Nuffield Foundation
Investigating the Effect of Concentration of Blackcurrant Squash on Osmosis in Chipped Potatoes
Model and explore osmosis using squash and potatoes. Young scientists expose chunks of potatoes to different concentrations of a squash solution. They compare the weights of the chunks before and after exposure to the solution and use...
EngageNY
End of Unit 3 Assessment: Writing a Research Synthesis
Ready, set, write! Scholars work on the end-of-unit assessment by completing a writing prompt. They then look at the model performance task from instructional activity two to create a rubric for scoring the exercise. Using turn and talk,...
Curated OER
The Little Engine that Could Mini Unit Plan
The best part about teaching little ones is setting up fun, thematic learning stations. Here is a full day of activities that all relate to the story, The Little Engine that Could. Included are six different activities that cover art,...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lego Atoms and Molecules: Chemical Reactions
Show young chemists what a chemical reaction looks like with two parts of a hands-on experiment. First, learners conduct a wet lab where they observe the reactants (baking soda and calcium chloride, with phenolsulfonphthalein) before,...
Facing History and Ourselves
Socratic Seminar
New to the socratic seminar format? Check out a resource that not only provides the rationale for the procedure and step-by-step directions, but also provides a list of suggested topics, rules and model statements.
Discovery Education
It's Getting Hot in Here
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...
University of Colorado
Terra Bagga
One way to identify possible volcanic activity on other planets is by testing the planet for magnetism. A science lesson begins with pupils constructing their own planet from a dead battery, magnets, paper, and tape before labeling the...
Teacher Created Materials
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Bring Julius Caesar to life with a reader's theatre approach that engages the entire class. The opening exercises model the importance of reading with expression while choral reading exercises permit class members to practice their...
EngageNY
Organizing Evidence from Multiple Informational Texts to Prepare for Writing: What Makes an Earthquake a Natural Disaster?
Fifth graders prepare for their end of the unit essay assessment by continuing to look at what makes an earthquake a natural disaster. They complete a graphic organizer and write a topic sentence. To finish, they view a model essay and...
Curated OER
Wherever We Go, There They Are!
The central video for this lesson is not available through the included resource link. However, the activity that simulates the passing of a virus through a population is impacting and the other resource links are invaluable. Use this...
Curated OER
Barbie Bungee
Middle and high schoolers collect and analyze their data. In this statistics lesson, pupils analyze graphs for linear regression as they discuss the relationship of the function to the number of rubber bands and the distance of the...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Wind Tunnel Testing
One of the factors that automotive engineers must consider is wind drag. The less wind drag, the more efficient the car will be. They perform many tests in wind tunnels, then refine their designs and test again. Using simple materials,...
EngageNY
Analyzing Residuals (Part 2)
Learn about patterns in residual plots with an informative math lesson. Two examples make connections between the appearance of a residual plot and whether a linear model is the best model apparent. The problem set and exit ticket...
University of Colorado
Terra Bagga
Earth's magnetic poles switch positions about every 200,000—300,000 years. In the activity, groups create a planet with a magnetic field. Once made, they use a magnetometer to determine the orientation of the planet's magnetic field....
Childnet International
Cyberbullying Drama
Target, bystander, or bully? Class groups watch a short student-produced video about cyberbullying and then devise and script their own drama to encourage discussion about this hot button topic.
Georgetown University
Cup-Activity: Writing Equations From Data
Determine how cup stacking relates to linear equations. Pupils stack cups and record the heights. Using the data collected, learners develop a linear equation that models the height. The scholars then interpret the slope and the...
Curated OER
Civil War Literature Circle
Historical fiction can be a valuable asset when learning about the past. Integrate several novels written about the Civil War into your social studies unit, with groups of four working collaboratively to comprehend the novel from...
EngageNY
Writing a Summary: “Middle Ages” Excerpt 1
What's this all about? Scholars learn the importance of summarizing skills using a summary writing graphic organizer. They work with an elbow partner to discuss summaries and complete the organizer using Middle Ages Excerpt 1. Learners...
Library of Congress
Industrial Revolution
Could you live without your phone? What about cars, steel, or clothing? Class groups collaborate to produce presentations that argue that either the telephone, the gramophone, the automobile, the textile industry, or the steel industry...
Minnesota Literacy Council
Grapes of Wrath and Pronouns
Many regard John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath as the great American novel. The lesson plan combines a variety of strategies, including partner work, independent practice, creative writing, grammar instruction, and small group...
Curated OER
More on Conduction and Convection
Why do some items feel colder when they are the same temperature? How should you keep your soda cold? What makes the wind blow? These are just some of the things middle schoolers discover when completing a lesson on conduction and...
Rochester Institute of Technology
Artificial Eye
Scientists in California developed a bionic eye that allows blind people to see edges of objects in black and white and costs $145,000. In the activity, groups of scholars discuss bioengineering, focusing on the human eye. They then...
Cornell University
Discovering Enzymes
Explore the function of enzymes through a series of lab investigations. Learners use household enzymes such as hydrogen peroxide to model the role of enzymes. The enzymes break down proteins with and without a catalyst.
Science Matters
Energy Flow
Budding scientists work collaboratively to reenact energy flow in a food chain. Scholars take on roles such as producer and consumer and perform tasks that symbolize energy flow in order to provide evidence of how much energy passes...