Curated OER
Evolution and the Fossil Record
Engage young biologists with four laboratory activities that explore the fossil record. Learners examine fossil images, a fossil kit, the rock record, and geologic time scale. They even experiment with the oxygen production of an Elodea...
Curated OER
Fossils and Lithologic Units
Practicing paleontologists map the geologic time scale, simulate the formation of sedimentary rock, and analyze fossil data. Instructions for four activities and five assessment choices are provided for the teacher. This comprehensive...
Illustrative Mathematics
Box of Clay
What happens to a volume when you scale the dimensions of a rectangular prism? In this problem, a box of clay is increased in each dimension, with the intent to see if learners can generalize the result. The addition of...
Curated OER
Newton's Second Law
Three memorable activities build on each other to give physics masters a firm grasp of Newton's Second Law. Pupils play with a lab cart on a flat surface and on an incline to confirm that force is equal to mass times acceleration. In the...
Curated OER
The Voyage Scale
Young scholars identify how models are powerful tools of exploration and that the sizes of the planets and distances between the planets in the Solar System span a large range. They make a sign for each planet they have created in the...
Curated OER
Right Place, Right Time
Fourth graders complete mathematical word problems. They study the relationships among distance, speed, and time; and measure travel distances. They measure distances using a piece of string and a ruler and practice converting several...
Balanced Assessment
Multi-Figures
Apply concepts of scale and ratio to determine relationships in irregular figures. Learners determine the ratio of the perimeters of two figures composed of rectangles and circles. After, they apply similar concepts to find the ratio of...
Curated OER
Diversity of Life: Geologic Time Scale
Students investigate the history of Earth by creating a geologic time scale. In this Earth History lesson, students practice sequencing events in their life as a way to get familiar with creating a time scale. Students...
TryEngineering
Exploring at the Nanoscale
Discover a world too small to see. In the lesson plan, young scientists learn about nanotechnology and brainstorm ideas for new applications of it. They perform an activity to determine how surface area changes when objects are made...
Curated OER
Law of Conservation of Momentum
A suggested sequence of events lays out five hands-on activities and four creative assessments on the conservation of momentum. Using spring scales and mail scales, junior physicists examine Newton's Third Law. After you have taught the...
Curated OER
Evidence Revealing the Composition of the Atom
Investigators use indirect evidence to guess what is occupying a sealed box. You could also use a set of plastic Easter eggs to encase the unknown items. Another terrific activity involves having students drop a pencil on a sheet of...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Filtration Investigation
Scholars build a simple filtration system to remove impurities from muddy water and rate the filtered water to a grade of clarity scale. The focus is on teamwork and problem solving. This instructional activity would be effective in your...
Curated OER
Tracking Satellites Using Latitude and Longitude
Students, viewing an Internet site, plot the path of several satellites using latitude and longitude over the course of an hour. They learn the four basic types of satellites and their purpose.
Curated OER
Laws of Motion
Do you need some new ideas for teaching Newton's Laws of Motion? This series of activities will spring your curriculum to life! Choose from five activities to demonstrate or have your science stars perform. As a result, they...
Curated OER
Building a Quadratic Function Form
Comparing the movement of graphs geometrically when small changes are made to the parent function motivates this collaborative discussion on the transformations of functions to their various forms. Vertical and horizontal shifts due to...
San Francisco Symphony
Admirable Armonica Admirers
What do Ben Franklin and Wolfgang Mozart have in common? Find out about the musical invention, the armonica or glassy-chord. Learners will read about how Ben Franklin invented this new instrument and how Wolfgang Mozart came to play it....
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Engineer a Dam
To begin the learning about dams, learners read (or are read to, depending on the age group) a passage about how dams work. Next, they work in groups to use the materials provided to build a small scale working dam. After the experience,...
Illustrative Mathematics
Temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit and Celsius
Learners investigate the relationship between the Fahrenheit and Celsius temperature scales. Given two data points, they construct a linear function to describe the relationship, find the inverse of the function, and make observations...
Arizona State University
Physics of Boats
Let's go sailing! An instructive unit includes six lessons with multiple activities to teach scholars about density, center of gravity, buoyancy, and the Archimedes Principle. They can complete the final project of building a boat...
Curated OER
Particles: Size Makes All the Difference
High schoolers plot particle sizes of common airborne materials on a log scale. They read an article on particle size and its relationship to the ability to pass through the lungs, into the bloodstream, and eventually into the cells...
Trash For Teaching
The Light-House Project
Groups work together to design a lighthouse, from designing and drawing the wiring diagram, to creating prototypes of the switch and circuit, to envisioning and building a scale model along with a blueprint. By including different...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Synthesis of Nickel Nanowires
It's all about the scale—they're not just wires, they're nanowires! The second lesson plan of the series builds on the oxidation-reduction experiment in the first lesson plan. Scholars synthesize a sample of nanowires using electrolysis....
Curated OER
Temperature Scales
Eighth graders explore how to read a thermometer. They convert temperature between Celsius, Fahrenheit and Kelvin. Students explain that Celsius is used in the Scientific community and Fahrenheit is used basically only in the United...
Illustrative Mathematics
Dilating a Line
High School geometers verify through experimentation certain properties about dilations. This multi-step problem challenges them to construct examples of dilations to verify specific facts, the final step provides an opportunity to more...