Curated OER
Mirror Image
Why does practice make perfect? Give your class insight into procedural memory, where we learn to do new things — then continue to improve through repetition. By attempting to draw shapes while looking in a mirror, learners observe their...
K20 LEARN
Untwining And Intertwining: Chemical Reactions
What happened when the chemistry teacher told a bad joke? There was no reaction! A creative take on the traditional reaction types lesson plan invites learners to draw their own conclusions about how compounds and elements combine....
K20 LEARN
Timmy Made Mistakes: Lab Safety
It's better to be safe than sorry ... just ask Timmy! Engage learners with a hilarious lab safety review activity. The instructional activity, part of the K20 series, revolves around identifying, describing, and remediating disastrous...
K20 LEARN
The Cold, Hard Truth
Things are really getting heated in the lab! Science scholars scope out the facts about heat energy transfer using a simple lab from the K20 Center. Groups collaborate to observe temperature changes between hot metal and water, then use...
K20 LEARN
Speedy Cat: Enzymes
Enzymes have a need for speed! What happens when they are forced to slow down? A well-rounded lesson plan from the K20 Center examines enzyme activity through role playing and a lab. Biology scholars work in teams and pairs to understand...
Carolina K-12
The Electoral College
Put the Electoral College into perspective with a simulation of an election. Scholars experience an electoral vote, participate in an in-depth discussion on the topic, and engage in a congressional committee where they learn about the...
Beyond Benign
Solubility
Enhance your class' ability to understand solubility. Science scholars examine how temperature and concentration affect solubility using an interesting lab experiment. The introduction and procedure also discuss the relationship between...
Beyond Benign
What's In a Window?
Take a peek inside a window to heat efficiency. Scholars watch a demonstration to investigate how heat dissipates from several different cups of hot water. Scholars then relate the exchange to how heat escapes from the windows of a...
American Institute of Physics
Optics and Anthony Johnson
Message sending has come a long way since the days of Morse code's dots and dashes. Young scientists study the research of optical physicist Anthony Johnson and his work in fiber optics, lasers, and the principle of total internal...
American Institute of Physics
Dr. Gates and the Nature of the Universe
What do Russian nesting dolls have to do with physics? They make a great demonstration tool for explaining Dr. Sylvester James Gates, Jr.'s string theory to young scientists. A two-part lesson first introduces learners to Dr. Gates' life...
American Institute of Physics
The Black Scientific Renaissance of the 1970s-90s: African American Scientists at Bell Laboratories
A two-part instructional activity asks young scientists to research the contributions of African American scientists at Bell Laboratories. After presenting their findings, class members watch two demonstrations that introduce them to...
American Institute of Physics
African Americans and the Manhattan Project
A lesson plan about the Manhattan Project will explode young physicists' understanding of the racial attitudes in the United States during and after World war II. Groups select an African American scientist or technician that worked on...
Bonneville
Where Does Energy Go?
Convection currents aren't just a bunch of hot air. The second of five lessons in the Solar Updraft Towers unit focuses on energy transfer and convection currents. Young scientists watch six demonstrations that illustrate how warm air...
Bonneville
Wind Energy
Let the wind take pupils to a new understanding of renewable energy. The fifth of seven parts in the A Community Powered by Renewable Energy unit has learners investigate wind energy. They find out why wind occurs, learn about windmills...
Smithsonian Institution
Science Starts With a Question: Energy - Teacher Guide
Get an up-close look at energy transfer. Using a three-part activity, investigators first observe a teacher-led demonstration before building a model marble track to convert potential energy to kinetic energy. Scientists explore six...
Bonneville
Biolite - Fire to Phone Charging
Provide the spark to foster a love of science. Instructors perform a demonstration that uses a camping stove to generate electricity to charge a phone. Pupils use data from the experiment to the calculate the efficiency of the stove....
Exploratorium
Cellular Soap Opera - Soap Films Can Behave Like Membranes
Soap, suds, and cell membranes. Pupils create a model of a cell membrane by using soap films. They experiment with trying to pass different objects through the film without popping it. Using a tube, they create a passageway through the...
Smithsonian Institution
The Vocal Blues: Created in the Deep South of the U.S.
Bring the sounds of the deep South vocal blues to the classroom with a Smithsonian Folkways lesson. In preparation, scholars listen to and count the 12 bar blues patterns in several works and identify the I, II, IV, and V chords as well...
University of Colorado
Star Light, Star Bright? Finding Remote Atmospheres
People might be able to breath there. Learners view a simulation of a planet passing in front of a star. Using data from occultations of planets with known types of atmospheres, scholars determine whether the simulated planet has an...
EngageNY
End of Unit 2 Assessment Part 2: Presenting a Claim
There's no time like the present for a presentation. Scholars present their claims about water management using facts, details, and examples from their research throughout the unit. Afterward, they complete exit tickets to evaluate their...
Teaching Tolerance
How Fair Use Works
What's fair is fair! Using the resource, scholars discuss the key differences between fair use and copyright. Next, in small groups, pupils create and present projects that demonstrate fair use of copyrighted material, such as a song,...
Teaching Tolerance
News Consumers' Bill of Rights and Responsibilities
Believe it or not, people have rights as new consumers. Scholars read PEN America's News Consumers' Bill of Rights and Responsibilities and work in small groups to paraphrase chosen sections of the text. Next, they create and present...
EngageNY
Using Multimedia in Presentations: Preparing to Present Claims
Time to wrap it all up! Using facts, details, and examples, pupils present their claims about whether the American Academy of Pediatrics should increase its screen time recommendations. They incorporate a multimedia visual display and...
EngageNY
Using Multimedia in Presentations: Preparing to Present Claims
Eye contact, volume, pronunciation are all parts of a great presentation. Scholars create visual displays to clarify the claim for an upcoming presentation about whether the American Academy of Pediatrics should increase its screen time...