Explore the water cycle in an interactive diagram of the process. The diagram shows how water is a moving system and constantly changing forms. The resourc includes vocabulary words that pupils click on in order to discover more about...

Class members explore the carbon cycle in the final installment of the 10-part Discover Your Changing World series. They play a simulation game where they walk through the steps carbon takes as it cycles through the different layers...

The greenhouse effect is important, for without it, life on Earth would not exist. An activity that includes modeling the greenhouse effect and acting out the Earth's energy balance makes up the first part in a series of seven...

It's not easy to measure the weather. Pupils learn about what all weather has in common—the atmosphere. Scholars discover how a meteorologists must be able to measure aspects of the atmosphere and decipher the data. They then create a...

At one point, all mammals carried only two color receptors, but now most humans carry three. An informative presentation and hands-on activity demonstrate how this evolved through genetics. By participating in the activity, pupils...

Lead your young scientists into an exciting world as they participate in a role play and experiment focused on proteins and DNA. After researching the Central Dogma of Biology, individuals or groups participate in a classroom...

Producers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, decomposers. To begin a study of the forest ecosystem, learners examine the connections among the members of ecological communities.

Are our oceans really suffering due to the choices humans make? The sixth and final installment in the volume of activities challenges research groups to tackle one of six major topics that impact ocean health. After getting to the...

Abraham Lincoln's face may only be worth one cent, but the online reading passage and questions about his life are an invaluable resource. Pupils read a passage about Lincoln's experience with the Illinois Legislature, earning his law...

Determining whether or not something is living can be more difficult than it seems. Put your young scientists to work defining their own criteria to identify life, then work with three samples to see if they are alive or...

What do you have in common with a fruit fly? About 60 percent of your DNA. The resource, divided into two units, is intended for grades four to eight and another for high schoolers. Both units include eight lessons covering the...

Mammals are some of the newest organisms to appear on Earth. Young scholars complete an activity that results in a timeline showing the appearance of different types of living organisms. Provided with a list that spans from prokaryotes...

Ethical concerns are not always black and white. A well-designed lesson presents learners with scenarios for which ethics may come into question. Scholars learn to consider the different sides of a situation and make an unbiased...

A reading of Whale Journey, a fact-filled picture book by Vivian French, launches a study of the life cycle and migration of three generations of gray whales. The interdisciplinary instructional activity offers opportunities extensions...

What's life like in a hydrothermal vent? Find out in part five of a 13-part series. Learners journey to one of the harshest environments on the planet, the hydrothermal vent, to learn about the creatures that survive the extreme...

Energy comes in many forms, but how do living things get the energy they need to survive and thrive? In a simple, controlled experiment with yeast, water, and sugar, groups make observations about how yeast reacts with water alone, then...

Should bottled water be sold in schools, or should they only provide tap water? The summative unit in the six-part series encourages scholars debating this topic. The lessons teach how to build an argument, how to gain background...

Examine water as a scarce natural resource instead of taking it for granted. Middle schoolers identify the traits of potable water, and research local water sources to determine if they are impaired or not.

Bathymetry is not a measure of the depths of bathtubs! Through the three lessons, scholars explore two different types of maps and how they are made. The resource focuses on topographic and bathymetric maps and teaching the techniques...

Magnets don't grow in fields, but magnetic fields are important to understand. The lesson covers the effect electricity has on magnetic fields. Scholars use a compass, magnets, and electrical wire to test magnetic fields and energy...

Audio speakers, hard drives, credit cards, and even the earth use magnetic fields. While we observe the effect of magnetic fields, we can't actually see them. A viewer helps participants explore magnetic fields, some of the items that...

Young meteorologists explore different aspects of the weather while learning about measurement devices. They build instruments and then set up a weather station outside and measure temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind speed, and...

The higher the number of letters in the final word for the National Spelling Bee, the higher the number of people killed by venomous spiders. Obviously, those two facts correlate, but no causation exists. Scholars view data based on...

Blow their minds with a lesson on the search for life outside of our planet! A brief video proposes the question of how to define life. A couple of articles investigate the possibility of alien existence. Finally, the class is divided...