Curated OER
Discovering a Law of Space Physics
Learners use data collected by an astronomer to determine the relationship between the time it takes the planet to orbit the sun and the average radius of the planet's orbit around the sun. Students use trial and error to find the...
Curated OER
Animals
Second graders explore the ways in which animals differ. They discuss the characteristics of insects and spiders. Students identify the characteristics of insects and spiders. They compare and contrast insects and spiders.
Curated OER
Tall Tales: Reconstructing A Personal Tell
Sixth graders discover the ways archaeologists examine artifacts and where they are found. After being introduced to new vocabulary, they use artifacts from their own lives and discover what could be told about their life from them. ...
Curated OER
North or South? Which has a better way of life?
Sixth graders brainstorm what they believe are the causes of the Civil War. They copy the blank circle graph into their Social Studies journals twice once for their prediction and once for the actual. Students list the following...
Curated OER
Persistence Forecasting
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...
Curated OER
Testing Weather Proverbs
Students study weather proverbs. In this weather lesson, students list weather proverbs and complete the worksheet to test the proverb. Students design an experiment to test the weather proverbs and conduct the experiments.
Curated OER
Clouds as Art: Torn Paper Landscape
Students create a torn paper landscape and use it to study clouds. In this cloud study and art lesson, students make a background art image from torn paper. Students create a torn paper landscape and use cotton balls to illustrate...
Curated OER
Clouds and Your Imagination
Learners study and illustrate clouds. In this cloud study lesson, students study clouds and then illustrate what they see. Learners use their imaginations to interpret images from the cloud picture they drew.
Curated OER
Wind
Students complete activities to study wind intensity. In this wind study lesson, students discuss wind speed and direction. Students then build a kite and windsock to help them study wind intensity. Students learn to use a wind meter for...
Curated OER
Historical Temperatures
Students research historical regional temperatures for their current season. In this historical weather instructional activity, students conduct weather station and Internet research to learn about historical regional temperatures....
Curated OER
Maverick
Learners apply probability to real life situation. In this statistics lesson plan, students play poker and make predictions on what hand they will get next. They apply their knowledge of how probability works to make their predictions.
Curated OER
Introduction to Density
Seventh graders define density in their own words. In this physics lesson, 7th graders solve density problems using its mathematical formula. They explain why some objects flow and some sink.
Curated OER
"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi"
Students explore nature by reading stories in class. In this animal characteristics lesson, students read the story "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," by Rudyard Kipling and identify the different animals mentioned in the book. Students review the...
Curated OER
Weather Forecasting Basics
Eighth graders analyze weather diagrams and weather maps. In this earth science instructional activity, 8th graders explain why it is important to know the weather. They complete a handout at the end of the instructional activity.
Curated OER
Investigation of Timbre
Students design an experiment to analyze the timbre of different instruments. In this physics lesson, students analyze the missing quality in sound. They discuss their results in class.
Curated OER
How Can You Study Things You Can’t See Like: Atoms?
Learners simulate how scientists studied things they can't see like atoms. In this chemistry lesson, students predict what is inside the numbered obsertainers. They design a way to investigate what's inside without opening it.
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: Learning From Leaves: From Observation to Inference [Pdf]
A lesson plan in which students explore plants from three different ecosystems and make inferences about plant structures and their environments. Includes discussion questions, a vocabulary glossary, and handouts.
Utah Education Network
Uen: Chances With Wolves
This lesson engages students in learning the differences among observations, facts, and inferences. Students will study about the reintroduction of wolves into the Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone Region. Students will work in small groups...
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Learning Lab: Every Picture Has a Story
Smithsonian Education presents "Every Picture Has a Story". Teachers can download this comprehensive teaching package in which students examine some of the millions of photographs in the Smithsonian. This amazing teaching package comes...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Investigating South Crow River: Discharge, Turbidity, Erosion, Sediments
In this field investigation, small groups of students will observe and measure characteristics of the South Crow River near Mayer, Minnesota. Data collection on these characteristics will include but not be limited to: speed of current...
National Institutes of Health
Alcohol: Separating Fact From Fiction
Students can use this site to observe the effects of alcohol on mice and discuss the ways in which alcohol harms and impairs the body. An online lesson, "Alcohol; Separating Fact From Fiction," has students watch video clips, engage in...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Blowing Up Balloons, Chemically
Learners will understand and apply the Law of Conservation of Matter; balance chemical equations; use the following skills: observing and recording data (observations) and making inferences from observations.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Boiling Water With Ice: Effect of Pressure on the Boiling Point of Water
For this activity, which is a discrepant event with guided inquiry, the teacher will go through the steps of boiling water with ice. Through the learners telling and recording WHAT is happening, the teacher is showing the students what...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Floating Foods and Underwater Eruptions: An Exploration of Density
Students explore the concept of density by investigating how several solids and liquids interact. Through hands-on activities and a teacher demonstration, they develop a greater understanding of density by using their observational...