NASA
Launch Altitude Tracker
Using PVC pipe and aquarium tubing, build an altitude tracker. Pupils then use the altitude tracker, along with a tangent table, to calculate the altitude of a launched rocket using the included data collection sheet.
Curated OER
TE Activity: Pulley'ing Your Own Weight
Students experiment with common objects such as spools, string and soap to determine how pulleys make it easier to move large objects. They look at the difference between fixed and movable pulleys. They examine the many uses engineers...
Curated OER
Is a Tough Smoking Law Coming to Your State?
Students read and discuss a news article about a new anti-smoking law in Hawaii. They answer article comprehension questions, complete a fill-in-the blank activity, discuss laws that ban smoking in small groups, and create a No Smoking...
Curated OER
Water Power
Students observe a model of a waterwheel to investigate the transformations of energy involved in turning the blades of a hydro-turbine into work. They work as engineers to create a model for a new waterwheel while considering resources,...
Curated OER
Wind Power
Fourth graders develop an understanding of how engineers use wind to generate electricity. They will build a model anemometer to better understand and measure wind speed. They discover that engineers design wind turbines that generate...
Curated OER
Math for the Frontier
Make history come to life by using the Frontier House series to engage learners in the past. Your class will "prepare" for a trip to 1833 Montana. They will learn about homesteading, frontier life, inflation, and cost of living. Using...
PBS
Heart to Heart
Study heart health and math in one activity. After measuring their resting heart rates by finding the pulse in their wrists, learners build a stethoscope to listen to their heart rate, and note the differences between the two methods.
Curated OER
The Times and Life During the California Gold Rush
Fourth graders read about the era in their history books, write in their journals revolving around the Gold Rush, making crafts such as newspapers, and also play the part of the Forty-niners.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Comparing Fuel Economy
Compute fuel economy and gas mileage. Why? So you can teach rates and ratios, of course! Middle schoolers calculate the rate of miles per gallon for various vehicles. They research each vehicle, its mileage per gallon, and cost per...
PBS
Invisible Force
Investigate invisible forces. Young engineers design a setup that changes the direction of a steel ball using a magnetic force. The purpose of the setup is to model the gravitational pull of spacecraft by planetary bodies.
Transforming Education
Self-Efficacy Toolkit
A PowerPoint presentation prepares instructors for teaching learners about self-efficacy, a key competency of social-emotional learning. The 29-page presentation is designed to give administrators and teachers a deeper understanding of...
Curated OER
Moon Journal
Fourth graders observe Moon and its features, and record results both in written form and in a drawing on the given template.
Curated OER
Traveling Sound
Young scholars explore how sound waves move through liquids, solids and gases in a series of simple sound energy experiments. They describe how sound needs molecules to move and that changing the medium that it travels through changes...
Curated OER
People Who "Think Different"
Students conduct Internet research on one famous person to explore his/her important contributions to society.
Curated OER
I'm A Star!
Fourth graders answer questions about being responsible community member. They listen and brainstorm ideas of why it important to be responsible community members. Students are given a copy of "I'm A Star Community Member" game...
Curated OER
Diaper-Wipe Diffusion
Explore osmosis through art. Learners use paper towels and markers to create beautiful designs. Although a simple activity, the results are quite remarkable. Your class will love this instructional activity!
Curated OER
Who am I and Why?
Students make comparisons about themselves and others, which are real and meaningful. They study some basic concepts in the area of genetics and do a complimentary series of experiments, or explorations that illustrate these concepts
Curated OER
Unit Plan Template
Learners research the adaptations of desert animals and build their research skills. In this the adaptations of desert animals lesson, students describe major factors that desert animals have on their habitat. Learners explore...
Curated OER
Oral Reports through 'Personality Bags'
Learners prepare an oral book report on a biography they have read. They bring in a bag of objects they associate with the report's subject and use them as props for the report.
Curated OER
Making Connections, Linking Population and the Environment
Students find out that all habitats have a carrying capacity. They explore how the world's human population has grown markedly in the 20th century, and that humans impact environmental health. Students investigate that people can and...
Curated OER
Exploring Indiana's Natural Resources
Fourth graders complete a variety of activities as they study the European exploration of the Midwest, focusing on Indiana. They map the path explorers took, comparing the British with the French. They research why the explorers stopped...
Curated OER
Show Me a Flowerpot
Students compare and contrast handmade and machine-made products in a study about the evolution of production processes in American history. In this production history lesson, students explore a flowerpot in depth. Students make their...
Curated OER
Moving Objects
Students discover the history of the United States by examining the Great Migration. In this U.S. History lesson plan, students research the immigration movement on the Internet and complete a worksheet about the large population...
Curated OER
Unit Plan Template
Use this U.S. History unit plan as a template for creating your own! Simply download the resource and edit the text fields with your own customized unit plan. This is a great jumping-off step, especially for newer teachers.