Cornell University
Non-Newtonian Fluids—How Slow Can You Go?
Children enjoy playing with silly putty, but it provides more than just fun. Young scientists make their own silly putty using different recipes. After a bit of fun, they test and graph the viscosity of each.
Teach Engineering
Chair Design
Can you design the perfect chair? Scholars apply the engineering design process to design and build a prototype of a new type of chair from wires. They test their designs with a wooden artist model or stuffed animal.
Curated OER
Let's Review for Better Achievement
Seventh graders create goals using two or more skills they have identified to help them improve academic achievement. They discuss the question: What choices do you make that affect your grades? Students listen to the story of Sam the...
Teach Engineering
Watch Out for the Blind Spots
Applying engineering concepts to the field of medicine, pupils design a device to help test peripheral sight. The class learns and follows a specific design process for engineers before separating into groups; each group builds a...
Curated OER
The Need For Shelter
Fifth graders build a shelter to protect themselves from rain. They perform durability and water proof testing on the shelters. They make observations of plants found in the Amazon rainforest.
Fluence Learning
Solve Problems Using Measurement Concepts
Young mathematicians demonstrate what they know about measurement with a four-task assessment that focuses on estimation, length, and inches.
Curated OER
GM Foods: Are They Safe?
Students examine the process for testing GM foods. They research benefits and hazards of a selection of GM foods. They also create images of new labels and marketing for GM foods.
Curated OER
Water Quality Survey
Students identify the differences in the water quality of a stream and complete water testing. In this water quality lesson students collect aquatic insects and identify them.
Teach Engineering
Breaking the Mold
A little too much strain could cause a lot of stress. Groups conduct a strength test on clay. Using books as weights, pupils measure the compression of clay columns and calculate the associated strain and stress. Teams record their data...
Curated OER
Getting Started with Java
Young scholars explore a programming curriculum based in the Java language. They start with the basic information needed to code and run their first program. Students analyze the planning, debugging and testing points of the unit. They...
Teach Engineering
Alloy the Way to Mars
Future engineers test different alloys to determine the specific strength of each one. Based on the results, they make a recommendation to NASA on which alloy to use on engines for spacecraft.
Fluence Learning
Writing About Literature: Comparing and Contrasting Characters in Heidi
Scholars read excerpts from the story, Heidi, in a three-part assessment that focuses on comparing and contrasting characters. Each part contains three tasks that challenge learners to discuss, answer comprehension questions,...
Curated OER
Getting a Driver's License
Pupils identify requirements to obtain a driver's license. They describe study and test taking strategies. Students describe reading material. They organize information using restatement and questioning techniques.
Curated OER
Is There Life Before 121?
Students observe microbial growth in the lab. In this biology lesson, students determine the conditions suitable for bacterial growth. They explain the methods of sterilization and bioburden testing.
Curated OER
Organization and Study Skills
Young scholars with special needs utilize organizational skills such as what supplies to bring to class, how to use an assignment notebook, and how long it takes to complete an assignment. They become more independent students, become...
Minnesota Literacy Council
Scientific Method
Here is a resource with a descriptive approach to explaining the scientific method. It's simple, but effective for both introduction and reinforcement of this concept.
Curated OER
What is Energy?
Students define energy and identify the different types that exist. They identify places they see, hear or feel energy. They understand the role of engineering in finding and testing sources of energy for the production of electricity.
Teach Engineering
Clay Boats
Clay itself sinks, but clay boats float. Why? Young engineers build clay boats to learn about buoyancy. They test the weight the boats can hold using washers and then tweak their designs to make improvements, following the engineering...
Curated OER
Language Arts: The Doctor Will See You Now
Pupils are able to compare the treatments available for certain medical conditions during three different points in time during the last hundred years; list the medicines and drug therapies available now that have helped them and those...
Fluence Learning
Writing Informational Text: Community and School Gardens
Two informational texts feature community gardens of the past and present and how seeds grow. Scholars read, discuss what they have read, complete a timeline, define words, and compose a brief essay about the texts' main idea.
Curated OER
Building for the Big One
Students build and test structures that can best withstand earthquakes. They create their structures from playdough, cornstarch, grape-nuts and popsicle sticks and place their structures on a "shake table."
Curated OER
Is That Your Final Answer?
This unit on integers includes a pre-test, a post-test, four spreadsheets, and links to an interactive web-site to support the learning of integer operations. Access to computers and the Internet are imperative to this unit. The lessons...
Curated OER
How to Keep ELD Rewarding
The true success of English Learners won't always shine through in the form of perfect test scores.
Cornell University
Renewable Resins and Composites
Merge chemistry with environmental science to study biodegradable materials. An engaging activity allows learners to experiment with different resin concentrations and composites. Through experimental tests, scholars test their creations...