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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

May The Fastest Toy Win

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers determine which wind-up toy is the fastest. However, they can NOT race the toys. They must find another way. On the first day of the activity, students work in pairs or small groups to develop and write a plan.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Auburn Cord Dusenberg Field Trip

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders compare two different vehicles and determine why the cars are designed differently. They write four facts learned from the field trip in their science journals including a fact about how force affects the performance of the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Changes Occur When Ice Melts?

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students explore the physical process of melting. They observe melting ice and answer questions related to energy transfer during phase changes.
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Worksheet
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Astronomer sees a 'Brake' in Cosmic expansion

For Students 7th
Seventh graders examine and read an article.  In this investigative lesson students discuss questions about the article and complete an activity. 
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Lesson Plan
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Pilots, Drivers, and Captains

For Teachers K
Students listen to the song, The Wheels on the Bus, then change the words for a boat.
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Lesson Plan
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Mechanics Aren't Just for Cars

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders are introduced to the correct mechanics of throwing. They work in peer groups to demonstrate proper throwing form and critique each other's performance.
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Lesson Plan
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Flying Tube

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students investigate how a spinning paper tube generates lift as it travels forward.
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Lesson Plan
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Deceleration of a Toy Truck

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders complete labs using toy trucks to study deceleration, record thier data, and then transfer it to graphing software to produce a graph. They create a lab report of the completed lab using a word processing program.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aerodynamic drag

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students construct a device that can launch spinning balls. One example would be a mailing tube with one side partially cut away, lined with sandpaper. Styrofoam balls should be used for the greatest effet. They are explained how a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Weightlessness

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Learners predict the behavior of coffee in a cup while it is dropped during a demonstration. They relate their observations to the weightless conditions that astronauts experience in space and discuss the concept of free-fall.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

ROLLER COASTERS IN THE CLASSROOM

For Teachers All
Students define potential and kinetic energy and explain the relationship of height to potential energy.  In this roller coaster lesson students construct a model of a roller coaster which will allow them to see the basic physical laws. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is Temperature?

For Teachers K - 5th
Students study the effects of temperature and air expansion. In this temperature lesson, students discuss temperature and participate in a role play of low energy and high energy molecules. Students then discuss their activity and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Did You Catch My Drift?

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students, through the use of the Curveball interactive software package, become familiar with the way in which the flow of air across or around an object affects its ability to lift, spin, and curve. After reading the explanation given...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Snowball Tag

For Teachers K - 5th
Students play pretend snow games, using balls of yarn as snowballs.
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Lesson Plan
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Earth's Orbit Lesson

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders devise a computational model to explore how the orbit of the Earth might change if its velocity were different. Using accurately recorded data, 10th graders defend a scientific argument.
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#22 Frames of Reference: The Basics

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the concept of frames of reference in physics.
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What is Temperature?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine how temperature is the measure of the average kinetic energy of the molecules of a substance.
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Colored Clouds

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders, in groups, examine how particles in warm water move faster than particles in cold water.
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Olympic Training Center

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students decide on an activity like running, swimming or skating for a performance analysis. They have friends or family members videotape them as they exercise, then review the video to see how they can improve their performance.
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Curated OER

Good Vibrations

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students demonstrate sound waves and make changes in the waves resulting in changes in pitch. Students associate changes in pitch in various "musical instruments"with size and shape and the sound waves they produce.
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Relational Causality

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students explore the concept of Bernoullii's Principle and how it behaves. Have each student fold the piece of paper in half. Then have them place the paper like a tent on a smooth surface. Have them blow under it (they can use a straw...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Simple Machines or Are They?

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students discover basic machines and how they make completing work easier. They identify two basic machines, the inclined plane and the lever and the functions of these simple machines.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Persistence Forecasting

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Learners study weather forecasting. In this weather lesson plan, students explore forecasting weather methods and do a forecast. Learners study weather reports and discuss the elements of a forecast. Students study the method of...
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Motion: Speed of Automobiles

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this activity, students will determine the speed of a moving vehicle using a stopwatch and meter stick, then convert the measurement from meters/sec to miles/hr. After completing this activity, students should understand average...

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