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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Orienting a Photovoltaic Cell

For Teachers 9th - 12th
By mounting a light bulb on a stand and a PV cell on another, physics apprentices experiment with the angle of incidence. Their goal is to determine the optimum angle for collecting solar energy. The use of a scientific calculator is...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Electricity - Four Activities

For Teachers 4th - 6th
These are four classic activities used for instructing upper elementary electricians. The first involves experimenting with the Van de Graaff generator. The second is a series of hands-on experiences with static. In the third activity,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Kit Lesson #1 - Solar Cell Inquiry

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Give youngsters the components of a solar-powered electric circuit and turn them loose to figure out how to connect them in order for a light to shine or motor to turn. They compare energy output of a solar panel to that of a battery. On...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Household Conservation/Efficiency

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Hook your class up to an online home energy usage calculator so that they can estimate the amount used per month by their families. Then give them Watt meters with which they will measure the power consumption of several small...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sunrise/Sunset

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders discovver what causes the dramatic colors of a sunset by seeing the changing color of light as it passes through a clear container of water to which milk is gradually added. They measure the liquids and observe what happens...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sun and Shadows

For Teachers 4th - 5th Standards
Why do shadows look different in the summer than in the winter? What causes day and night? How can a sundial be used to tell time? Answer these questions and more through two engaging lessons about light and shadows. Fourth and fifth...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Where Do Plants Get Their Food?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Plants need food to survive, just like any other living organism. Young biologists analyze an experiment performed in 1610 by Jan van Helmont to determine if plant nutrition is obtained through the soil. First, lab groups work together...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Just Turn it Off

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students explore energy. In this energy lesson, students discover why it is important to conserve energy. Students discover how energy is used in items we use everyday. Students discover how batteries work. Students do an experiment with...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Greenhouse Effect

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Why does it get so hot inside of our cars in the summertime? The greenhouse effect! Lab groups experiment to see what happens to an ice cube enclosed in a jar and placed in sunlight as compared to an ice cube outside of the jar. They...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Sun: Earth's External Heat Engine - Part 1 of the Astronomy Model

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Designed by School Power...NaturallySM, this lesson plan familiarizes advanced earth science and physics learners about the variables that affect our supply of solar energy. They examine gas spectra and perform calculations. There is an...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Sweet Tea

For Teachers Pre-K - 2nd
Students study the sun. For this heat energy lesson, students use the sun's warmth to make tea. They place a few jars with tea bags and water in the sun and discuss what the sun is doing to the water while they wait for the tea to brew....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Kit Lesson #11 - Power Maximum: An Electrical Determination

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Collaborative groups connect resistors and solar panels in series and measure electrical resistance, voltage, and current. The objective is to order 16 solar panels from strongest to weakest. They graph current-voltage and power curves...
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

The Intertropical Convergence Zone

For Teachers 3rd - 11th Standards
Young scientists know it is hotter along the equator, but why is it also rainier? Through the process of completing two experiments and a worksheet, scholars discover the answer is the intertropical convergence zone. First, they...
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Lesson Plan
Discovery Education

It's Getting Hot in Here

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Class members engage in a STEM experiment and investigate how materials affect heating in a house by creating models of houses and using different top surface materials. They record the temperature inside the models and consider what the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Light Week

For Teachers 1st
First graders experiment with prisms to explore sequence of colors of light created.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Light Stick Chemistry

For Teachers 5th - 8th
In groups of three with the lights off and the shades drawn, investigators place inactivated light sticks, in three beakers: one filled with ice water, another with lukewarm water, and the other with room temperature water. They wait...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Light and Starch Production in Photosynthesis

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students are given the unique opportunity to see the contrast between parts of a leaf that have photosynthesized and parts of the leaf that have not. This visual image helps students see the results of this biological process. At the...
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Activity
G. Turrell

Science Activity 2: Light & Sound

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Little learners experiment with sunlight and map out how light travels. Using a mirror and slotted card, they find out about items that can reflect or absorb the light. They experiment with a variety of materials to find out how light...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dance: Sharp and Smooth Energy Qualities

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students use different qualities of movement to express themselves. In this lesson on movement, students use different qualities of energy and then use their experience as an inspiration for writing poetry.
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PPT
Curated OER

Which Plants Grew Best?

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
This presentation gives a visual account of a class's experiment growing sprouts under different conditions. There are three containers with the same soil and the same seeds. One of the containers got water, but no light. One got light,...
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Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Diffraction Demystified

For Students 9th - 12th
Study diffraction patterns using CDs and DVDs! Scholars measure the diffraction patterns of a light wave as it hits a CD or DVD. Using the information, they can measure the distance between the tracks. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Flame Tests

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students perform flame tests on 12 elements. In this flame tests lesson plan, students experiment with elements to observe their visible light spectra emitted as electrons jump from one energy level to another. Students record their...
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Growing Bean Plants

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
Plant growth experiments offer rich, cross-curricular learning opportunities that can really excite and engage young learners. In this series, children work in pairs planting, measuring, and comparing the height of bean plants in order...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Do Plants Need Sunlight?

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students investigate whether plants need sunlight to survive. In this plant lesson, students experiment with plants to learn about chlorophyll that plants get from light sources.