Curated OER
Plant Growth - Light and Shade
Third graders conduct an experiment comparing plants. In this plant lesson, 3rd graders plant seeds and grow two varieties of plant comparing the light needed for it to grow. Students make predictions and record their observations....
Curated OER
School Lighting Audit
Students identify the data included in an energy audit. They perform an audit on the lighting in their school building. They complete a worksheet and discuss lighting issues with school staff.
Curated OER
An Approach to Chemistry via the Analysis of Art Objects: The Scientific Method, Laboratory Safety, Light and Color Theory
Students create a painting that clearly exemplifies the use of primary pigments to make secondary pigments. They demonstrate the distinction between value and saturation. They explain the affect of adjacent colors on each other and...
Curated OER
Effects of Environment on Memory
Learners explore the effect that environment has on memory. They analyze their own study habits and draw conclusions about their work behaviors. Baseline capacity is established for the subjects' ability to memorize an increasing series...
Curated OER
Science and Art Museum
Imagine each one of your learners on task and interested in scientific material. Learners investigate science related art by creating a small museum! Using digital cameras, pupils photograph different scientific actions that look...
Curated OER
Benham's Disk
Seeing is believing! Or is it? With this simple experiment, young scientists can explore the concept of visual perception. Attach Benham's disk to a rotating appliance such as a hand drill; As it spins, the black lines appear to be...
Exploratorium
Bubble Tray
Create jumbo bubbles and use them to teach about surface tension or interference, perfect for a physical science lesson on light or molecular attraction.
Curated OER
The Energy of Light
Students discuss different ways engineers use light. In this engineering lesson, students are introduced to the properties of light and the way light is used. They view a demonstration of light waves using a slinky, and practice using...
Cornell University
Plant Cell Crime Scene
Use science to solve the mystery of the Poplar murder. Pupils use forensic botany to determine if a suspect could be the killer. By analyzing images from a Transmission Electron Microscope, learners determine if the material found on the...
Exploratorium
Hot Spot
Not only does a concave mirror focus light waves, it can also concentrate infrared radiation into a hot spot. If you have a small electric heater and such a mirror, demonstrate this for your physical science class.
Exploratorium
Touch the Spring
Concave mirrors and the images they produce are traditional topics in the physics classroom. This resource explains how to set up an investigation of them, and it provides you with the explanation of concepts.
Teach Engineering
Human Power
How many humans does it take to power a light bulb? The 10th part of a 25-lesson Energy Systems and Solutions unit has learners conduct an experiment to calculate power. They then use the results to determine how many classmates they...
Positively Autism
Waiting While Riding in the Car
Traffic and stop lights can be a bother for even the most patient person, but when you have autism, that extra time spent in a hot car can be a real nuisance. Here is a great story that addresses the need to be patient while waiting or...
PHET
Where to See an Aurora
Where can you see an aurora in North America? After completing an astronomy activity, scholars can locate the exact coordinates. Pupils plot points of the inner and outer ring of the auroral oval and answer questions based on their...
LABScI
Circuits Lab: Lightbulbs
Electrons flow from negative to positive, but the general consensus is that current flows from positive to negative. Scholars explore current through construction of circuits in both series and parallel. The focus is on voltage,...
Teach Engineering
Nanotechnology and Cancer Treatments
Information on the biomedical use of nanotechnology, specifically in the detection and treatment of cancer, is the focus of a lesson that seems like it is out of a science fiction novel. Pupils learn about electrophoresis, which is used...
Into Films
Filmmaking Guide
Pixar, DreamWorks, Disney Studios. Prepare your primary graders to become the next generation of film makers with a guide that encourages kids to explore the possibilities of script writing, lighting, sound, editing, and post production...
Curated OER
Comprehension: Compare and Contrast Topics in Two Texts
A scripted activity can be a big help for new teachers. This fully scripted three-day learning activity provides teachers with the means to demonstrate how to compare and contrast two topics in two texts. Learners will work as a class to...
Teach Engineering
Stay in Shape
Using their knowledge of right triangles, pupils find out how far a ship is from a light house. Class members determine how far around the world a ship would be sailing at a constant speed.
Teach Engineering
Circuits
Don't know how to make the initial connection on electric circuits? This lesson provides the background to present the introductory vocabulary to learning about electric circuits. It is organized in a meaningful progression with an...
Lake Afton Public Observatory
Shadows, Angles, and the Seasons
Shine some light on the topic of seasonal change with this collection of activities. Whether it's by measuring the change in the length of their shadows, or modeling the earth's orbit around the sun using a lamp and a globe, these simple...
Curated OER
Nonfiction Genre Mini-Unit: Persuasive Writing
Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.
Reading Worksheets
Inferences Worksheet 7
Hone your learners' inference-making skills with this exercise. The learning exercise includes four passages that learners read and answer questions about. Pupils must note down their inferences along with textual evidence that support...
Schoolcraft College
Trigonometry
This trigonometry textbook takes the learner from a basic understanding of angles and triangles through the use of polar coordinates on the complex plane. Written by a mathematician-engineer, examples and problems here are used to...