University of Saskatchewan
Using Conservation of Energy to Determine Average Impact Force
Explore the center of gravity with your science class as they create a deadfall trap with common materials. They research the concepts of energy conservation and gravitational force before dividing into small groups to create a model of...
Cornell University
Catapults
Ready, aim, fire! Launch to a new level of understanding as scholars build and test their own catapults. Learners explore lever design and how adjusting the fulcrum changes the outcome.
Curated OER
Ratios And Scale
students investigate the concept of using a ratio in the work of construction and solve problems using real life applications. They read descriptions of how various types of construction professionals use ratios on the job. The lesson...
Clarkson University
Understanding Energy (With a Pendulum)
Have you ever wanted to play with a giant pendulum? An experiment allows small groups to do just that. They gather data and make observations as they complete the included worksheet. The instructional activity lays out each instruction...
University of Minnesota
What's the Deal? Addiction Card Game
Addiction is a big deal! Playing a game of cards helps learners understand the concept of addiction. Through their analysis, they examine the potential for addiction and how it varies for each individual.
University of Minnesota
Dendritic Spines Lab
This is your brain on drugs ... literally! Your neuroscientists-in-training examine the evidence of drug use on the human brain and how neurons change their connectivity when altered by drugs. They then work together to create testing...
Oklahoma State Department of Education
Narrative Prompt
Reading about history is nothing like experiencing it firsthand. Encourage your eighth graders to do the next best thing with a historical narrative prompt, in which they describe the experience of a first-time traveler on the...
Virginia Department of Education
Biotechnological Issues and Bioethics
Culminate a bioethics unit with the implementation of a lesson that incorporates the Socratic method to encourage class feedback and participation. Pupils participate in a discussion on bioethics and morality, complete a writing seminar,...
University of Minnesota
Virtual Neurons
It's electric! Young anatomists use Virtual Neurons software to build, control, and analyze complex nerve circuits within the body. Colorful and packed with content, class members enjoy interacting with the nervous system at a personal...
Columbus City Schools
Making Waves
Learning about waves can have its ups and downs, but a demo-packed tool kit has the class "standing" for more! Learners gain experience with several different wave types, organizing observations and data, and wave terminology. The...
University of Minnesota
Sheep Brain Dissection
Bored with frog and earthworm dissections? Had your fill of fetal pigs? Anatomy students will be intrigued by the sheep's brain, and you will be prepared with guiding questions, extension activities, and pictures as they dissect one —...
Discovery Education
Smoke on the Water
How do clouds form? Learners demonstrate the formation of clouds and the water cycle by testing four different setups in a plastic bottle. They identify the key components of a cloud to help them understand the process of cloud...
Workforce Solutions
On the Job
Four lessons spotlight a variety of professions while boosting listening and observational skills and making inferences. Lesson one challenges pupils to group cards based on a commonality then justify the relationship they see. Lesson...
Curated OER
TE Lesson: Kinetic and Potential Energy of Motion
Young scholars investigate the difference between potential and kinetic energy. They examine the formulae associated with both types of energy. They complete how quickly a pendulum with swing by converting potential energy into kinetic...
Curated OER
Water Into Gas
Learners investigate how temperature and pressure cause a material to change phase. They heat water to reclaim a gas. They demonstrate that different liquids evaporate at different temperatures.
Curated OER
Air and Water Pressure
Students examine buoyancy and fluid pressure. They conduct a series of fun experiments to discover the effects of pressure and explore how pressure differences can be used to float, lift, transport, or hold a material in place.
Curated OER
TE Lesson: Navigating at the Speed of Satellites
Students study the basic concepts of the Global Positioning System and how it increases the accuracy of navigation. They examine trilateration and how the speed of light is used to calculate distances.
Curated OER
TE Activity: Space Shelter
Students simulate that they need to develop a new home on a different planet. They design a shelter that will ensure their survival after researching the characteristics of the other planet. They write an essay about their home design.
Curated OER
Bouncing Balls
Middle schoolers work together to examine how different types of balls react to colliding with different surfaces. They discover the difference between elastic and inelastic collisions. They practice calculating momentum as well.
Curated OER
Simple Machines - Inclined Plane
Students learn the fundamentals and daily applications of simple machines.
Curated OER
Calibrating a Roverbot
Students build and program a Lego Mindstorms Roverbot to travel for a given amount of time. They gather data on time versus distance traveled to determine a calibration constant for their robot, which relates time to distance.
Curated OER
Technology of the Deep: Experiments with Buoyant Forces
Students conduct a series of experiments to study the effects of temperature and salinity on the buoyancy of an object in water. They devise ways to make floating and sinking objects neutrally buoyant.
Curated OER
Cost Effective Egg Drop
Students create cost effective ways to protect an egg. In this cost conscious lesson plan, students complete an egg drop activity while spending the least amount of money possible.
Curated OER
Radius, Diameter and Area
Students identify the radius and diameter of a circle. In this geometry lesson, students calculate the volume and area of a cylinder and circle. They relate the circumference of a circle to Pi.