California Academy of Science
Greening Your Middle School
Middle schoolers redesign their school to make it more energy efficient, and create a model of their design. Learners get together in groups of 5, and they take on the task of making their school more energy efficient. To do this, they...
National Science Teacher Association
Middle School Sampler: Science
Focus on inquiry-based learning in your science class with a series of activities designed for middle schoolers. A helpful packet samples four different texts, which include activities about predator-prey relationships, Earth's axis and...
Beyond Benign
Medical Ethics
Just because we have the ability to determine an organism's traits through genetic testing, should we do it? Middle-school medical experts examine the ethical dilemmas in biotechnology in the 18th and final installment in a series of...
National Park Service
Reduce Our Carbon Footprint, Let’s Compost!
Roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty with this elementary and middle school compost lesson. All you need is a large plastic container, a couple old newspapers, some organic waste, and a few hundred worms and you're ready to start...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #9 - Properties of Solar Radiation: Reflection, Transmission, and Absorption
Middle school science stars observe and record data on the solar radiation reflected off or transmitted through various materials. They predict properties for various materials, and test their predictions by touch. This instructional...
EduGAINs
Go H2O! Investigating Residential Water Systems
Before your learners excuse themselves to get a drink at the water fountain, prompt them to think about where that water comes from. A middle school science instructional activity encourages groups to research their community's source of...
Kenan Fellows
Sensors, Sensors…..Everywhere! Middle School Meteorologist Create Weather Bots!
My forecast is that you'll want to use the resource. Pupils design and create a weather bot as part of a project-based unit. These bots should be able to measure temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, and...
NOAA
Stressed Out!
Are our oceans really suffering due to the choices humans make? The sixth and final installment in the volume of activities challenges research groups to tackle one of six major topics that impact ocean health. After getting to the...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #8 - Positioning Solar Panels II: Explorations with Stationary Panels
This lesson is preparation-intensive, but well worth the investment. You will construct five or six portable testing stations with which lab groups will gather data on the best position for collecting sunlight with a solar panel. This is...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #6: Solar-Powered Battery Charger
In a previous lesson plan, learners build an ammeter. That ammeter, or a pre-made one, is required in order to carry out this lesson plan. The objective is for lab groups to design a way to connect solar cells that can recharge a...
National Geographic
Battery Lesson Plan
Not really just a lesson plan, but a series of activities, reading handouts, and teacher's guidelines for conducting a class mini unit on the battery. Physical scientists focus on the history of the cell battery, experiment with...
Redefining Progress
Have and Have-Not
Is there a correlation between a country's wealth and the extent of its ecological footprint? What exactly constitutes an ecological footprint, and how does one country stack up against the rest? This is a unique lesson to incorporate...
NOAA
The Oceanographic Yo-yo
How does chemistry help deep-sea explorers? Part four of a five-part series of lessons from aboard the Okeanos Explorer introduces middle school scientists to technologies used in ocean exploration. Groups work together to analyze data...
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Learning About Opioids
Feeling high is not the only side effect of abusing prescription opioids. Middle and high schoolers learn more about specific painkillers, including Fentanyl, Oxycodone, and Clonazepam, as well as their common brand names and extensive...
PBS
Lessons - Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!
Volcanoes are among the most spectacular geological features on the planet. Jump into an exploration of these amazing phenomenon with this multimedia lesson series. Working collaboratively in small groups, young scientists view videos...
Baylor College
Pre-Assessment: The Brain
Break your class in to the general structure and function of the brain. Brainiacs discuss what they know about it and create personalized brain development timelines. They also take a true-false, pre-assessment quiz to get them thinking...
American Chemical Society
Change in Temperature - Exothermic Reaction
Alone, or as part of the intended unit on chemical reactions, this activity allows learners to experience an exothermic reaction. Here, learners add calcium chloride to a baking soda solution and watch the temperature rise! They will...
NOAA
What Little Herc Saw
See the underwater world through a different pair of eyes! Middle school marine biologists identify deep-sea organisms by examining images taken by an ROV from the Okeanos Explorer. After determining what creatures lie beneath the...
Curated OER
Air, Air Everywhere! Lesson 2: Acid Rain
Middle school environmentalists record the pH of four different liquids, including two aerosol cleaning products. They liken the products to acid rain and speculate in writing which might affect the human respiratory system. Although...
Curated OER
A Lesson in Biodiversity: Making Comparisons Between Defensive Mechanisms Utilized by Marine Organisms
If your upper elementary or middle school marine biology learners are going to visit an aquarium, then here is a field trip activity guide for you. It is written specifically for The Maritime Aquarium, but the idea can be adapted to any...
Curated OER
Catering Middle-School Science: Monomers, Polymers, and Macromolecules
Students investigate foods. In this biology lesson plan, students will conduct testing on different types of foods as they learn about different molecules that make them up. Students will also learn about the shapes of the molecules.
Curated OER
Presentation to Class and School
How's the weather today? Elementary and middle schoolers plan severe weather awareness day in this lesson on research presentations. They present their research reports, along with their action plan and any other associated products...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Moon Phases
We are the world! Each of your class members models Earth and holds a styrofoam ball to see its phases. Thorough teacher background information and a detailed lesson plan will make this a cinch to teach. If you do not want to purchase...
American Chemical Society
Formation of a Precipitate
Conclude this chemical change unit by having your class combine two liquids that result in formation of a precipitate. The learners discover that chemical reactions result in new materials. Make sure to consider all of the preceding...
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