EduGAINs
Form and Function
Will that structure survive the force? The differentiated lesson allows pairs to choose the structure they would like to construct and the building materials they wish to use. Individuals record their findings in...
Carnegie Mellon University
How Power Plants Work 2
In this second of three lessons on power plants, future engineers find out how we generate electricity and how coal-powered plants operate. They work in small groups to make electromagnet generators to light LED bulbs. A set of...
Carnegie Mellon University
How Power Plants Work 3
Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble! Find out what drives a turbine to generate electricity and whether or not it has an impact on the environment. A discussion and lecture is divided by a hands-on activity in...
Forest Foundation
Forest Health
Young foresters examine the strategies, like prescribed burns and thinning, that are employed to ensure healthy forests.
Forest Foundation
The Sustainable Forest
As part of their examination of forest ecosystems, class members examine how foresters, biologists, botanists, geologists, and hydrologists work to together to develop a management plan for sustainable forests.
Curated OER
Planet X
Students select a wide variety of presentation methods to compare Planet X and Earth. Students share these with their classmates. Students select other methods to present their ideas about a livable planet for human life forms. ...
Curated OER
How Does Your Ecosystem Grow?
Students consider that under certain conditions in nature tend to remain the same or move toward a balance. They observe populations and determine the functions (e.g., de-composers, producers, consumers) they serve in an ecosystem. They...
Curated OER
Severe Weather
Fifth graders identify the causes and effects of several different kinds of
severe weather phenomenon. They read an excerpt from John Muir's book The Mountains of California and research one of the following severe
weather phenomena...
Curated OER
The Human Memory
This is a well-designed, creative lesson to help learners learn more about the human memory. Working in pairs, students complete tasks and gather data. Excellent websites for resources are also provided.
Curated OER
Non Native Species: English Ivy-Landscape Plant or Deadly Killer?
Students study the impact that invasive species have on biodiversity and more natural areas.
Curated OER
What Makes a Cat a Cat?
Young scholars investigate the lives of pets by videotaping them. In this animal life lesson, students videotape a cat and other pets using school cameras in a computer lab. Young scholars review the footage from the cat and...
Curated OER
Snack Attack: Food Packaging Activity
Students design and create packaging material for food. In this snack attack lesson plan, students design a package to protect a food item from heat and water. Students consider costs of materials, design, and test the package to see if...
Curated OER
Lessons for Atlatl Users with Some Experience-Grade 6
Sixth graders experiment with an atlatl and dart. In this sixth grade data management mathematics instructional activity, 6th graders explore and determine the most suitable methods of displaying data collected from their...
Curated OER
Web of Predators and Prey
Middle schoolers investigate the food chain by researching the Internet. In this ecosystem instructional activity, students view the video "Competitor and Predator" and read a book from the series "The Magic School Bus."...
Curated OER
Now You Have It, Now You Don't
Learners compare shipping peanuts made from corn and made from Styrofoam. In this corn based peanuts lesson, students understand why to use eco-friendly materials for packing. Learners participate in an experiment to compare the...
Curated OER
Lesson: Living With the Farm Next Door
Discuss with learners why farms are growing in size and why there is sometimes conflict between farmers and their non-farming neighbors. Read the article, "Living With the Farm Next Door," and then craft letters to the editor from the...
Curated OER
Dunk It! Don't Junk It!
Third graders explore the concept of sorting recyclables. For this recycling lesson, 3rd graders determine how to separate recyclables from waste and how to sort recyclables into different categories.
Discovery Education
It's Too Loud!
STEM scholars investigate sound attenuation by conducting an experiment in which they compare the farthest distance that they can hear a sound with and without ear protection.
Virginia Department of Education
Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
August House
Go to Sleep, Gecko
Use this multidisciplinary lesson to delve into these subjects: English language arts, math, science, drama, and character education. After reading, discussing, and making interpretations about Go To Sleep, Gecko!: A Balinese...
K5 Learning
Space Based Astronomy
How much astronomy can you study with the naked eye? Learn more about the ways scientists explore the galaxy with a short reading passage and set of short-answer questions.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Nuclear Synthesis
Start this lesson with a bang! The eighth in a 13-part series of lessons explains the origin of elements beginning with the Big Bang Theory. The reading describes the formation of elements hydrogen through uranium.
NASA
Climate Change Inquiry Lab
With global temperatures on the rise faster than ever recorded, the effects of a heating planet could be devastating. Allow learners to discover just what the world is in store for if the warming continues through a series of videos, a...
University of Texas
Multi-wavelength Astronomy
Explore a land far, far away with a well-designed lesson that examines electromagnetic imaging as a way to obtain information about galactic structures. Learners begin to see the importance of looking beyond the visual spectrum to...