Centers for Ocean Sciences
Ocean and Great Lakes Literacy: Principle 1
Is your current lesson plan for salt and freshwater literacy leaving you high and dry? If so, dive into part one of a seven-part series that explores the physical features of Earth's salt and freshwater sources. Junior hydrologists...
Curated OER
The Scientific Search for the Loch Ness Monster
Young scholars gain an understanding of the real world applications of the scientific method. They design their own experiments to prove or disprove the existence of other modern legends, and they design and carry out an experiment to...
Teach Engineering
Human Power
How many humans does it take to power a light bulb? The 10th part of a 25-lesson Energy Systems and Solutions unit has learners conduct an experiment to calculate power. They then use the results to determine how many classmates they...
University of Georgia
Density and Texture of Soil
All soil is not created equal! A lab activity asks learners to collect and analyze soil. Specific calculations determine the amount of sand, silt, and clay in a sample and allow individuals to identify the soil texture.
Chicago Children's Museum
Simple Machines: Force and Motion
Get things moving with this elementary science unit on simple machines. Through a series of nine lessons including teacher demonstrations, hands-on activities, and science experiments, young scientists learn about forces, motion, and...
Exploratorium
Whack-a-Stack
Go wild as you hit a stack of wooden blocks to demonstrate Newton's first and second laws of motion. The blocks at the top of the stack stay put as you knock one at a time out of the bottom. Note, however, that you will need to visit a...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Build What I've Created
n this geometric lesson plan, students define and identify two dimensional shapes based on their attributes. They complete worksheets based on the geometric concepts.
Discovery Education
Cool It!
Adjust the melting time of ice without varying the temperature! Learners experiment with different materials to decide how the materials affect the rate an ice cube melts. They then connect their findings to the conductivity of each...
Exploratorium
Resonator
Construct a demonstration apparatus for your lesson on resonance. Instructions are provided here to assemble dowels and balls into swinging objects that have different frequencies. It is a neat visual to include during your lecture if...
Virginia Department of Education
Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson plan highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
DiscoverE
Build a Better Candy Bag
Every child's dream: stuffing as much candy into a bag as possible. Doing this, though, requires a nice sturdy bag. Scholars design the sturdiest bag they can and test the limits of those bag using a sweet treat!
Purdue University
Design of an Earthen Dam for a Lafayette Neighborhood
How do dams support bodies of water? Scholars engage in a hands-on STEM activity where they design, build, and test dams to learn about bodies of water and how humans use natural resources. They learn how criteria and constraints affect...
Curated OER
Too Many Tamales
Students investigate Mexican holiday celebrations and compare them to American Christmas holidays. They conduct a Mexican Christmas Scavenger Hunt. The lesson uses a streaming video in order to engage students in the main objectives.
Curated OER
Hold on Tight!
Students explore the relationship between plant roots and the soil in which they grow. They examine photos of uprooted trees and desert areas and
conduct experiments designed to highlight this mutual relationship between roots and soil....
Curated OER
Tick Around the Clock
Young scholars examine and discuss the differences between clocks they are shown. Using the internet, they research how people used to tell time before clocks. They review what the long and short hand on the clock represent and practice...
Shodor Education Foundation
Volume of Prisms
Explore the concept of volume of prisms using an applet to perform the calculations. The link to the interactive applet is embedded into the lesson plan as well as a link to associated data sheets. Get your math class to the computer lab...
Curated OER
Volume of Rectangular Prisms
Introduce the procedure needed to find the volume of a rectangular prism. Learners rank various prisms such as cereal boxes and tissue boxes from smallest to largest volume. They use an applet to find the volume and surface area of each...
Curated OER
Maps and Modes, Finding a Mean Home on the Range
Fifth graders investigate data from maps to solve problems. In this data lesson, 5th graders study maps and collect data from each map. Students present their data in a variety of ways and calculate the mode, mean, median, and range.
Curated OER
Move it! With Simple Machines
Young scholars know the six simple machines and explain what they do and how they have changed the lives of humans.
Curated OER
Antacid Tablet Race
Students complete experiments to determine how rocket fuel is affected by surface area and temperature. They compare the reaction rates of antacid tablets. They discuss their results to complete the lesson.
Curated OER
Newtonian Mechanics
Students familiarize themselves, through teacher demonstration, with Gavendish's apparatus first used for experimentally determining the value of the Universal Gravitational Constant G, and calculate theoretical value of Earth's...
Curated OER
Exploring Area and Perimeter
Two young scholars are blindfolded and each receives a cardboard square, one with pompoms glued around the edge and one with pompoms glued all over the surface. They identify what they feel. The class discusses perimeter and area of...
Curated OER
What Influences Reaction Rate?
Students study reaction rates, what determines how fast a reaction happens and how the chemical changes occur. In this reactions instructional activity students complete a lab where they use Alka-Seltzer to observe reaction rate and...
Curated OER
Geoboard Area
Learners explore the basic geometric shapes and geometric shape vocabulary through the use of geoboards and virtual geoboards. They create a variety of shapes with a partner, build ten different rectangles on their geoboards, and...