NOAA
Lost City Chemistry Detectives
In 1977, scientists discovered hot springs in the middle of deep, cold ocean waters near the Galapagos Islands. Scholars research the chemical reactions that explain what scientists found at the Lost City. A discussion connects many...
NOAA
I Can't Breathe!
The Gulf of Mexico dead zone, an area of low oxygen that kills marine life, costs the United States $82 million every year. Young scientists research anoxic ocean environments then come up with a hypothesis for the cause of the Gulf of...
National Wildlife Federation
It's A Bird...It's A Plane...It's...CARBON!
An interesting lesson takes pupils on a trip through the carbon cycle. A reading passage allows scholars to take notes and make choices about what happens to the carbon on its journey. This third lesson in a series of 21 discusses...
National Wildlife Federation
Climate Solutions – A Call to Action!
The final lesson in the 21-part series on climate change focuses on energy solutions to the consumption problem. Using data specific to their school, pupils make recommendations, follow up on actions, and carefully track progress....
National Wildlife Federation
Conceptualizing Module III
Many researchers focus on one impact of climate change in isolation, but researchers gain a global perspective when they come together. A timely lesson teaches scholars about the projected impacts of global temperature increases. Then...
National Wildlife Federation
When It Rains It Pours More Drought and More Heavy Rainfall
Which is worse — drought or flooding? Neither is helpful to the environment, and both are increasing due to climate change. The 16th lesson in a series of 21 covers the average precipitation trends for two different climates within the...
National Wildlife Federation
I Speak for the Polar Bears!
Climate change and weather extremes impact every species, but this lesson focuses on how these changes effect polar bears. After learning about the animal, scholars create maps of snow-ice coverage and examine the yearly variability and...
National Wildlife Federation
Ghost Town
Around 93 percent of the reefs on Australia's Great Barrier Reef have been bleached, and almost one quarter of them are now dead. Scholars research the sea temperatures, especially around the areas with coral reefs, to make connections...
NASA
Dark Matter NASA Conference
Young scholars calculate the escape velocity of planets in our solar system and use that knowledge to calculate the escape velocity for NGC 2300 group. They then suggest reasons for the escape velocity to be higher than possible given...
NASA
Einstein and His Times
Scholars research and present on the historical happenings of 1919. After sharing their findings, pupils debate about how Congress dealt with the moral issues of the time. The evaluation asks learners to write a persuasive essay...
American Psychological Association
Memory
How does memory work, and how can we recall more? Here is a five-lesson unit that covers the multi-system model of memory, as well as sensory, working, and long-term memory.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Making of the Fittest: Got Lactase? The Co-evolution of Genes and Culture
Got milk? Only two cultures have had it long enough to develop the tolerance of lactose as an adult. Learn how the responsible genes evolved along with the cultures that have been consuming milk. This rich film is supplied with a few...
Curated OER
Access Ramp
Just about every public building that your students are familiar with has an access ramp which complies with ADA requirements. As it turns out, designing such a ramp is an excellent activity to incorporate slope, the Pythagorean Theorem,...
American Institute of Physics
Dr. Gates and the Nature of the Universe
What do Russian nesting dolls have to do with physics? They make a great demonstration tool for explaining Dr. Sylvester James Gates, Jr.'s string theory to young scientists. A two-part lesson first introduces learners to Dr. Gates' life...
Bonneville
Using a Multimeter to Analyze a Solar Circuit: Measuring Current and Voltage—Calculating Power and Resistance
Power to the people who understand electricity. A simple experiment teaches pupils how to set up an electric circuit that includes a solar module and how to measure voltage and current using a multimeter. They calculate power and...
Bonneville
Circuit Analysis With Solar Energy: Measure the Power Consumed by Various Devices
Power up the class with a lesson on electronics. Scholars use a solar module to create an electric circuit. They connect different devices to the circuit and measure the voltage and current. Based on the measurements, they calculate the...
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Case Study: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic – Factors Beyond the Biological that Influence the Spread of Disease
A very timely lesson looks at the social and political factors that affect the spread of disease. Using the 1918 Influenza Pandemic as a case study, pupils research factors that influenced the spread of the disease, including the role of...
New York Hall of Science
My Carbon Footprint: High School Curriculum
The earth has a love-hate relationship with carbon. Learners complete a series of nine lessons that begin with an examination of the role of carbon in Earth's systems. They then relate changes in climate and weather to changes in the...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Pulse Chase Primer: The Meselson-Stahl Experiment
Experimental design can make or break an experiment. Young scholars analyze the pulse-chase analysis procedure by studying the Meselson-Stahl experiment. Using a video presentation, they discover how the pulse-chase analysis led to the...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Pedigrees and the Inheritance of Lactose Intolerance
What, exactly, causes lactose intolerance? Scholars view a video describing a Finnish study that determined why some people are tolerant while others are intolerant. They then use the data from the study to reenact the experiment and...
College Board
2014 AP® Environmental Science Free-Response Questions
Less than half of AP Environmental Science test takers pass each year. The College Board releases previous test questions covering topics from greenhouse gases to ecological succession to help scholars prepare for future assessments. Use...
College Board
2015 AP® Environmental Science Free-Response Questions
Less than eight percent of AP Environmental Science test takers earn the highest score possible. Help scholars improve their scores by using actual test questions on water quality and urban planning before reading sample responses that...
College Board
2016 AP® Environmental Science Free-Response Questions
The average student scores less than three points, out of five, on the AP Environmental Science test. Most do well on the multiple choice and struggle with the free-response section. Encourage extra free-response practice with actual...
College Board
2017 AP® Environmental Science Free-Response Questions
Almost half of test takers passed the AP Environmental Science exam in 2017. Use the free-response questions on the topics of pollution and ecosystems to improve writing skills in preparation for the AP exam. Discuss the scoring...