Curated OER
Get Charged!
Students explore the concept of electricity in this activity based unit. For this physical science lesson, students focus on electricity and electrical engineering. The teaching unit includes 5 activities to develop students conceptual...
Curated OER
On The Go! Forces and Motion
Learners create a car using physics. In this forces and motion lesson, students create a car and test which changes in design change the performance of the car. Learners complete a graphic organizer with the different changes they see.
BioEd Online
Serving Sizes
When it comes to eating a balanced diet, portion control is paramount, but what is the difference between the serving size on the nutrition facts label and a portion as determined by the USDA? In a comprehensive look at portion control,...
University of Wisconsin
Noting Notable Features for Rain Gardens
Eight groups in your class are each responsible for a different aspect of surveying the campus for a suitable rain garden location. Features to consider include water flow, topography, sun/shade patterns, land surface, vegetation,...
NOAA
Plankton
Dive into the world of plankton. The 17th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program introduces different types of plankton. Young scientists then use what they have learned to classify...
Teach Engineering
Magical Motion
Make solutions to projectile motion problems magically appear using equations. Pupils watch a clip from a Harry Potter movie and find the length of time it takes for a remembrall to fall into Harry's hands. They use a projectile motion...
Space Awareness
Investigating the Atmosphere - Air Takes Up Space
How do you know there is air? Can you see it, smell it, feel it? To begin the investigation, learners watch a video and discuss what they know about air and the atmosphere. Then, they participate in five different hands-on, inquiry-based...
Curated OER
Wipe Out
Learners examine the flow of water. They observe and test the properties of water by using sticks in flowing water. The lesson has streaming video, resource links to access, and a good hands-on activity that is clearly described in the...
Curated OER
The Roving Robotic Chemist
Junior oceanographers and underwater geologists describe the four major steps of mass spectrometry. They compete in small groups to simulate the tracking of a deepwater methane plume using imaginary autonomous underwater vehicles. Give...
Curated OER
Lead and Mercury Ion Catalase Inhibition
Students participate in a laboratory investigation in which they observe the effect of temperature and pH on enzyme activity. Students also examine exposure to heavy metal ions and the effect that may have on enzyme activity.
Curated OER
Fingerprinting Lab
Learners recover latent prints by iodine fuming, cyanoacrylate fuming, and dusting with powder, after a lecture/discussion on fingerprinting techniques. They each provide a fingerprint for identification by another student. A database of...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #8 - Positioning Solar Panels II: Explorations with Stationary Panels
This lesson plan is preparation-intensive, but well worth the investment. You will construct five or six portable testing stations with which lab groups will gather data on the best position for collecting sunlight with a solar panel....
Curated OER
Can Young Children Distinguish Between Living and Non-living Things?
What does it mean to be living? Help your young scientists identify living and non-living things as a result of their learning through discovery. Observation of and interaction with a set of natural phenomena in their community will make...
Curated OER
Roller Coasters
Twisting and turning through the sky, roller coasters are popular attractions at amusement parks around the world, but how exactly do they work? Explore the physics behind these thrilling rides with an engineering design activity....
NOAA
Wet Maps
How do oceanographers make maps under water? Junior explorers discover the technologies and processes involved in creating bathymetric maps in part three of a five-part series designed for fifth- and sixth-grade pupils. The lesson...
Curated OER
Condensation Polymerization: Preparation of Nylon 6/6
Students participate in a lab activity in which they synthesize nylon 6/6, calculate the percent yield by mass, identify the polymer as thermoplastic or thermoset, and determine the melting point, density and end-product use of the polymer.
Curated OER
Junior Solar Sprint Series: Gears and Drive Belts
Activate middle schoolers' minds with this physical science activity. Learners vary the diameter of gears and the number of teeth on them to find how energy output is affected. This writeup features well-developed background information...
Baylor College
Energy for Life (Energy from Food)
Energy comes in many forms, but how do living things get the energy they need to survive and thrive? In a simple, controlled experiment with yeast, water, and sugar, groups make observations about how yeast reacts with water alone, then...
Curated OER
Designer Colors, an Inquiry Approach to Flame Testing
Students investigate the spectroscopic colors unique to elements, and to use this information to create a specific color. They follow a detailed schematic to produce a spectroscpoe to be used in the testing.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Carbon, Greenhouse Gases, and Climate
Climate models mathematically represent the interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, land, sun, surface, and ice. Part two in the series of four lessons looks at the role greenhouse gases play in keeping Earth warm and has participants...
American Chemical Society
Diapers: The Inside Story
There shouldn't be any accidents with this activity! An inquiry-based lesson has learners explore the absorption properties of the gel compound in diapers. After testing its properties, they learn the science of the molecules that make...
Curated OER
Human Body Lessons
Students read "The Magic School Bus in the Human Body" and discuss the importance of maintaining a healthy body. They create a hinge and joint paper skeleton, follow the journey of a hamburger through the digestive tract, jump rope and...
Curated OER
#21 Films, Fibers, and Solubility
Students are introduced to how the differences in solubility of materials are used in the manufacture of fibers and films. They are also introduced to the various processes used to make films and fibers. Pupils prepare fibers using wet...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #1 - Solar Cell Inquiry
Give youngsters the components of a solar-powered electric circuit and turn them loose to figure out how to connect them in order for a light to shine or motor to turn. They compare energy output of a solar panel to that of a battery. On...