Education Outside
Compost in a Bag
Young scientists create a compost bag, predict changes, and after one month, examine the bag to observe the changes that have occurred.
Curated OER
Buoyancy: Integrating Science and Literature
Integrate science and literature by using the scientific method to test the veracity of the floating peach described in Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. Clips from a Bill Nye: The Science Guy episode about buoyancy frontload...
Captain Planet Foundation
Predicting Whether the Weather is Good for the Garden
Can your class predict the weather? Show them how they can come close with a lesson about creating weather instruments, including weather vanes, barometers, wind socks, anemometers, and thermometers. Kids research weather patterns and...
Curated OER
Making Predictions About Measurement
Upper graders experiment with measurement. They estimate the length, volume, and weight of various objects, then rotate through stations making predictions concerning measurements and then testing their predictions.
California Academy of Science
Moons in Comparison
Just how big is Earth's moon? With a hands-on simulation, scholars use Play-Doh to model the sizes of the planets Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and their moons. They make predictions as a class, work together to make their models, and discuss...
KOG Ranger Program
Fire Behavior in Forests
Understanding the ways a fire will act is a key factor in fire safety and fire prevention. Young campers focus on how the weather and terrain can affect the behavior of a fire with topographic maps and different scenarios.
Curated OER
Applied Science - Science and Math Lab
Students make a prediction. In this applied science lesson, students guess the number of items in a jar. Students create a bar graph to show the predictions and the actual amounts.
Curated OER
Food for Spaceflight
When astronauts get hungry in outer space, they can't just call and have a pizza delivered. In order to gain an appreciation for the challenges associated with space travel, young learners are given the task of selecting, testing, and...
Curated OER
Designing a Crew Exploration Vehicle
Take your class on an out-of-this-world adventure with this fun engineering design lesson plan. Working in small groups, young scientists design, build, and test crew exploration vehicles using some creativity, teamwork, and...
Baylor College
Activity and Exercise
Leave it to the classic jump rope to get your class excited about physical activity! Your class will begin by discussing the benefits of jumping rope as a form of exercise and learning a few different types of jumps. Then in groups of...
Center for Learning in Action
Investigating Physical and Chemical Changes
Super scientists visit ten stations to predict, observe, and draw conclusions about the physical and chemical changes that occur when different states of matter—liquid, solid, and gas—are placed under a variety of conditions. To...
Curated OER
Pumpkin Science
Fourth graders examine pumpkins and use the scientific method to explore its contents. In this Pumpkin Science lesson, 4th graders measure pumpkins for circumference. Students dress as if they were in a lab and work in pairs to...
Curated OER
Modeling Patterns and Cycles in Our Lives
Students explore how building a model can help them better understand the natural world. They identify common cycles or patterns in nature as well as examples of models in the classroom. After discussion, they choose a pattern or cycle...
Curated OER
Investigate Science Using Crayfish
Young scientists discover the importance of scientific investigation by observing live crayfish. They carefully observe the patterns of crayfish in different environments. Then they discuss their conclusions and define what all living...
Eastern Michigan University
Energy Flow in a Wetland Ecosystem
How is energy transferred within an ecosystem? What would happen to a food web if one of the organisms was removed? Elementary or middle school ecologists examine these questions and more in a comprehensive 5E learning cycle lesson....
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Looking to the Future
New Horizons set forth on a mission to Pluto in 2006. Ten years later, the spacecraft is still on its way. Here, enthusiastic scholars predict what they will be like—likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc.—when New Horizons arrives at its...
NASA
Let's Investigate Mars
Take your science class on a hypothetical field trip to Mars with an engaging astronomy lesson. After first learning about NASA's Mars rover missions, young scientists plan their own scientific investigations of Earth's nearest neighbor.
Science Matters
Crawly Composters
Get your hands dirty with an interactive instructional activity that showcases the process of decomposing and returning nutrients back into the soil. After building a compost pile, pupils regularly observe the...
Purdue University
Exploring Whirligigs
What's that silly thing spinning in the wind? It's a whirligig! Explore wonderful windy whirligigs with a STEM-based unit that teaches the science and concepts behind these gigs. Scholars discover how gravity and air resistance...
Curated OER
Food & Science - How Healthy is Your Diet?
Learners experiment with various foods to determine fat and starch content. They rub jam, peanut butter, bananas, and other foods in a small circle on a piece of paper, and observe the results. If there is a high fat content in the...
Center for Learning in Action
Introduction to the States of Matter
Liquids, gases, and solids are the states of matter in which scholars investigate in a lesson plan that offers in-depth information and engaging activities that look into the three states and the changes their properties make when mixed...
NASA
Soda Straw Rockets
Three, two, one, blast off to a better understanding of force and motion with this exciting science lesson! Beginning with a discussion about rockets and gravity, young scientists go on to complete a series of worksheets about net forces...
Baylor College
Food Webs
Explore various ecosystems from around the world as your class discovers the interdependence of all living things. Using the provided sets of ecosystem cards, young scientists work in small groups building food webs to demonstrate the...
American Chemical Society
Comparing the Density of an Object to the Density of Water
Investigators construct a makeshift balance and compare equal volumes of wax and water. They do the same for clay and water. Then they discover whether the wax and clay will float or sink in water. Ultimately this is a comparison of...