Curated OER
Edible Bug Project
Students recognize the characteristics of insects. In this edible bugs lesson, students observe the body parts of an insect. Students create an edible insect using a grape, carrot sticks and sorrel stems and leaves. Students share the...
Agriculture’s Lasting Heritage
Apples Around Us
Apple tasting launches an investigation of the story and travels of John Chapman, also known as Johnny Appleseed. After listening to his story, class members craft a summary of the tale, chart his journeys on a map, and sample different...
US Department of Energy
Thermodynamics—Teacher Guide
I'm so cool! No, you're exothermic. This thermodynamics lab unit includes an introduction, teacher demonstrations, six labs that students rotate through each class day, homework assignments, application of knowledge, and assessments....
Curated OER
The Air We Have Around Us
Students listen to story, The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss, discuss air quality and how people affect the earth and its atmospheric cycles, and give oral reports on what they have learned.
Curated OER
Blame It On El Nino
Students study the weather phenomenon El Nino is and what causes it, and recognize how remote sensing technology can detect and predict El Nino. Students discover how El Nino affects weather conditions throughout the globe through research.
Curated OER
Are Butterflies Free?
Students use remote sensing to study monarch butterfly migration and human interaction to save the Oyamel forest (Mexico) for butterfly and human habitation.
Curated OER
Hummingbirds and Flowers: A Study of Co-Adaptive Relationships
Hummingbirds and flowers need each other to survive! Pupils explore the co-adaptation of hummingbirds and the flowering plants. They explain how a flowering plant has adapted to be pollinated by a hummingbird and how the hummingbird has...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Dog Gone Again!
Here is a real-life activity! Learners must plan the dimensions of a rectangular fence to reign in a runaway dog. They survey what shape and size fence is needed and use formulas to find perimeter and area of the fence. They explore what...
Curated OER
Sun and Weather
How is the Earth's weather created? Middle schoolers will explain how the Sun's energy is transformed into different forms. They will perform mathematical calculations of volume, mass, and temperature. They they will explain the...
Melissa Institute for Violence Prevention and Treatment
Concept Muraling
Concept muraling helps learners improve their comprehension of a text by giving them a way to organize their understanding of the key concepts in that text. Introduce readers to this process with a carefully scaffolded lesson plan that...
Teach Engineering
Above-Ground Storage Tank Design Project
The challenge: determine whether a tank will float. A design activity has groups work as engineering teams in order to determine the stability of given tanks and liquid contents. The teams need to determine the equations to calculate the...
Teach Engineering
Load It Up!
See how a marshmallow can hold up a bridge load. Teams take a closer look at the design of bridge piers. They determine the types of loads that might affect a bridge, and, using that information, they calculate the needed cross-sectional...
Curated OER
Attack of the Raging River
Students explore mass and volume. In this mass and volume lesson, students pretend to be on a hike and have lost their way. Students must cross a river get back on track. Students must use mass, volume, surface area, density, property...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Exploring Environments
Different animals live in distinct and specialized environments. Learners will discuss organisms and environments, and then create some using their dramatic art skills. They all act like animals in a marine environment. When they are...
Teach Engineering
Weather Alert
Every time a bell rings ... there is lightning in the area. The activity provides directions to build a model of a lightning detection system. Similar to a system designed by Benjamin Franklin, the system uses static electricity to...
LABScI
Botany: The Plant Dissection Lab
Study everything about plants! The 12-part series of lessons continues with an examination of many aspects of plants. Components of the laboratory activity address the growth and structure of plants by evaluating familiar plants. The...
Teach Engineering
What is Going on with Grandma?
Pupils individually determine what they need to know about osteoporosis and how they will find that information. They share their thoughts with a partner before moving on to share with the class. The class arrives at a list of a set of...
Curated OER
Remote Sensing and Landsat Satellite Imagery
Students comprehend how satellites use remote sensing to produce images. They use supervised classification with Landsat images. Students recognize that the earth's surface has different basic land surfaces that reflect/emit different...
Curated OER
Orbital path of Landsat
Students comprehend how Landsat satellites orbit teh Earth to produce images. They comprehend the elliptical path of satellites. Students recognize that a different orbital path is needed for different satellites to perform their tasks....
Teach Engineering
Edible Algae Models
Sometimes it's okay to eat your science experiment. A hands-on activity has pupils create models for algae to learn about its cellular structure. The best part of the experiment? The resulting juice-filled gels are edible—yum!
Teach Engineering
Clean it Up!
Harness the power of bacteria. Scholars see how using organisms that exist in nature can help solve human problems in the process known as bioremediation. They research and discuss several successful examples, such as using oil-eating...
Teach Engineering
Copycat Engineers
It's often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Young engineers learn about biomimicry, which uses nature to generate engineering ideas, in the fifth lesson of nine in a Life Science unit. Working in groups, they select...
Teach Engineering
Design Inspired by Nature
Let nature guide your engineering designs. By taking apart a flower, pupils learn about reverse engineering. They use the results to brainstorm designs for new products or ideas. This is the seventh installment of a nine-part Life...
Teach Engineering
Extinction Prevention via Engineering
It's time to save endangered species through engineering. The third instructional activity in a nine-part Life Science unit has young environmentalists study species extinction. An engaging discussion leads to some ideas on how to use...