Curated OER
Good Vibrations
Third and fourth graders should enjoy this easy-to-implement activity involving a straw, and bottles filled with water. Learners manipulate the end of a straw in a way that results in a sound being made when it's blown. There is also an...
S2tem Centers SC
Seasons
Winter, spring, summer, and fall—take the learning of the seasons beyond the elementary level to the middle school classroom. Curious learners begin by watching videos about the seasons and the rotation of planet Earth. Then, they...
LABScI
Freezing Point Depression: Why Don’t Oceans Freeze?
Can you go ice fishing in the ocean? Learners examine the freezing point of different saltwater solutions. Each solution has a different concentration of salt. By comparing the freezing points graphically, they make conclusions about...
Curated OER
Plant Groups
Compare different types of leaves in a science exploration. First, third graders identify common characteristics of various plants, such as daisies, fir needles, and cypress leaves. They then determine if the plants in each group are...
WolfQuest
The Return of Gray Wolves to Yellowstone National Park: Right or Wrong?
Should gray wolves be removed from Yellowstone National Park? After researching the complex relationships between the various habitats and species at Yellowstone National Park, including humans, class members take a position on the...
Curated OER
Attractive Alloys
Include a lab about alloys and magnets in your fourth grade science lesson. Young scientists read the necessary background knowledge about alloys, then choose which objects (a screw, a bell, scissors, or coins) will be attracted to...
Curated OER
Are These Made of Metal?
How can you tell if something is made of metal? Use a table of data and a science experiment to determine which items are made of metal. The experiment requires adult supervision, as it instructs third graders to build an electrical...
Curated OER
Circuit Diagrams: Switching Circuits
Use a lab sheet on circuit diagrams in your electricity unit. Fifth graders draw two series circuits with diagrams, based on two examples. A science experiment prompts learners to use 3x5 cards to illustrate the way a series circuit works.
Curated OER
Does Soil Get Soggy?
Study the properties of soil and water absorption with a science activity. Based on a paragraph with background knowledge on sandy soil, silt, and clay soil, third graders choose which illustration represents a bottle full of sandy soil....
CK-12 Foundation
Development of Hypotheses: Pressure versus Temperature
Is it me, or is it getting hot in here? Middle school science sleuths investigate the relationship between temperature and pressure, then use their observations to form a hypothesis. Questions embedded in the interactive help guide...
Mathematics Vision Project
More Functions, More Features
Learners tackle a wide range of intimidating topics in this comprehensive unit that spans piecewise functions, absolute value of functions, and inverse functions (among other topics). Investigative group work alternates with more...
Curated OER
Liquids and Solids: Materials
Investigate the properties of solid and liquid materials. This very complete slide show is perfect for introducing liquids and solids to children in grades one or two. It describes multiple properties of solids, metals, plastics, wood,...
NASA
Is It Alive?
Determining whether or not something is living can be more difficult than it seems. Put your young scientists to work defining their own criteria to identify life, then work with three samples to see if they are alive or not.
Illustrative Mathematics
Accuracy of Carbon 14 Dating II
The scientific issue of carbon-14 dating and exponential decay gets a statistics-based treatment in this problem. The class starts with a basic investigation of carbon content, but then branches out to questions of accuracy and ranges of...
Curated OER
Pulling It All Together
Students review data about a health problem and prepare an investigative report. Teams trade reports and utilize skills developed from previous lessons to evaluate the critical thinking evident in the reports.
Curated OER
Scientific Method Goes to the Fair
Learners use scientific process skills to solve a problem. In this scientific investigation lesson, students investigate a scientific problem, work through the scientific method to form a conclusion. They share their work and findings...
Curated OER
Summer Science Lesson Plans
You can use these lesson plans to incorporate some science into your summer.
University of Georgia
Energy Content of Foods
Why do athletes load up on carbohydrates the evening before a competition? The lesson helps answer this question as it relates the type of food to the amount of energy it contains. After a discussion, scholars perform an experiment to...
Virginia Department of Education
The Effects of Heat and Acid on the Enzyme Catalase
How quickly do enzymatic reactions occur? Assist the class as they examine heat and pH change to determine the rate of chemical reactions using catalase as an enzyme. Watch them "glow" with excitement!
Curated OER
2002 U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad National Exam - Part III
Two laboratory problems are put forth for chemistry students. They are to plan and carry out an experiment that will answer each of the questions. The first asks them to investigate a relationship between the surface area of a potato and...
American Chemical Society
Recrystallization Test
Crystallize the answer to the question that has been investigated since the first of four lessons: What is the unknown crystal? Pupils have examined, crushed, and dissolved four samples plus an unknown as an exploration of the properties...
American Chemical Society
Solubility Test
Make sure to consult the teacher's handbook, Inquiry in Action - Investigating Matter Through Inquiry, for two demonstrations that can be done to introduce solubility and measuring crystal mass before having the class conduct this...
Serendip
Is Yeast Alive?
Through two investigations, life science learners determine whether or not yeast is alive. They perform tests for metabolism by providing sugar and observing if gas is produced as a byproduct. They incubate some of the sample for at...
Curated OER
Extreme Research Report
Investigate weather facts and figures to determine what has caused particular climate conditions. Research air pressure, temperature, wind, and humidity. Conduct online research to determine what air pressure, wind, temperature, and...