Curated OER
How Much Does Soap Cost?
Explore multiplication and division using real life problems, including how to find the cost of soap per bar. Individuals or small groups work to find answers. They then share with the class how they found their answer.
Flipped Math
Frequency Tables
What's the association? Pupils watch a presentation on creating a two-way frequency table. Learners find out how to calculate relative frequencies within the table to determine whether there is an association between the two categories....
California Academy of Science
Be Prepared for an Earthquake
Earthquakes can be frightening and dangerous, but being prepared can make a world of difference. Perform an earthquake simulation during which the class practices how to drop, cover, and hold on as you read a script...
California Academy of Science
Human Evolution
As the great and hilarious Tim Minchin once said, "Science is simply the word we use to describe a method of organizing our curiosity." Science is more than just a guess; it is based on questions, observations, and evidence. High...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: The Meaning of a Year
How many times have you traveled around the sun? Aspiring astronomers grasp what a year is and they differentiate between orbit and rotation by walking around the sun right within your classroom. Place a lamp in the center of the room to...
Judicial Learning Center
The U.S. Supreme Court
How do Supreme Court justices determine which cases to consider? What happens when the Supreme Court decides not to take a case? The lesson explores important questions and others in the field of criminology. It focuses on the...
California Academy of Science
Global Climate Change and Sea Level Rise
Ice is nice, and its condition on the planet has a significant effect. Junior geoscientists experiment with ice melting in both water and on land to discover how each affect the rising sea level. This detailed lesson outline even...
Flipped Math
Calculus AB/BC - Connecting Differentiability and Continuity
Despite what you thought, you can differentiate between continuity and differentiability. Using a short lesson, pupils learn how differentiability and continuity relate to each other. It provides three descriptions of when a function is...
PBS
NOVA Evolution Lab Game
Many scholars study phylogenetic trees without understanding how they are made. Through an online game, young scientists use the given data to create phylogenetic trees of increasing complexity. They rely on the trees they create to...
Scholastic
Study Jams! The Senses: Hearing
How does this sound? It's a rockin' video starring two teenage girls talking about music, hearing, and the ear. Listeners hear that the ear does not only gather sound waves, but also helps us maintain balance. They also will get an...
California Academy of Science
Notice and Wonder
Pint-sized zoologists practice the art of observation. They take notes, pictures or written, as they observe an animal for a period of time. This can be done at the zoo, with a visiting classroom animal, or perhaps at the humane society....
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Birthday Stars
Space explorers take a virtual trip around the sun right within your classroom! They stand in a circle facing away from the "sun" (a lamp) in the center of the room. As they move according to your instructions, they view different...
Historical Thinking Matters
Spanish-American War: 3 Day Lesson
Why did the United States choose to invade Cuba in 1898? As part of a 3-day lesson, your young historians will first develop working hypotheses to answer this question, then work with a variety of historical primary source documents that...
Museum of Disability
Zoom!
Turn your class' focus on how wheelchairs assist individuals with disabilities to become more independent with this disabilities lesson plan. Scholars listen to a read aloud of the book, Zoom! by Robert Munsch, answer...
Curated OER
How much does soap cost?
Third graders practice the division concept. In this dividing lesson plan, 3rd graders watch a video that gives a simple division word problem. Students work collaboratively to find the solution.
Curated OER
The Speed of Writing
First graders investigate how to measure time. In this time analysis lesson, 1st graders investigate ways to measure the time difference between two people writing. Students share their time measuring ideas with their...
Curated OER
Sorting Candy
Lower graders sort and group objects by their different properties. They watch a video about sorting then, sort and organize candy in different groups. Students compare how others sorted their candy. Finally, they decide which group has...
101 Questions
Wedding Cake Ribbon
Customers often want ribbon around fancy cakes, but how does a baker know how much ribbon to buy? Scholars view a cake with multiple layers in different geometric shapes. They must figure the perimeter and circumference and add them...
California Academy of Science
Pollution in Our Watershed
The concept of a how pesticides and other chemicals pass through a watershed can be difficult for younger learners to grasp without a concrete example. In the activity here, some blank paper, markers, and a spray bottle are all you need...
California Academy of Science
Discovering Rainforest Locations
How many rainforests are there, where are they, and do global factors effect their locations? These are great questions that have great answers. Children in grades four through eight use several different maps to determine why...
California Academy of Science
Conservation Island
Why not walk in the footsteps of Teddy Roosevelt and become a conservationist? After discussing issues and reasons for animal extinction, the class creates their own conservation plans. Each small group is given mock data regarding a...
Curated OER
Time for a Plumber!
Fourth graders compare amounts of time in seconds, minutes and hours. In this multiplying and comparing time lesson, 4th graders problem solve a plumbing problem scenario to find which amount of time is the least. Students...
PBS
Exploring Selected Haiku by Issa
If your class doesn't know what a haiku is, show them two examples from the Japanese poet Issa (both included here), and have them make some observations. How long are they? What is the structure? A video and a list of questions help...
California Academy of Science
Pick Apart the Tree
In only 30 minutes, your class will have increased their rainforest vocabulary. They visualize the things they have seen on a recent trip to a rainforest exhibit. Then, they create sentences for each of the rainforest-related vocabulary...