Curated OER
Get Charged!
Students explore the concept of electricity in this activity based unit. For this physical science lesson, students focus on electricity and electrical engineering. The teaching unit includes 5 activities to develop students conceptual...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #3 Parts of a Solar Panel - Part I
A solar cell is similar to a rechargeable battery in many ways. Science lab groups connect each in a series circuit to run a mini motor and then compare and contrast them by answering questions and completing a Venn diagram. This is an...
NASA
Pop Can Hero Engine
Hang a soda can from a string and watch it spin by the force created by water streaming out of slanted holes. This plan provides background information, detailed materials and procedures, discussion questions, a lab worksheet, and...
Curated OER
What Makes Thing Fly?
Second graders study lift, drag and thrust from a real flight instructor. In this physical science lesson students build and fly paper airplanes and experiment with variations and design.
Curated OER
As a Matter of Fact
Elementary-aged scientists discover that all matter has mass. They are shown the difference between mass and weight, and learn how to calculate mass using the appropriate tools and methods. The scientific method is used while estimating...
Curated OER
Strawkets and Weight
Students investigate the effect that weight has on rocket flight. They construct a variety of straw-launched rockets that have different weights, observe what happens when the weight of a rocket is altered by reducing its physical size...
Curated OER
The Is No Such Thing as a Perfect Pumpkin
Students explore using descriptive words to describe physical appearance. In this appearance instructional activity, students look at pumpkins and discuss how there is not a perfect pumpkin. Students also hypothesize about what the...
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Marvelous Magnets
Students investigate the properties of magnets. In this physics lesson, students view a Powerpoint presentation on magnets and list facts about magnets they learned. Students use magnets in the classroom to identify what materials they...
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Are We Couch Potatoes or Busy Bees? Data Analysis of Physical Activity in School
Young scholars study practical data analysis within the constraints of the scientific method. For this data lesson students collect and enter data into a computer spreadsheet then create graphs.
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Dining Out With Fishes and Birds of the Hudson
The class will make observations to determine how environment has shaped the way particular birds and fish eat. They will view a series of photographs, read two short articles, and then consider how food availability has determined how...
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Move It!
Students observe a demonstration presented by the teacher covering different types of energy. They participate in an experiment where they study numerous physics vocabulary words and visit websites that demonstrate examples of these...
Curated OER
Under the Spell of Spiders
Young scholars examine spiders. In these spider lessons, students will view spider images and live spiders to determine physical characteristics, habits, and habitats. Young scholars will examine fantasy and folklore about spiders to...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Adaptive Device Design
After reading about how engineering has made adaptive devices possible for people with disabilities, pupils work in groups to discuss different devices to determine whether or not they are adaptive. They also disassemble a pair of...
Curated OER
Digging up the Dirt on Soil Microbes
Students are introduced to the idea of soil as a habitat for many different organisms. They are introduced to the links between the biological adaptations of an organism and the physical demands of its habitat. Pupils are introduced to...
Curated OER
Las Maquinas y Nosotros: Machines and Us
Second graders explain the relationship between energy and work. In this technology lesson, 2nd graders describe the different uses of machines in their everyday lives. They record observations and data in their science journal.
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Hatching Chickens
Young scholars observe chicks hatching from eggs. In this science lesson, students view a video to develop an understanding of the proper care and needs of eggs and live animals. This is a great precursor activity for hatching eggs in...
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Fluid Thinking About Liquids and Solids
Second graders examine the physical characteristics of the different states of matter. In this chemistry lesson, 2nd graders observe how matter changes from one phase to another. They classify substances according to its type of matter.
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There's Air in There!
Students attempt to blow a wad of paper into a soda bottle. In this physics lesson, students discover that air pressure inside of a soda bottle prevents new air from going in.
Curated OER
Fisheries Management in the Open Ocean
Students explore biology by researching fishing equipment. In this oceanography lesson, students discuss the impact of human technology on the fish population. Students utilize marbles as a visual aide and complete fish population...
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Newton's 2nd Law of Motion
Learners investigate how mass affects the speed of an object. In this physics lesson, students record data on the data table and graph results. They analyze findings and formulate a conclusion.
Curated OER
Destination Outer Space
Young scholars investigate space travel. In this space travel lesson students examine space exploration history, engineers and scientists involved in space exploration, and Newton's third law of motion. Young scholars make rockets.
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Seeing and Feeling Sound Vibrations
Groups rotate through a series of stations and work with a partner to observe sound waves. Children describe sound in terms of pitch, volume, and frequency. To apply their new knowledge, the class considers how these observations can...
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Robotic Muscles
Students investigate how adding more pulleys affect the pulling power. In this physics lesson, students explain how pulleys work. They compare the work done by robots with and without pulleys.
Curated OER
Machinery In Society
Students explore technology by completing a worksheet in class. In this common machinery lesson plan, students define the different designs that make simple machines work such as wheels, pulleys and gears. Students utilize verbs to...