Port Jefferson School District
Hurricane Katrina
Young scientists track Hurricane Katrina across the Atlantic Ocean as they learn about these destructive forces of nature. Provided with a table of data tracking the location and conditions of Katrina over a one week span, students plot...
Curated OER
Bouncing Bubbles
Students complete a variety of activities exploring the joys and science of bubbles. They listen to the book "Bubbles Bubbles" by Mercer Mayer, create a bubble picture using Kid Pix, and explore blowing bubbles. Students experiment...
Curated OER
Electron Dot Structures, etc.
In this electron dot structures handout, new chemists read about electron arrangement and how to draw electron dot diagrams. They complete a chart with the mass number, atomic number, isotope notation, number of neutrons, and Bohr...
National Earth Science Teachers Association
The Earth Scientist Project
Pairs of learners choose an earth scientist from an extensive list. They collect information by researching online or in books about the childhood, education, and major contributions made by their chosen scientist. When they present...
Center for Learning in Action
Challenge with Solids, Liquids, and Gases
There's a container for every matter—liquid, solid, and gas. Pupils design three different containers, each with the capability to hold one of the states of matter, and share their design with the class.
Curated OER
Showdown in the New Wild West
What is the root of the conflict between ranchers and environmentalists? Middle schoolers write their impressions of what an environmentalist is and does. They read the New York Times article "In New Wild West, It's Cowboys vs. Radical...
Curated OER
2nd Grade - Act. 23: Sprout Houses
Read the story "Sunflower House," by Eve Bunting with your 2nd graders to investigate the relationships between plants and animals. They will discover how living things change during their lives by creating their own sprout houses. In...
Curated OER
Lesson #2 ~ Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
You might love this lesson, or you might not. Basically, high school scientists read through a script in which someone interviews a physicist, a biologist, and a chemist in regard to their use of nanotechnology. The names of the involved...
Curated OER
Effects of Oil Spills on Environment and Marine Life
Students explore oceanography by conducting an environmental experiment in class. In this oil spill lesson, students discuss the human need for oil and what is at stake when we drill for oil in our oceans. Students read a book in class...
Curated OER
Our Poetic Planet - Writing Poems about the Earth
As a way to combine language arts and science, try this lesson on writing cloud poetry. Begin by showing a PowerPoint presentation and images of cloud types. Take meteorology masters outdoors to explore the sky using the provided "Cloud...
Trash For Teaching
The Light-House Project
Groups work together to design a lighthouse, from designing and drawing the wiring diagram, to creating prototypes of the switch and circuit, to envisioning and building a scale model along with a blueprint. By including different...
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Don't Mess with Mercury (Lesson A)
Mercury is the only metal that is a liquid at room temperature. Teach your class this and many more interesting mercury facts by assigning an engaging task. A public relations activity, the exercise informs pupils of the hazards of...
PBS
Earthquakes and Volcanoes
Earth's surface constantly changes thanks to a variety of geological forces; in fact, Australia currently moves faster than GPS technology. Scholars connect the idea of continental drift to earthquakes and volcanoes with the help of an...
Curated OER
Deep Impact
How can acknowledging opposing viewpoints reinforce one's argument? Use this New York Times lesson to study consumerism and the environmental impact of new products. After reading the article "Whether a Hummer or a Hybrid, the Big...
Curated OER
2nd Grade - Act. 25: Creature Creation
Create a creature using some of the characteristics of a real animal. Second graders will read a book from the "Froggy," series by Johnathan London to learn about the characteristics of frogs. After discussing and recording various...
Curated OER
Water Meter Reader
Junior high schoolers learn how to read a water meter, track their family water usage, and discuss the amount in class with other pupils. They will interpret real-world data and graph it. It is ideal for increasing awareness and...
Curated OER
Exploring Owls
What can young scientists discover from dissecting an owl pellet? Explore the owl food chain, beginning with an introduction to these predatory birds. Suggested strategies here include creating a podcast and purchasing a poster, however...
ARKive
What is an Endangered Species?
Even kids in grades two through five can start thinking about the part they play in sustaining endangered species. They consider what endangered species are, how they become endangered, and what conservationists can do to help. In small...
Baylor College
Plant or Animal?
Teach your class about the necessities of life using the book Tillena Lou's Day in the Sun. After a teacher-read-aloud, students make puppets depicting different plants and animals from the story and illustrating the habitat in which...
Curated OER
Weather
Sixth graders hear the book "Tornadoes" by Peter Murray, they use a hot list to research information on tornadoes. Then they create a group PowerPoint on the information they have gained on their research. They share these PowerPoint...
Curated OER
Bond Type
At the top of the page are a reading passage and colorful diagram that depicts the tug-of-war that occurs between bonding molecules due to electronegativity. High school chemists fill in a chart with electronegativity values, the...
Curated OER
Nuts for Peanuts: Peanut Plants, Peanut Timeline, and Peanut-s-timation!
Students complete a timeline. In this peanuts instructional activity, students read A Short Peanut History and use this resource to make a timeline of the history of the peanut. Students can grow peanuts in the classroom or make various...
University of Nottingham
The Periodic Table of Videos
Use QR code readers to turn the periodic table into a YouTube channel for learning. Scan an element and then watch a short video from the University of Nottingham examining the properties of the element, where it be found in nature, and...
US Environmental Protection Agency
A Mock Town Meeting on a Proposed Tank Farm
Intended as a follow up to the Protecting Your Drinking Water activity, young environmentalists use their assessment of the a hypothetical town's water supply to debate the installation of underground chemical storage tanks. With the...