Curated OER
What Do You Do With A Butterfly Garden?
Fifth graders build a butterfly garden and perform caretaker duties. They volunteer to perform authentic tasks related to their personal interests. Students research butterfly gardens to determine what plants are necessary for the...
Teach Engineering
Strong-Arm Tactics
Experience collecting rock samples using a robotic arm with an activity that has pairs work together to operate a robotic arm. One pupil serves as the eyes and the other operates the controller. The objective is to be the fastest pair to...
California Education Partners
My Five Senses by Aliki
An assessment designed to examine scholars' reading comprehension skills takes place over three days. Starting with a read-aloud of My Five Senses by Aliki, learners then take notes and discuss their most memorable moments with a peer....
Teach Engineering
Penny Perfect Properties (Solid-Liquid Interations)
I can get more water to stay on a penny than you can! Collaborative pairs determine the volume of liquids that can be contained on the surface of copper pennies and plastic coins. The pairs analyze their results using graphs and go on to...
Teach Engineering
Engineers Love Pizza, Too!
Help overcome challenges in eating pizza. Scholars work in groups to design a device that assists a physically handicapped person eat pizza. They build a prototype of such a device to test their designs before building. To finish, groups...
California Education Partners
Follow the Water by Arthur Dorros
Assess scholars' reading and writing capabilities with an exam that challenges learners to respond to an informative text. Through note-taking and peer discussion, pupils analyze a passage from the story, Follow the Water from Brook to...
Curated OER
Rate of Solvation
Students test factors that may affect the rate at which sugar dissolve in water. They conduct two studies: One is to test the effect of temperature on the rate of solvation and the other is to test a factor which Students come up with...
Curated OER
Nuclear Chemistry: How Does It Affect Me?
Eleventh graders study the different areas of nuclear chemistry. In this energy and critical thinking instructional activity students study radiation, nuclear energy and weapons then divide into groups and create a poster.
Curated OER
Magnetic Force
Learners are introduced to the attraction and repulsion of magnetic forces. In groups, they observe how the forces react with different materials and record their data. They develop their own conclusions about the poles of magnets and...
Curated OER
Ice Cold
High schoolers design and conduct an experiment to investigate what happens when salt and ice come together and to determine if one form of salt is better for melting ice on steps and sidewalks.
Curated OER
Tadpoles
Young scholars examine tadpoles at various stages of development. They make careful scientific observations and compare the changes that occur at five different phases of a frog's life.
Curated OER
Sound And Motion
Students investigate the concept of sound and vibration. They use a tuning fork to make an observation. Students then propose the ideas of different experimental designs to test the concept. The ideas are constructed and then tested.
Curated OER
Heating Crystals
Students examine the effects of heating on various crystals. They answer questions in the observation category which assess their ability to use a variety of senses to observe data in a certain way- a scientific way.
Curated OER
Are Enzymes Specific for Their Substrates?
Students discover enzyme to substrate specificity. The experiment uses samples of glucose and lactose in combination with the enzyme lactase. Students observe the reaction between the lactose and the lactase; the lack of a reaction...
Curated OER
Heating Crystals
Learners examine the effects of heating on various crystals. They formulate and revise scientific explanations and models using logic and evidence. Students work individually during this experiment.
Curated OER
Coat Caper
Students examine pollen and fibers taken from a garment. They analyze pollen from new hybrids and compare it to the samples from the garment then make individual conclusions concerning the specific historical authenticity of the garment.
Curated OER
Classifying Living Things
Learners identify how to classify living things. They classify various concepts including family members, kinds of clothing, numbers, shapes, and vocabulary words. They discuss how to classify various concepts and classify pictures of...
Curated OER
Real Family Genetics
Learners research genetic disease and mutation causing traits in family pedigrees simulated in a class activity. Students are each assigned a genetic trait and a "spouse" and must conduct research on their traits and the probability of...
Curated OER
Erosion
Young scholars design and conduct an open-ended investigation using a variety of earth materials to answer a questions posed by the teacher: How does the erosion of sand compare with the erosion of gravel? After producing evidence that...
Curated OER
River Planning
Students use a model to conduct an experiment involving dam construction. Based on their observations, they draw conclusions about social, economic, and and environmental issues and make a decision concerning dam location. As a group,...
Curated OER
Classification in Action
Students work with a set of objects to set up both quantitative and qualitative classification systems. As a group, students follow an example to design and complete two classification systems using a set of objects provided. ...
Curated OER
What's Happening With the Moon?
Young scholars review the process of scientific inquiry. Using this information, they identify the patterns and cycles of the moon as it revolves around the Earth. In groups, they model the phases of the moon from the Earth and Sun's...
Curated OER
Major Functions
Seventh graders investigate the basic characteristics and needs of living things. They identify the major parts of plants and animals by making lists. Students focus upon one living thing and speculate how if one part is changed how it...
Curated OER
What Living Things Need
Students apply the process of scientific inquiry to explore how living things are dependent on one another for survival. They match animals with their generalized food source. Students predict what happens to the organisms when their...