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Lesson Plan
American Chemical Society

Mysterious M&M's

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
The first in a six-lesson mini unit, all using M&Ms® candies, this physical science activity gets kids to observe a single piece and discover what happens when it is placed in a plate of water. The activity can be used to introduce...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Physical Science: The Three Billy Goats Gruff

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Explore science through problem solving and learning how to solve the problem of the story "The Three Billy Goats Gruff." Young investigators will learn how to construct a model and design a solution. They will also keep records of their...
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Lesson Plan
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Center for Learning in Action

Introducing Physical and Chemical Changes

For Teachers 2nd - 4th Standards
Young scientists investigate chemical and physical changes to the states of matter—gas, liquid, and solid—as well as solutions and suspensions with a variety of demonstrations, grand conversation, and an interactive quiz to check for...
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Lesson Plan
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Center for Learning in Action

Investigating Physical and Chemical Changes

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Super scientists visit ten stations to predict, observe, and draw conclusions about the physical and chemical changes that occur when different states of matter—liquid, solid, and gas—are placed under a variety of conditions. To...
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Lesson Plan
Foundation for Water & Energy Education

How is Flowing Water an Energy Source? Activity B

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Explore the world's water without leaving the classroom! In this second of three uncomplicated but wonderful activities, physical science learners feel the pressure of water. They discover that the deeper the water, the stronger the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Cycle Activities

For Teachers 4th Standards
Explore the water cycle in all aspects with a resource packed full of activities and lessons. The 37-page packet comes with vocabulary, a game, writing prompts, printables, and opportunities to journey through the stages in the water...
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Lesson Plan
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Baylor College

Activity and Exercise

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Leave it to the classic jump rope to get your class excited about physical activity! Your class will begin by discussing the benefits of jumping rope as a form of exercise and learning a few different types of jumps. Then in groups of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Physical Education: Mission Possible

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students participate in a physical education activity, Mission Possible, where they attempt to steal a jug of jewels. They must successfully overcome five challenge areas to complete the activity. Students develop cooperative...
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Investigating the Atmosphere - Air Takes Up Space

For Students 1st - 5th
How do you know there is air? Can you see it, smell it, feel it? To begin the investigation, learners watch a video and discuss what they know about air and the atmosphere. Then, they participate in five different hands-on, inquiry-based...
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Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Physics of Flight

For Students 3rd - 8th
Up, up, and away! Take your classes on a physics adventure. Learners explore the concepts important for flight. They experiment with the Bernoulli Principle while learning the forces that act on airplanes in flight.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bering Sea Buffet - A Foodweb Activity

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Life in the Bering Sea, food webs, and the ocean ecosystem are introduced with a map activity. The lesson starts as kids explore maps and images of the Bering Sea, then it kicks into high gear as they start to discuss the types of...
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Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Spring Scale Engineering

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
After examining how a spring scale works, teams work together to design their own general measurement device. Reading material provides background information, but there is no part of the procedure in which learners handle an actual...
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Lesson Plan
Agriculture in the Classroom

Six Kinds Do It All

For Teachers 2nd - 6th Standards
Teach young engineers that all machines, no matter how complicated or complex, are made up of just six simple devices with this hands-on physical science lesson. Using the included templates, students first create paper models of...
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Lesson Plan
American Chemical Society

Evaporation

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
This is one in several lessons that explore the relationship between temperature and phase changes of water. After some discussion, elementary physical scientists place wet paper toweling on a hot and a room-temperature water bag and...
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Lesson Plan
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Baylor College

Fuel for Living Things

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
During a three-part lesson, learners make a cabbage juice pH indicator and use it to analyze the waste products of yeast after feeding them with sugar. The intent is to demonstrate how living organisms produce carbon dioxide, which is...
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Lesson Plan
Baylor College

How Can We Find Out What Is in Water?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Using paper chromatography, water watchers discover that several substances might be dissolved even though they aren't visible. In this case, you will prepare a mixture of three different food colorings for them to experiment with. A...
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Lesson Plan
American Chemical Society

Defining Dissolving

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Physical science investigators mix sugar and food coloring into different cups of water and cooking oil to compare how the solid and liquid behave in each. As the introduction to this unit on dissolving, it is relevant.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Physical Science: Festival of Bubbles

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Investigate bubbles through the use of scientific inquiry. Pupils blow bubbles using several methods and measure the resulting bubble print. Measurements are recorded on a data table and transferred to a bar graph. Results are discussed...
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Fizzy Balloons - C02 in School

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Carbon dioxide is a very important gas; it is present in the air, used in cooking, and supports plant and animal life. Scholars investigate the properties of carbon dioxide with three different activities. They experience a color change,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rocket Science

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners conduct an experiment. In this physical science lesson, students learn about Isaac Newton's theory that for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction. Learners show this theory by looking at how a rocket is propelled...
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Lesson Plan
University of California

Weathering and Erosion

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Just how powerful is erosion? Interested scientists learn how to identify the results of erosion with a series of lab activities. They move through stations to experiment with different types of erosion and then design and complete their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Physical Changes and States of Matter

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders identify a physical change as one that results in a change in size, shape, or state of matter. After an initial teacher-led discussion and demonstration, groups of students get together to perform an experiment which...
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Lesson Plan
Centers for Ocean Sciences

Ocean and Great Lakes Literacy: Principle 1

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
American Chemical Society

Curious Crystals

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Crystals are more than meets the eye! Can learners tell them apart simply by observation? As they examine five samples with a magnifier, they find that appearance alone is not enough. This serves as an introduction to a mini unit on...