Science 4 Inquiry
A Whole New World: The Search for Water
Scholars find Earth won't support humans much longer and need to identify a planet with water to inhabit. They test four unknown samples and determine which is the closest to water. Then they explain and defend their results.
EduGAINs
Go H2O! Investigating Residential Water Systems
Before your learners excuse themselves to get a drink at the water fountain, prompt them to think about where that water comes from. A middle school science instructional activity encourages groups to research their community's source of...
Baylor College
Water in Your Body
Do you know how much water you have had in the last 24 hours? Do you know how much your body needs? In this hands-on activity, your class members will estimate how much water our bodies lose each day by filling and emptying one-liter...
NASA
Rain Gauge Activity
Complete teacher narrative and presentation slides for teaching about Earth's water make up the bulk of this lesson. Embedded within the slide show, you will find videos about the water cycle, keeping track of the limited supply of fresh...
K20 LEARN
Transpiring Trees: Plant Transpiration and the Water Cycle
Looking for a tree-rific addition to your water cycle unit? Teams of young foresters examine the role of transpiration in the water cycle through a week's worth of activities. Pupils analyze how trees take in and transport water during...
Earth Day Network
Filtering Water
See the water filtration system up close with a fun science experiment. Young scientists work for several class periods to design a water filter using household objects, and then decide which filter material would be most effective in...
Salt River Project
How Do We Clean Polluted Water?
How do we clean up oil spills and other pollutants in the water? Explore water treatment strategies with a set of environmental science experiments. Groups remove oil from water, work with wastewater treatment, and perform a water...
PBS
Blow the Roof Off!
Blow the minds of young scientists with this collection of inquiry-based investigations. Based on a series of eight videos, these "hands-on, minds-on" science lessons engage young learners in exploring a wide range of topics from making...
Earth Day Network
Staying Green While Being Clean
Clean up the environment with a lesson that focuses on replacing hazardous cleaning supplies with green, environmentally-friendly products. Using a dirty patch of surface as a control area, kids clean other parts of various surfaces...
Curated OER
Debating Controversial Issues: Integrating Science and Current Events
In order to give young scientists experience with critical thinking skills, introduce them to a current controversy and prepare them to debate. Choose a topic, such as genetically modified organisms, and assign groups to represent...
Science 4 Inquiry
States and Phases of Matter
Plasma is the most common phase of matter in our universe. Scholars explore the change of energy as molecules change phases of matter. They rotate through stations, graphing the changes in energy level.
Curated OER
Effects of Weathering
Here's a great geology lesson for 3rd graders on weathering and erosion of soil. After a class discussion on how nature can "move a mountain," learners take a look at how a modern phenoma called acid rain can also cause weathering and...
Science 4 Inquiry
Let's Get Moving
Rivers top the list of causes of erosion over time. Scholars experiment with wind, water, and ice reshaping sand. They connect the simulations facts about erosion and deposition to understand unique landforms such as the Grand Canyon and...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Micro-GEEBITT Climate Activity
A truly hands-on and inquiry based learning activity bridges all the lessons in the series together. Beginning with a discussion on average global temperatures, young meteorologists use real-world data to analyze climate trends in order...
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.
Curated OER
Sediment Sleuths
Are you looking for a good, solid lesson on sedimentary rocks? This one, produced by the Illinois State Museum, is just such a lesson. Middle schoolers identify common rocks and minerals by analyzing sediments from local water sources....
Chicago Botanic Garden
Are Global CO2 Levels Changing?
According to the Mauna Loa observatory, carbon dioxide levels increased by 3 ppm in our atmosphere between 2015–2016. Individuals analyze carbon dioxide data from around the world and then share this with a home group in lesson three of...
NOAA
Deep-Sea Ecosystems – A Tale of Deep Corals
Many have debated which came first, the chicken or the egg, but this lesson debates which came first, the hydrocarbons or the carbonate reef. After a discussion on deep-sea corals, scholars receive a set of questions to research and...
Curated OER
Is the Coast Really Toast?: A Lesson About Volcanoes, Phase Changes, and the Art of Estimation
Clever! Use a clip from the 1997 film, Volcano, to get your chemistry class knee-deep in heat concepts related to lava. In the movie scene, lava flow is stopped in the nick of time. Your class must use calculations to determine if this...
Orange County Water Atlas
Location, Location, Location…
Young geographers discover not only how to read and recognize coordinates on a map, but also gain a deeper understanding of latitude and longitude and how climate changes can vary significantly across latitudes.