Curated OER
A Design You’ll Dig: Designing a Habitat for Worms
Students discover how worms contribute to the balance of the environment. In this composting lesson, students study the composting and decomposition processes. Students then create habitats for worms that allow them to do their jobs.
Curated OER
Scale/Ratio
Investigate the use of ratios in scale drawings. Learners scale objects up or down using ratios then find the actual size of something using ratios. They apply their knowledge of ratios as they make their own telescopes in science class....
University of Wisconsin
Getting the Word Out
An appropriate way to celebrate and conclude the construction of a rain garden is to share it with the community. Small groups collaborate to design an outreach product such as a PowerPoint presentation, brochure, or poster, to draw...
Curated OER
Hazards: Second Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Equip learners with safety knowledge in the case of an earthquake. After coloring the places to go to get help after a quake, and label places that wouldn't be safe to go after a quake, young geologists simulate three levels of...
Rainforest Alliance
Trees and Carbon
You'll find everything but the kitchen sink here ... or just a carbon sink. In the activity, pairs or groups of middle school learners go outside and measure a tree's circumference and height to estimate its carbon storage potential and...
American Museum of Natural History
Welcome to the Dzanga-Sangha
One ecosystem is home to numerous habitats—how diverse are they? Pupils interact with an online lesson to explore three habitats in a rain forest ecosystem. They discover connections between species and how they depend on each other for...
Curated OER
Save a Reef!
Design a public information campaign to improve understanding of the coral reef crisis. Read about and discuss the biology and threats to the coral reef. The class creates a public information program about the problems facing the coral...
Curated OER
Bringing Climate Change Into the Classroom
High schoolers investigate the greenhouse effect and examine the potential effects of climate change in the Arctic. They construct a mini-greenhouse and test its effect on temperature, analyze historical climate statistics, and conduct...
Space Awareness
Make a Star Lantern
Go star-gazing with young learners! They study the history, origins, and patterns of constellations in an activity that explores the starry night sky.
Space Awareness
What is Time?
Does it ever seem like time is slipping through your fingers? Model the passing of time with an hourglass activity in which individuals determine whether hourglasses are the most efficient way to measure time.
Polar Trec
Mini-Ocean Bathymetric Mapping Research Cruise
Middle or high schoolers transform into oceanographers in a week-long simulation. To begin, each group follows directions to create a model of the ocean floor with specified features. Next, the groups prepare to set sail on a research...
EngageNY
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 15
What do a cheetah, Audi commercial, and air have in common? They're all topics of an engaging inquiry-based, hands-on workshop for educators about background knowledge, reading strategies, the CER model, and argumentative writing. The...
Curated OER
How climate enters our world
Students recognize the different climatic zones. They describe what aspects differentiate the climatic zones. Students offer explanations as to what climate is and the role that it plays on creating regions. They rationalize why the...
Curated OER
The Clay Pot that YOU Built!
After listening to a story called The Pot that Juan Built about Mexican clay pot maker Juan Quezda, learners discuss this artistic process. Then, they discuss the special techniques used to make clay pots. And, finally, they make their...
Curated OER
Applied Science - Science and Math Lab
Learners investigate topology. For this Applied Science lesson students explore higher, more abstract mathematics using tangles. Learners make topologically related shapes.
Starry Night Education
Comets and Meteors
Comets are also known as dirty snowballs or icy mud balls. With your super scientists, create a model comet nucleus to discover how they are made and take part in a scientific discussion to learn how it behaves.
Wild BC
Weather Where We Live
Over a span of two weeks or more, mini meteorologists record weather-related measurements. What makes this particular resource different from others covering similar activities are the thorough details for the teacher and printables for...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Nature Walk and Ecosystem Introduction
A food web has no organism higher than a tertiary consumer because there wouldn't be enough energy left to sustain them. The fourth installment in a seven-part series begins with a nature walk to get pupils thinking about their...
Kenan Fellows
The Newton Challenge
Make Newton proud. Scholars apply their understanding of forces and energy to an engineering design challenge. They learn about simple machines, create a presentation on Newton's laws, and develop a balloon-powered car.
Syracuse University
Erie Canal
While canals are not the way to travel today, in the first half of the nineteenth century, they were sometimes the best way to move goods and people. Scholars examine primary sources, including maps and pictures, to investigate the role...
Curated OER
Nazis Flying Saucers – Film Sparks UFO Debate
Students explore the aircraft used in World War II. In this World History lesson, students read an article that describes a "flying saucer" created by the Nazi's. Upon completion of the reading, students answer questions on the article,...
Curated OER
Let's Take a Rock Apart
Students take a crushed rock and sort the remains of the rock minerals into different categories based on the different properties. In this sorting lesson plan, students learn what makes up a rock and how to sort something into categories.
Curated OER
Three Clouds Activity
Students explore how clouds are produced through three different age-appropriate hands-on experiments.
Curated OER
Vibrant Volcanoes
Students explore volcanoes. In this science instructional activity, students discuss the characteristics of volcanoes and view a video segment about a volcano. Students examine plate tectonics.