Population Connection
The Human-Made Landscape
Agriculture, deforestation, and urbanization. How have human's changed the planet and how might we mitigate the effects of human activity on the planet? To answer these questions class members research the changes in human land use from...
Curated OER
Candy Land
In this activity middle schoolers pretend that they have been hired by a candy manufacturer to design a box for a new product they are beginning to market. The manufacturer has pre-determined the volume of the candy box. It is the...
Science 4 Inquiry
All the Small Things
Scholars use sorting cards to try to define a pure substance versus a mixture. Risk becomes reward as they observe the differences and create a flowchart sorting matter into mixtures and pure substances (elements and compounds).