Curated OER
Red, Green, and Blue Mystery Liquids! Hypothesis or Inference?
Eighth graders are actively involved in the scientific method and inquiry as they form quick hypotheses based upon a teacher set of mystery liquids. They determine the need to make additional observations of the liquids.
Curated OER
Weather Observation Journal
Young scholars research weather patterns. In this weather lesson, students read Chester Noongwook's Rules of Weather Observation and keep a weather journal for one month. Young scholars observe the weather patterns throughout the month.
Curated OER
Baggie Science
Students observe and describe a chemical reaction. For this chemistry lesson, students record observations of the materials they will be using, then follow a written procedure to perform the experiment in a baggie and record their...
Curated OER
Traditional Weather Observations
Learners explore traditional methods of weather observation. In this weather instructional activity, students interview grown-ups regarding wind. Learners learn how winds can help forecast weather.
Curated OER
Science: Birds in Flight
Young scholars identify and examine adaptations in birds that enable them to fly. They conduct Internet research to relate these adaptations to the physics of flight. Students observe birds in flight and describe their behavior and...
Curated OER
A Siouan Village
Fourth graders examine the artifacts obtained from an excavated Siouan village site. They make inferences about the people who once lived there based on the artifacts and complete a Research Team Report.
Curated OER
Motel of Mysteries
Students determine that even though inferences are based on observations that does not mean they are always true or correct. They pull the topics and main ideas out of a piece of difficult text.
Curated OER
Color Dots 2
Students develop simple observations. They observe bleeding of colored inks with water, to understand mixtures, and to make generalized inferences from their observations.
Curated OER
Archaeology
Students compare and contrast the role of scientists with that of archaeologists. They also describe the roles of observations and evidence in science.
Curated OER
Simple Machines
Students investigate simple machines. In this simple machines lesson, students construct two simple machines and describe what they do. Students show that simple changes help machines do work with less effort. Students use a paper clip...
Curated OER
Using Your Senses
Students make observations. In this sensory skills instructional activity, students use their senses as well as tools that sharpen their senses to make observations regarding foods and other items.
Curated OER
Archaeology
High schoolers examine how observations lead to investigations, and how archaeologists conduct their investigation.
Curated OER
Get a Leg Up
Traveling through space is an amazing experience, but it definitely takes a toll on the body. After reading an article and watching a brief video, learners perform an experiment that simulates the effects of zero gravity on the human body.
National Wildlife Federation
Get Your Techno On
Desert regions are hotter for multiple reasons; the lack of vegetation causes the sun's heat to go straight into the surface and the lack of moisture means none of the heat is being transferred into evaporation. This concept, and other...
Curated OER
More on Temperature and Solubility
Learners discover how temperature effects the solubility of solutes by experimenting with a range of temperatures. They develop skills for observing, inferring, measuring, comparing and contrasting.
Curated OER
Temperature Effects on Solubility
Students determine the solubility of salt in water at three different temperatures and graph the results. They use the following skills: observing, inferring, and graphing.
Curated OER
Evaluating Observations and Measurements
Third graders review the scientific method and how and in which steps scientists use observations and measurements. Then as a class, they hypothesize which ramp will send the car the farthest. They break into groups and send cars down a...
Curated OER
Mysterious Footprints
Students, after observing and responding to two pictures, consider the interaction of two unknown animals by examining the pattern of their footprints. They make observations, draw conclusions and propose possible explanations for the...
Towson University
Case of the Crown Jewels
Can your biology class crack the Case of the Crown Jewels? Junior forensics experts try their hands at DNA restriction analysis in an exciting lab activity. The lesson introduces the concept of restriction analysis, teaches pipetting and...
Towson University
Looking Backwards, Looking Forward
How do scientists know what Earth's climate was like millions of years ago? Young environmental scholars discover how researchers used proxy data to determine the conditions present before written record. Grouped pupils gain experience...
NOAA
A Quest for Anomalies
Sometimes scientists learn more from unexpected findings than from routine analysis! Junior oceanographers dive deep to explore hydrothermal vent communities in the fourth lesson in a series of five. Scholars examine data and look for...
NOAA
Off Base
How does carbon dioxide affect the world's oceans? The final installment in a series of six lessons has pupils research ocean acidification, then conduct an experiment to witness the delicate balance that exists in our seas. Materials...
Science 4 Inquiry
The Ups and Downs of Populations
Life has its ups and downs ... especially if you're an animal! Biology scholars engage in a population study through an inquiry-based instructional activity. Pupils work together to explore the factors that affect deer populations, then...
Curated OER
Classification of Animals
Middle schoolers identify observable features of eight dinosaurs and create a sorting chart using SMART Notebook on a SMART Board (or, in case you do not have a SMART Board, a chalk or dry-erase board).