Curated OER
Spy on a Spider
Students view slides or live specimens to name and describe the distinguishing features of groups of arthropods, especially spiders and insects. They complete worksheets, observe webs and then search for and record where spiders can be...
Curated OER
Planting A Garden On Campus
Students investigate the school campus area in order to plan the best spot for a class garden. They create a map of the school and research the different types of soil that exist in order to find the best spot. The class takes the...
Curated OER
Hydroponics
High schoolers discuss the concept of hydroponics. They create and run their own hydroponics system. They record and analyze the data they collect.
Curated OER
Silicate Gardens
Students take digital pictures of their Silicate Gardens as an analysis of measurements of silicate tube growth. In this silicate measurements lesson, students download pictures of Silicate Gardens being grown on the International...
Curated OER
Earth
Fourth graders engage in a study of the solar system. The teacher constructs an outside model of it. They walk through it making constructive observations. Students conduct a class discussion about the solar system and planets. They...
Curated OER
Space - In Your Face or Not?
Second graders, in groups, examine how it doesn't matter if they can see the planets in the solar system or not--they're there.
Curated OER
Beyond the Tap
Young scholars explain the basic properties of a watershed including how water flows from higher to lower elevations and how watersheds are interconnected. They comprehend how the placement of buildings, roads, and parking lots can be...
Curated OER
Groundwater Modeling
Students evaluate the effects of point and non-pointy sources of water pollution using a model. They assess human impact on water quality. Students build a model which represents an aspect of the hydrosphere and compare their model with...
Curated OER
Time Marches On
Students research the development of remote sensing, various instruments used throughout time and create a time line depicting the history of remote sensing.
Curated OER
Permeability of Earth Materials
Students observe and classify the permeability of a variety of materials.
Curated OER
An Investigation into Effects of Rhizobium Soil Bacteria on Nitrogen Availability
Students identify the control and the variables in the experiment. They describe the growth of plants with and without nitrogen fixing bacteria, then name the bacterium responsible for making nitrogen available to the plant.
Curated OER
Native Species Restoration and its Impact on Local Populations
Students watch video clips of ecosystems and answer questions relating to them.
Curated OER
Rock Cycles, Crayon Cycles
Learners examine the rock cycle and the path that rocks go through to rearranged in different ways. They define key vocabulary terms, then in small groups conduct a variety of experiments using crayon shavings as simulated rocks and...
Curated OER
Timelines
Students examine evolutionary history; the earth's timeline by creating timelines. They determine the timeframes of era, epochs, and periods and study the species that were evident in each.
Curated OER
Density and Mass
Learners experiment to find which liquids are more dense. In this density and mass activity, students predict and then test objects to observe and measure their density. learners observe which items sink and float. Students...
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Medicine: Then and Now
Middle schoolers read ancient Greek texts to explore ancient healing practices and compare them to modern-day medicine. They conduct research into modern first-aid practices, using a standard medical reference.
Curated OER
Exploring Mars
Students, working in small groups construct scale models of the planets and solar system. They examine images of Mars and discuss what might have caused the features. They record facts about their planetary research in their journals and...
PHET
Mapping the Field of a Dipole Magnet
High school scientists build their own magnetometer and use it to map the field surrounding a bar magnet. Excellent background resources is included, as well as a diagram of how to build the magnetometer.
Curated OER
Does Humidity Affect Cloud Formation?
Learners use S'COOL data to identify factors that affect cloud formation. They find a data set using the S'COOL database , and use Excel to manipulate the data. Student isolate relevant data, create meaningful graphs from a spreadsheet,...
Curated OER
Investigating Seasonal Variability in NO2 Concentrations
Students study different formats of data and determine the nitrogen dioxide concentrations. In this seasons lesson students understand the different relationships that NO2 can have.
NASA
Exploring Data
Bring the sun to your class! Young scholars analyze actual solar wind data in the second lesson of a five-part series. Their analysis includes speed, temperature, and density data.
Curated OER
Are Dams Forever?
Students consider the life span of dams, and what would happen if a dam falls apart. In this environmental impact lesson, students discuss what the purposes of dams are, how they could be damaged.
Curated OER
Analyzing Tree Rings to Determine Climate Change
Learners examine how to locate and access data sets. In this climate change lesson students import data into Excel and graph it.
Curated OER
Landforms of Illinois
Fifth and sixth graders are introduced to the primary landforms of Illinois and discover how they were created. Landform cards are made for each pupil. They use the twenty-questions format until they have identified each one. Then,...