The sun sends the earth 35,000 times the amount of energy required by all of us on the entire planet, every day. The fourth lesson in the 10-part series looks at how light energy from the sun transfers into thermal energy. Scholars build...

An educational lesson focuses on the idea of conservation of matter through a demonstration of the water cycle, a discussion of digesting food, and the path of carbon and oxygen atoms as they change form. 

Gravity is just one consideration when determining human habitability on a new planet. The lesson connects four different units and starts with connecting the various systems: planetary systems, human body systems, etc. After scholars...

How do plants and animals get their food? Learn about where energy comes from, how animals store energy, and aerobic respiration, in a lesson that allows scholars to diagram energy flows. 

When life gives you mold, make penicillin. Scholars design an inquiry experiment to determine what causes rotting and mold growth. It also covers decomposers and the important role they play for other living things. 

With the forest as an example, Sam and Zoe talk about the components biotic and abiotic of an ecosystem. They also discuss the role of producers, consumers, and decomposers. This concise clip covers all of the basics. As an introduction...

Take the time and energy learn about Earth's energy budget. An engaging unit of four lessons focuses on the components that make up Earth's energy budget. Future scientists come up with a formula for the energy budget, then use software...

Explore a variety of science concepts in an interactive textbook created for middle school scholars. A lengthy table of contents takes readers to pages comprised of a subject overview, outline, and summary. Follow links further to find...

Tag, you're eaten! A lesson on predator-prey relationships uses the game freeze tag as a model. Learners become either a predator or prey and play a game of tag as the prey tries to reach areas that house food and shelter. During the...

You are what you eat—or at least a part of what you eat. Budding scientists examine owl pellets to develop their own food webs. They use tooth and skull identification techniques to classify what they find.

Every living thing requires a food source, thus the interconnections in ecosystems become complex. Scholars learn about these interconnections in a presentation on energy flow. It starts with the sun and moves through many different...

The reintroduction of a species to an area doesn't always go as expected. Scholars learn about the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park with a video, reading, and discussion questions. They complete a hands-on activity...

When a minnow eats a piece of plastic, that garbage often tracks through multiple animals, causing harm to each as it passes through the food chain. Scholars learn about food chains, food webs, and energy pyramids with a presentation. It...

What forces drive the ocean's currents? Science scholars observe global ocean currents at different depths to explore their characteristics and patterns. Part of PBS's Weather and Climate series, the resource includes teaching...

It's a jungle out there! Young biologists journey to Darien, Panama to examine the intricate relationships between the organisms that inhabit the jungle. Groups begin by demonstrating an understanding of energy flow in ecosystems, then...

Twenty questions make up an assessment designed to test super scientists' knowledge of ecosystems. Scholars answer multiple-choice and short-answer questions about organisms, food chains, energy flow, and more.

Thirteen short-answer questions follow a brief food web activity in a formative assessment designed to test knowledge of ecosystems and the energy that flows through them.

Budding scientists work collaboratively to reenact energy flow in a food chain. Scholars take on roles such as producer and consumer and perform tasks that symbolize energy flow in order to provide evidence of how much energy passes...

Produce, consume, decompose...repeat! Examine how matter and energy cycles in ecosystems by watching a video discussing NGSS standard LS2B. The narrator explains the requirements of the standard at each grade level, plus gives tips to...

How do you plan to approach standard LS1C, Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms? Avoid information overload with helpful advice in a short video. Topics include energy sources, relationships between organisms, and...

After nine lessons and activities about energy, here is the final assessment. The 20-questions include multiple choice, multiple choice with justification, short answer, answer analysis, and labeling diagrams to challenge learners.

How does one organism get its energy? What is the main source of energy in an ecosystem? How does the flow of energy affect different types of ecosystems? Answer these questions with a fill-in-the-blank worksheet. 

How do you demonstrate radio transmissions? Pupils build a low-energy radio transmitter by constructing two coils from magnet wire and connecting them to audio/phone plugs. The resource provides the details on how to build the...