Curated OER
Solids and Liquids
Students complete activities to study the properties of solids and liquids. For this states of matter lesson, students investigate the melting and freezing of a range of materials in a virtual experiment. Students melt the substances and...
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Construct with Solids
Students discover which properties of solids lend themselves to building a tower through hands on trial and error and observation of others as they are building. They write down the steps it took them to build the tower and label an...
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I've Seen That Shape Before
Students identify geometric solids. In this shape lesson, students explore the characteristics of geometric solids. They locate pictures of shapes on the internet, and identify the shapes. Students draw pictures of shapes, take...
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The Three States of Matter
Students explore the three states of matter. In this physics lesson, students are shown examples of solids, liquids, and gases. Students make cookies and identify the three states of matter during the baking process.
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It Matters
Learners use descriptive vocabulary to discuss the attributes of matter. Then, they sort objects or pictures by the type of matter they are comprised of. Finally, students match objects of matter with similar attributes and create a...
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Spacemobiles
Aspiring astronauts construct a space vehicle using cylinders, cones, spheres, and rectangular prisms. This is an engaging method of learning about three-dimensional shapes. Note that the word cylinder is constantly misspelled in the...
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Exploring Rocks
Students recognize differences in the size, shape, texture, and color of different rocks. In this rocks lesson plan, students also learn and repeat back how a volcano erupts and make one out of a toilet paper tube.
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Chemistry Module
Students build metal atomic models using styrofoam. In this chemistry lesson, students identify the different unique properties of metals. They explain how metal atoms bond.
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Marshmallow Geometry
In this three-dimensional shapes geometry lesson, learners identify geometric solids and name their properties. They define "face," "edge," and "vertex," and construct geometric solids using marshmallows as vertices and toothpicks as edges.
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Sphere Dressing
Geometric design makes a fashion statement! Challenge learners to design a hat to fit a Styrofoam model. Specifications are clear and pupils use concepts related to three-dimensional objects including volume of irregular shapes and...
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Sediment Sleuths
Are you looking for a good, solid activity on sedimentary rocks? This one, produced by the Illinois State Museum, is just such a activity. Middle schoolers identify common rocks and minerals by analyzing sediments from local water...
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Make-and-Take: Staff Development
Students complete activities to learn a phenomenological approach to polygons. In this polygons lesson plan, students use the materials in the directions to make demonstration models. Students use a wooden wagon model and liquid to learn...
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Investigation-On the Surface
Learners compute the surface area of 3 geometric solids to determine the shape of package that would require the least amount of paper to wrap. In this geometry lesson, students work on a two-question assessment embedded in the plan. The...
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Physical Changes to Matter
Pupils explore matter by conducting an in-class experiment. They experiment with water's various forms by melting and freezing water, identifying its new shape. These observations are recorded to supplement later discussion. They also...
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Non-Newtonian Fluids
Learners will use water, cornstarch, eggs, and more to explore the different states of matter. They will make observations of an unknown substance called "Oobleck" and test its liquid and solid properties. This would be a great lesson to...
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Polydron Fun
Young scholars investigate nets as they relate to volume and area. In this geometry lesson, students use nets as a visual to deepen their understanding of surface area and volume of objects. They make conjectures about different objects...
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Investigating: Finding the Volume
Sixth graders explore geometry by utilizing colored cubes in class. In this volume lesson, 6th graders identify the different shapes they can create using their colored cubes and identify the formula for finding volume. Students create...
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Geometry Slideshow
Sixth graders create slideshows of geometric terms. They use images taken with digital cameras or scanned from magazines.
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Breaking it Down
High schoolers will identify the factors that contribute to erosion and weathering. They will start by differentiating between chemical and mechanical weathering. They then apply what they learned by playing the online jeopardy game. Key...
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Chemical Wonders
Students read about and discuss how chemical engineers use different states of matter to create substances. In this chemical engineering lesson plan, students also give examples of the 3 kinds of matter.
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Biology E3 Project Instructional Plan
Ninth graders design a device to treat aneurism. In this biology lesson, 9th graders create a polymer in the lab and explain its uses. They identify the different diseases affecting the circulatory system.
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Mighty Minerals
Students investigate the physical and chemical characteristics of minerals. They make a list of the uses of minerals found in Illinois. They write a report individually based on their observations.
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Force and Motion - Part 2
Students test different objects such as dominoes, marshmallows, slides, and more to test their force, motion, gravity, friction, and the concept of matter. In this force and motion lesson plan, students understand that the force an...