Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Investigation: Waves and Whistles
Wave goodbye to the same old demonstrations for alternative energy sources, and wave hello to this one investigating ocean waves! Using a water bottle to create an oscillating water column, learners see and possibly hear how the...
Exploratorium
Stripped Down Motor
Mostly for teacher's use, here are instructions for making a traditional electromagnetic motor and a detailed explanation of how it works.
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
My Shadow is following me
In this outer space instructional activity, students read "My Shadow is following me" and learn about the Solar System and how shadows are created. They then complete the 2 students tasks and answer the 5 questions in the packet. The...
Curated OER
Earth, Sun and Moon
Students explore, experiment and study how the Earth orbits the Sun once a year and how the moon takes approximately 29 days to orbit the Earth. They access an online activity to examine the process of how the Sun is at the center of the...
Curated OER
The Magnetometer
Physical or earth science pupils prepare a magnetometer by inducing magnetism into a pair of straight pins. As the pins hang from a thread, they can be used to detect the magnetic field or poles of a magnet. They could also be used as a...
Curated OER
Boomerangs Keep Coming Back
Students investigate the flight of paper boomerangs. In this flight instructional activity, students examine the flight variables of paper boomerangs, which they make, by investigating the concepts of lift and drag. They examine what...
Curated OER
Ocean Planet: Sea Secrets
Young scholars identify ocean features and draw a profile using data points on a map. Through discussion and research, they discover the importance of oceanography and plot a profile of the ocean floor in search for a vessel full of...
Curated OER
Seasonal cycles
Students understand that the rotation of the Earth is responsible for the seasons. In this seasonal cycles lesson, students learn how the rotation of the Earth affects the seasons. Students answer questions about the rotation, the...
Curated OER
What's That Tree?
Fifth graders identify trees along a nature trail. Using a dichotomous key, 5th graders answer questions to aid in their identification of trees along a specified nature trail. Observations are recorded in their science journals. Sample...
Curated OER
The Martian Dust Devils
In this martian dust devils instructional activity, students use images of a dust devil captured by NASA's Spirit rover to calculate the distance the dust devil traveled, the speed, and its acceleration or deceleration.
Curated OER
THE PHYSICS OF MOVING THINGS (AND NOT A MOMENTUM TOO SOON!)
Students list three examples of momentum found in their local environment; describe the importance of mass and velocity on momentum; and determine what is necessary to produce the greatest amount of momentum within a particular system.
Curated OER
The Winter Solstice
In this winter solstice learning exercise, students read a detailed text about the winter solstice and the historical and religious significance of this day. Students then complete a 15 question fill-in-the-blank and true/false learning...
Curated OER
Spiders
Students experience the life a spider through several cross-curriculum activities that address multiple learning styles. In this cross-curriculum lesson, students listen to The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle and toss string in a circle...
Curated OER
The Earth is Flat
Third graders experiment to gain understanding of the shape and rotation of the Earth. In this Sun and Moon science activity, 3rd graders understand that the Earth rotates on its axis and how that explains the appearance of the moon and...
Curated OER
Newton in Motion-Project
Students investigate Newton's Third Law of Motion. In this Newton's Third Law of Motion lesson, students explore the law in the real world. Students break down the definition for understanding and do an experiment using a balloon.
Curated OER
Magnetism-Decode Encrypted Statements
Third graders solve a cryptogram by decoding a message written with wingdings. In this decoding lesson, 3rd graders solve a message related to magnetism. Students have notes about magnets once they've finished.
Curated OER
The Sun Affects Earth
Third graders read, write, and listen to information about the sun and its effects on the Earth.as it relates to its axis, orbit, rotate, and revolution. In this solar system lesson, 3rd graders examine how the sun effects the Earth's...
Curated OER
Bringing the Solar System to Life
Students walk marked paths as they simulate the orbit of the planets. In this solar system instructional activity, students recognize the relationship between the sun and the planets. Students visualize how the phases of the moon are...
Curated OER
So Fast! So Slow!
Fifth graders give examples of objects that move slow and fast. In this physics lesson, 5th graders rank animals according to how quickly they move. They create a bar graph of organisms versus rates of speed.
Curated OER
An Eclipsing Binary System with a Precessing Accretion Disk
Students work together to complete an experiment over binary sources. They determine values for the orbital period of certain objects and interpret intensity changes. They also calculate a value for the period of precession of an...
Curated OER
Torque Play
For this physics worksheet, students use torque to explain several very odd phenomena. They write the definition of torque and the relation between torque and change in angular momentum.
Curated OER
As the World Turns: The Coriolis Effect: Global Wind Patterns, Earth's Rotation
Young scholars use pencil and paper to explore the Coriolis effect and how the Earth's rotation causes global wind patterns.
Curated OER
Our Solar System
In this solar system worksheet, students read about the planets, asteroids, meteoroids, comets, and the moon. Then students complete 25 multiple choice, 4 true or false, and 3 short answer questions.