Curated OER
Temperature in the Sun or Shade of the Desert
Third graders use thermometers to measure the air temperature in several
places around the school and then return to the classroom to record the data. They create a bar graph and discuss their findings about the air temperature in the...
Curated OER
Jackie Gore
Middle schoolers identify the amount of heat given off by solar energy. In this solar energy lesson, students complete an experiment using soil and sand measuring the heat from solar energy.
Curated OER
Galaxy Mapping
Students research the constellations and discuss their findings. Then they construct their own maps of the galaxy using paper, black paint, aluminum foil, etc. They make a 3-D map of their chosen constellation.
Curated OER
Start at the Very Beginning
Students explore ocean ecosystems. In this cross curriculum art and oceans lesson plan, students create a collage featuring three-finger algae using sand paper, tissue paper, and construction paper.
Curated OER
Einstein's Big Idea
Learners investigate the concept of the Einstein's Theory of Relativity while conducting research using the internet and following the outline of the objectives to guide the information search. The activity includes background...
Curated OER
Conservation of Energy
In this energy worksheet, students read about the Law of Conservation of Energy and compare the 6 forms of energy. Then students complete 20 matching, 2 short answer, and 6 word problems.
Curated OER
Why Plants Are Green
Students discover the properties of chlorophyll in plants. In this plant biology lesson, students conduct an experiment to find where the chlorophyll in the plant is located. Students are split into small groups and study plant parts....
Curated OER
Ecology of The Sonoran Desert Soil Crusts: Biology, Geology
This instructional activity is designed after research done on the ecology of soil lichen in the Tucson Basin area during the summers of 1997 and 1998. Its purpose is to guide students into adopting the problem solving thinking of...
Curated OER
IS THE SUN OUR HEATER?
Students explore and discover how the sun provides heat to the earth, depending on the surface as well as the angle of the sun's rays.
Curated OER
Make a Refrigerator
Third graders explore the concept of heat transfer as experienced in wearing winter clothing and analyzing the refrigerator.
Curated OER
Parallel DC Circuits
In this circuits worksheet, students answer 24 questions about parallel DC circuits including finding the current drawn by resistors, the total resistance, and the voltage impressed across each resistor in the circuit. Students also...
Curated OER
Micro-Ecosystems
Students create a sustainable, self-contained ecosystem in a ten-gallon aquarium.
Curated OER
Why Do We Have Night?
Students engage in a fun, creative way to discover how the Earth moves. This instructional activity helps students explain why there is day and night. It can also create curiosity to further study the solar system and eclipses!
Curated OER
Population Growth
Students grow duckweed, observe what happens when an organism population is allowed to grow without predation or competition, view videos about invasive species, and develop a proposal for controlling the growth of an invasive species in...
Curated OER
What Plants Need in Order to Survive and Grow: Air
Young scholars conduct an experiment to determine whether plants need air in order to survive and grow. They discuss natural resources, analyze slides, and observe and record data from the experiment.
Curated OER
Hot Food
Students compare and contrast photosynthesis and chemosynthesis as processes that provide energy to biological communities. They investigate the energy content of hydrocarbons used in coral communities.
Curated OER
Solar Racing
High schoolers harness the power of the sun to design, construct and evaluate a solar-powered model car of their creation. They race their cars in a "Solar Sprint" race modeled after the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Junior...
Curated OER
What Plants Need in Order to Survive and Grow: Soil
Students conduct an experiment to evaluate whether plants need soil to survive and grow. They plant two seeds, one with soil and one without, make predictions, and record and analyze the seed germination results on a worksheet.
Curated OER
Classroom Meteorologists: An Experiential Approach to Learning about Seasons and Weather
Students examine several concepts about weather in the seven lessons of this unit. This year long activity helps students to gather data seasonally about wind, clouds, precipitation, and temperature. Earth's three climate zones are...
Curated OER
How Hot Is Hot In Namib?
Students research and demonstrate the temperatures of the Namibian Desert. They watch and discuss a video, conduct an experiment to demonstrate the desert temperatures, record their results in the form of a graph, and compare/contrast...
Curated OER
Bag Balloons
Learners demonstrate that heat can change air. They determine that hot air rises. Students construct a working model of a hot air balloon. They understand that there are two ways that a balloon can rise: it can (1) be filled with a...
Curated OER
Air Pollution
Students collect and examine particulate matter found in the air. In this pollution instructional activity, students use microscope slides and petroleum jelly to collect particulate matter from several different locations, then use a...
Curated OER
Zoom into Microscopy
Middle schoolers discover proper microscope use. In this microscopy lesson, students create picture books that show the detail of organisms as seen with the human eye, through a hand lens, and at each power of the microscope.
Curated OER
Basic Ammeter Use
For this ammeter worksheet, students answer eleven questions about ammeters, multimeters and types of circuits. They identify different types of circuits given schematic diagrams.