Curated OER
Online Exploration: Telescopes From the Ground Up
Young scholars explore a web-based illustrated text and interactive graphics to determine the relationship between the operation of telescopes and light. optics. They work in small groups to become an expert on one of the ten eras of...
Curated OER
Glaciers
Seventh graders summarize how Earth processes today are similar to
those that occurred in the past. They read excerpts from John Muir's "Yosemite Glaciers" and explain how slow geologic processes have large cumulative effects over long...
Michigan Sea Grant
Fish Identification
Using a dichotomous key, pupils identify characteristics of fish who live in the Great Lakes and explain how these features help them survive. In small groups, class members discover what features scientists consider important and...
Curated OER
MEDIEVAL SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Seventh graders examine the area of medieval Sub-Saharan Africa through eyes of travelers in the company of one of history's greatest travelers, Ibn Battuta. The project has been structured to include all the State standards for this unit.
Curated OER
Flying With The Wright Stuff
Students explore the history of flight, specifically the Wright brothers. Pupils create paper airplanes. They discuss considerations in building an aircraft such as drag, thrust, and weight. Classmates compare the Wright Brother's...
Curated OER
Squanto's Science Lesson
Learners explore Squanto's contribution to the settlers. They plant seeds and follow instructions for water and fertilization. Students keep a record of the growth of the seeds. They write a paragraph that tells what they learned from...
Curated OER
Ecosystem Services - Water Purification
Students see that ecosystems provide services to people that are essential to life as we know it. Reporters (drops of water) could interview the trees and soil in the surrounding ecosystems for news stories on how they helped keep the...
Curated OER
Water Purification
Students use the example of natural water purification to show that healthy ecosystems provide services to people that are essential to life as we know it.
Curated OER
Simple Machines
Students create a pyramid design based on the 6 simple machines that they are introduced to. In this simple machines lesson plan, students are introduced to the wedge, wheel and axle, inclined plane, screw, and pulley.
Curated OER
Anatomy of an Element
Learners discuss matter and atoms using this resource. First, they look at a website describing atoms. Then, they learn about the periodic table and discuss how it is organized. Finally, they create a comic strip to display their...
Curated OER
Stopping Deforestation in the Amazon: A Publicity Campaign
Students investigate the environment by designing a group project. In this ecology lesson, students identify the man made threats to the Amazon while reading environmentally conscience vocabulary terms. Students collaborate in groups...
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
The Zarkah Stone
Astronomy stars read the account of the Zarkah meteorite that struck thickly populated Park Forest, Chicago in 2003. In doing so, they differentiate between meteors, meteorites, and meteoroids. They will also be able to explain...
Curated OER
Archimedes' Principle of buoyancy
Students use the internet to research Archimedes' principle of buoyancy. In groups, they summarize the principle and share it with the class. They also participate in experiments in which they test the principle and share their results...
Curated OER
Sheffield Island Adaptation Activity
You don't have to visit The Maritime Aquarium to use this plan, but you would need to find a location where a variety of bird species live, re-write the activity worksheet to incorporate the local species, and purchase field guides for...
Curated OER
Carbon Cycles
Pupils examine the carbon cycle and how carbon atoms travel through it. In this energy cycles lesson students describe how human activities affect the carbon cycle.
Curated OER
What's a Capacitor?
Students explain concepts of charge storage, how a capacitor works and how DRAM uses capacitors to store memory. They construct a capacitor and use a multimeter with capacitance meter capability to measure the stored charge in the...
Curated OER
Stream Quality Assessment
Students investigate many of the factors that affect water quality. They take measurements and water samples at a local stream and evaluate the health of their community's watershed. They write a report detailing their findings.
Curated OER
Flying Too Close to the Sun
High schoolers research the myth of Icarus and his father and discuss the associated metaphor. They view the work of a number of artists and create a painting depicting the myth.
Curated OER
The Illusion of Race
This is mostly an exploration of race through an interactive website, class readings, and discussion. Individuals take an online quiz about race, they answer questions on a worksheet by visiting another website, and discover that race is...
Curated OER
Electronic Components
Students describe how resistors affect the flow of electricity. In this electronics lesson students examine transistors and what they do and how they work.
Curated OER
Inherited Traits
Young scholars work with a partner to complete an inventory of their traits and compare and discuss their unique qualities. In this biology instructional activity, students determine percentages for the frequency of observed traits of...
Curated OER
Earn a Quarter of a Million Dollars in Sports and Never Play a Game!
Students research and list various sports related careers. Students select a career and prepare a five- slide presentation highlighting that career.
Curated OER
"Investigating Soil Color and Texture"
Ninth graders will identify/understand the differences between soil and dirt. They will classify soil color accurately and use Munsell notation to describe it (Munsell books provided).Students will classify soil texture using the feel...
Curated OER
Urban Ecosystems 4: Metabolism of Urban Ecosystems
Cities are compared to living, breathing, metabolizing organisms. Fourth in a five-part series of lessons, this one focuses on the flow of materials through a city. Links to interesting websites and images make your delivery of...