Lesson Plan
Project SMART

Rocks and Minerals: Touch the Earth

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students complete a unit of lessons on rocks and minerals. They conduct research, write e-mail questions to geologists, write daily journal entries, label maps demonstrating types of rocks/minerals found, and create a web page that...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Big is Your Footprint?

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students create awareness for ways in which the "Western" lifestyle negatively impacts the Earth. They create awareness for alternatives to our current ways of living, eating and traveling. Students are challenged to talk with their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Looking into Surface Albedo

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students demonstrate how the color of materials on Earth affect the amount of solar energy that is absorbed.  In this solar energy lesson students complete a lab to explore how the color of materials on the Earth's surface impacts...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 8, Recycling

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students examine recycling. In this environmental stewardship lesson plan, students practice persuading others to recycle as they collaborate to prepare small group skits. Students discuss the issue and write reflections about the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discovery Science Library: The Basics Physical Science

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine  friction and gravity. affect four sports. In this scientific discovery lesson plan, students examine how friction and gravity affect sports. They discuss, write, and illustrate the effect of different forces on...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Science and the Envrionment

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students utilize a digital camera to record interesting objects in their environment.  In this ecology instructional activity, students participate in a mini-field trip around their campus as they take 2-3 pictures of the school...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Our Space Station Earth

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students discover ways to preserve the Earth's resources. In this natural resources lesson, students investigate how many gallons of water the average American uses per day and then total their estimated usage. Students discuss the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Applied Science - Science and Math Post-Lab

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students use scientific tools. In this Applied Science lesson, students investigate the use of scientific tools to enhance observation and discovery. Students indicate how each tool assists scientific work.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Acid Rain Viewfinder

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students are asked what does rain do? They are told that rain waters the Earth, but also drops acid. Students are told when there is too much pollution in the atmosphere that the environment can't neutralize it, the acid leaches into...
Lesson Plan
US Environmental Protection Agency

Tree Rings: Living Records of Climate

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Open with a discussion on weather and climate and then explain how tree rings can provide scientists with information about the earth's past climate. Pupils analyze graphics of simulated tree rings from various US locations for the...
Lesson Plan
PHET

The Dynamic Nature of the Sun

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
In this second lesson plan of the series, pupils learn to observe similarities and differences in photos of the sun and record them in a Venn diagram. Then, small groups practice the same skill on unique images before presenting...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Can You Hear a Tree Fall in Space?

For Students 4th - 6th
How does sound travel in space? Fifth graders investigate this question with a science activity, in which they research the properties of sound. Schedule a lab visit for individual Internet research, or include the activity after you...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Blow-and-Go Parachute

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students design a skydiver and parachute constraption to demonstrate how drag caused by air resistance slows the descent of skydivers as they travel back to Earth. They experience how gravity pulls the skydiver toward the earth and how...
Lesson Plan
Journey Through the Universe

Our Solar System

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Take your class on a journey through our solar system. Learners explore each planet, from Mercury to Pluto, and discuss various features that differentiate one from another. They complete activities related to the topics and discuss the...
Lesson Plan
PHET

CME Plotting

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Young scientists build on their previous knowledge and apply it to coronal mass ejections. By plotting the path of two different coronal mass ejections, they develop an understanding of why most don't collide with Earth.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rocks and Minerals

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Review the difference between rocks and minerals using this resource. Learners identify and investigate the physical properties of these objects. They create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast types of rocks. This is a motivating way...
Lesson Plan
PHET

Radiation Hazards in Space

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scientists race from Earth to Mars and back, trying to complete mission objectives while avoiding radiation in this game for 2-4 players. To identify the winner, players must graph their mission points and radiation points at the...
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Energy and Winds

For Teachers 6th Standards
In the study of wind energy, scholars build a small windmill and observe how it transfers wind into mechanical energy. Learners will make connections to the previous instructional activity with concepts such as the...
Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Astro-Chronology

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Class members play a version of the game Chronology to determine when certain scientific events occurred in history. Teams play until someone has 5-10 events in the correct order.
Lesson Plan
1
1
Chicago Botanic Garden

Understanding the Greenhouse Effect

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Dive into the power of the sun with a two-part lesson. Budding scientists model the greenhouse effect in a hands-on activity, and then participate in a skit that explores the earth's energy balances and what really occurs in the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Dirt on Soil

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students classify different soil types. In this earth science lesson, students explain the factors that affect groundwater quality. They design and build a water treatment plant.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Phases of the Moon

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders learn that the moon orbits the Earth in a predictable cycle. Each learner engages in a two-week observation of the moon. They sketch its appearance, and take note of its position in relation to objects in their yard. Some...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Air Pressure

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Learners participate in a series of demonstrations about Bernoulli's principle. They explain how air pressure varies with air speed. They write a detailed lab report about the activity. This is a great way to explore this concept.
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Potential and Kinetic Energy

For Teachers 6th Standards
Everything has potential energy; learning to use it is the key to understanding all types of energy. Scholars learn the difference between kinetic and potential energy. They then apply the concept to drawing examples of both types...

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