Curated OER
The Great Jellybean Hunt
Students explore natural selection and its influence on the populations to fine tune traits and characteristics. The acquisition of traits developed out of need is examined through a game played in class.
PBS
Predicting/Making a Hypothesis
Students analyze information from a variety of sources in order to create a hypothesis about the origin of an interesting family artifact.They create alternative hypotheses based upon available information to demonstrate that some...
Curated OER
Invent on the Spot
The best inventions come from a problem that needs to be solved! Given a container with holes in it, learners must solve how to stop liquid from pouring out. They work together to develop an invention to accomplish this task.
Curated OER
Bird Eggs
Students perform an experiment with different types of bird eggs to determine what factors make them strong and able to stay on a cliff without rolling off.
Curated OER
Color Dots 2
Students develop simple observations. They observe bleeding of colored inks with water, to understand mixtures, and to make generalized inferences from their observations.
Curated OER
Classification of Cerealites
Students create a dichotomous key. In this categorizing lesson, students create a dichotomous key for different types of cereal. Students classify the cereal into groups such as flakes and cereal with holes. Students discuss their...
Curated OER
How Toxic Is It?
Students participate in an activity in which they investigate the scientific method and seed germination as well as practice graphing and metric measuring skills. Students examine toxicity by exposing Wisconsin Fast Plants seeds to toxic...
Curated OER
Drinking Water and Water Purification
Sixth graders design experiments to compare the amount of bacteria in river water to the amount in purified tap water. They explore how water purification removes bacteria and pollution from the water. Students examine the steps of the...
Curated OER
Measurable You!
Conduct guided experiments and discussions while collecting anthropometric measurements. Your class will explore impact of experimental errors in a scientific system, and explain their observations/findings in writing. An introduction to...
NASA
Measuring Dark Energy
You're only 10 minutes late? Do you know how much the universe has expanded in those 10 minutes? Scholars graph supernovae based on their redshift and see if the results verify Hubble's Law. If it does confirm it, the universe is...
Curated OER
Biotechnology Laboratory Research
Young scholars participate in an extended laboratory research to experience how scientific information is obtained, upon which we build scientific knowledge and understanding.
Curated OER
Digestion & Nutrition: a Case Study
Students explore digestion/nutrition and utilize scientific investigation skills. They complete meal logs for several days and graph their results. After analyzing their data, they write formal lab reports.
Curated OER
Pendulums
Students construct a pendulums and experiment with what variables change or effect the rate at which they swing through an arc. They are assessed on scientific inquiry including the following skills: observation, data collection,...
Curated OER
Ice Melting
Students design investigations to test various materials to prevent heat gain in frozen water. The task assess students' knowledge of scientific inquiry including the following skills: observation, data collection, measurement,...
Curated OER
The effectiveness of Antacids
Students design and conduct a scientific experiment to test which of four antacids would be most effective for neutralizing acids. They rank the antacids in order from most effective to least effective and explain how they determined...
Curated OER
Using Inspiration To Support Logical Reasoning
Students share descriptions of science experiments they have conducted. They create a thin film on the surface of water in order to float light objects and observe that a paper clip does, indeed, float on the surface of the water at...
Curated OER
Current Thinking About Magnets
Students construct their own magnet and wire device. In this inquiry instructional activity, students investigate the factors affecting the strength of magnetic forces. They manipulate different variable to determine their effect.
Curated OER
Preservation and the Power of Light
Students identify the effect of light on objects. In this scientific inquiry lesson plan, students use a chart to write a hypothesis about what will happen when colored construction paper is left in sunlight. Students observe and discuss...
Curated OER
Science Lab Skills
Learners develop problem solving, decision-making and inquiry skills by planning experiments. They conduct systematic observations, interpret and analyze data and draw conclusions then communicate their results.
Curated OER
As a Matter of Fact
Elementary-aged scientists discover that all matter has mass. They are shown the difference between mass and weight, and learn how to calculate mass using the appropriate tools and methods. The scientific method is used while estimating...
Curated OER
Bird Ecology Unit
Tenth graders conduct various activities utilizing the scientific method to formulate a hypothesis, conduct a controlled experiment, collect and analyze the data and communicate their results through a poster. They also identify...
Curated OER
Crazy for Cubes: Art and Science
Learners discuss Sol LeWitt and conceptual art, then analyze the differences in expressing a concept through model-based inquiry and aesthetic art criticism. They develop a geometric, scientific, or mathematical concept, then create an...
Science 4 Inquiry
Snakes in the Everglades
The Burmese python is on the loose ... and he's hungry! Illustrate the differences between causative and correlative relationships through an inquiry instructional activity. Pupils examine several sources of information to determine if...
American Physiological Society
Did I Observe it or Infer it?
Take the mystery out of inquiry! When young scientists learn to use their keen powers of observation to make smart inferences about a situation, they are well on their way to understanding what the scientific method is all about. Using...