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.
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...
Cornell University
Vitamin C Module
Test the levels of vitamin C in different juices. After a lesson on the importance of vitamin C in our diets, learners use titration to determine the vitamin C content in juice. They use their experience with the titration to study the...
Curated OER
Critter? Growth
Students identify and use the elements of the scientific inquiry to solve problems. They explain concepts about the structure and properties of matter. Pupils write an explanation of polymers and how the characteristic of polymers...
Curated OER
Paper Plate Observation
Students analyze transits from previous scientists. They identify simple objects that could have been used for documentation in the science world. They also practice scientific inquiry using methodology.
Curated OER
Photo Scavenger Hunt
Students celebrate Earth Day by applying what they've learned about studying the natural world. In this Photo Scavenger Hunt lesson plan, students use a digital camera to capture outdoor imagery and to help them understand the...
Curated OER
A Pollution Solution- Taking Care of the Environment
Learners examine the biodegradability of different brands of toilet paper in a hands-on activity. Through this activity they also discover the steps of the Scientific Method and use new terms such as hypothesis, procedure, observation,...
Curated OER
Community Journals
Students visit a multimedia online journal as a model for their research and journal about their own communities. They examine writing for themselves and writing for an audience as they study the community and present it in more than one...
Curated OER
Snow Goggles
Students assemble snow goggle models and discuss how snow goggles change the amount of light shining in their eyes.
Curated OER
Gravity: What is it?
What is gravity and how do you explain it? Use this presentation to guide an inquiry-based lesson centered on understanding gravity through hands-on experience. Each slide provides a definition, example, or activity for students to...
Curated OER
Composting
Using 2-liter bottles, junior ecologists create composting tubes in which they place nitrogen-rich and carbon-rich materials. They observe what changes occur over two weeks' time. Provide more specific direction to your class as to what...
Curated OER
The Art of Science: Gravity
Through a series of experiments and demonstrations, fifth graders will learn about gravity. They will make predictions, drop various objects, write down their observations, and try to understand gravity through balance. This lesson seems...
Centers for Ocean Sciences
Ocean and Great Lakes Literacy: Principle 7
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take your class on an underwater adventure. The final installment in a seven-part series involving salt and freshwater bodies takes junior oceanographers below the surface in...
Curated OER
Monet's Japanese Bridge -A Scientific Journal
Fourth graders design a bridge and answer critical questions about scientific inquiry and enterprise in a Science journal.
Curated OER
Parachutes: What Affects a Parachute
Students create a simple paper parachute. For this parachute design lesson, students examine the effects of the wind and make napkin parachutes.
Curated OER
The Mystery Box
Learners work in groups with a wooden box that is sealed shut. They make predictions about what is inside the box. Before being allowed to open the box, the groups make hypotheses, conduct experiements, record results, draw conclusions,...
Curated OER
Wheels on the Bot Go Round and Round, Part II
Students hypothesize about the relationship between tire size of CEENBoT and ability to move a load. For this physics lesson, students design an experiment to test their hypothesis. They record results and formulate their conclusion.
Curated OER
Enzyme Activity: An Inquiry Based Approach
Using an inquiry approach to studying biochemical reactions, cooperative teams of high schoolers investigate hypotheses about living materials that contain enzymes which break down in hydrogen peroxide. They perform experiments,...
Curated OER
Enzyme Activity: An Inquiry Based Approach
Students explore biochemical reactions mediated by enzymes in an inquiry approach. They are given two questions about the types of living materials that contain the enzymes that break down hydrogen peroxide, and under what conditions the...
Curated OER
What is in a Name?
Students examine taxonomy and the use of dichotomous keys through two activities. They use a dichotomous key and create one of their own as well as create new scientific Family names for penguins using same word roots used by taxonomists.
Curated OER
A "Real" Picuture of a Scientist
Students share their own stereotypes when they talk about scientists. In groups, they draw a picture of a scientist where they are working and the tools they most commonly used. Using the internet, they discover how archeolgists use the...
Curated OER
Yeast Cells and their Environment
Students study the scientific method and explore how to design an experiment. In this investigative lesson students explore and hypothesis an experiment then carry it out to find the results.
Curated OER
The Tale of the Feral - Care and Multiplication of Feral Cats
Students differentiate between a feral cat and a domesticated cat. In this cat lesson plan, students use the scientific method, calculate averages, solve story problems, and learn how a caretaker can help a feral colony live safely.