Curated OER
Finding the Ages of Rocks and Fossils
Young scholars practice dating fossils. They learn the concept of "deep time"--that earth was formed billions of years ago. They experience excellent hand-outs and virtual age tutorial links.
Curated OER
Carbon: Structure Matters
Students read the Who We Are Section on Calfee Designs Webpage and discuss carbon usage. They work in pairs to look up the minerals diamond and graphite then create a chart on the properties of each mineral then compare how they differ...
Curated OER
Our Universe: Designed or Evolved?
Students brainstorm and write arguments for Evolution and Intelligent Design. They research the history of each of these ideas. They also examine the controversy of teaching one or both ideas in schools.
Curated OER
Keeping Healthy
Students describe the relationship between exercise and health. They name ways to monitor their health and the equipment used to do so. Students name solutions to common health issues and explain why good nutrition and exercise are...
Curated OER
Teaching About the Properties of Water
Learners use video, Internet research, graphs and tables, worksheets and hands-on experiments to investigate the properties of water in a lake environment. They work under direction or through an inquiry process.
Curated OER
DNA Diagnosis
Students describe the fundamentals of DNA such as structure and replication. Given a picture of a gel, they circle the band that represents the smallest DNA, the largest DNA, and show which DNA sources are the same.
Curated OER
Inter-State Matters
Students explore the six phase transitions between gases, liquids and solids for a variety of elements. Each group of students focuses on a different element, investigating its physical properties during each of the six phase transitions.
Curated OER
Air: Fuel For Thought
Students consider the impact of vehicle use in their family and brainstorm viable alternatives to this use. They calculate the total emissions for their family cars during the week, then compare those totals with Hybrid car totals.
Curated OER
A Nobel Cause
Students research the lives and accomplishments of Nobel Prize-winning scientists and compose stories about what the world would be like without the accomplishments of these scientists.
Curated OER
Building A Topographic Model
Students visualize, in three dimensions, features represented by contour lines on a topographic map. They see that the different elevations shown on a two dimensional topographic map can be used to build a 3-D model.
Curated OER
Science Detectives
Fifth graders examine the differences between chemical and physical changes. As a class, they are read a scenerio and determine whether it was deliberate act or not. In groups, they observe the changes of an alka-seltzer tablet and...
Curated OER
Winds Go Spinning Around
Students simulate the Coriolis Effect to comprehend why winds in the Westerlies are prone to cyclonic and anti-cyclonic motion. They arrive at an explanation of processes that drive world wind patterns
Curated OER
The Breathtaking Nature of the Urban Explosion, Part 2
Learners explore ozone levels. They measure the concentrations of ground-level ozone in the atmosphere. Students observe changes in the concentrations of ozone over time. Learners complete a data sheet to record ozone readings over a...
Curated OER
Nanaotechnology: Small Science, BIG DEAL!
Students read an article that introduces them to the science and applications of nanotechnology. They discuss the the everyday examples of how nanotechnology is and can be used. In small groups, they observe and make inferences about...
Curated OER
What Are Alternative Fuels? Concept Mapping Alternative Fuels Investigation
Students compare and contrast the different types of alternative fuels. They create a concept map to understand their classification. They examine the properties of matter and energy as well.
Curated OER
Graphing and Analysis of Water Quality Reports
Students practice making graphs and interpreting them. They compare and contrast different sets of data. They use Microsoft Excel to create different types of graphs.
Curated OER
Fallout!
Students plot the locations of fallout from two disasters that polluted much of the world's air. They plot the ash fallout from the 1980 Mt. St. Helen's eruption to see what the wind patterns in the United States look like overall. Next...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Basically Acids
Students learn the basics of acid/base chemistry in a fun, interactive way by studying instances of acid/base chemistry found in popular films such as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and National Treasure. Students learn what...