Curated OER
The Delicate Balance - Iowa's Natural Resources
Discover the natural resources in Iowa by studying it's history. In this environmental lesson, your young scholars will observe a topographical map of Iowa and identify where its most valuable resources are. They complete an Iowa name...
Curated OER
The Effect of Natural Selection on Genes, Traits and Individuals
Rotating through five stations, evolutionary biologists explore the question of how changes in DNA facilitate the changes in a population over time. High-quality, colorful cards of animals, skeletons, skulls, and DNA sequences can all be...
Port Jefferson School District
Hurricane Katrina
Young scientists track Hurricane Katrina across the Atlantic Ocean as they learn about these destructive forces of nature. Provided with a table of data tracking the location and conditions of Katrina over a one week span, students...
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...
Curated OER
Selecting the Tap: Water Safety
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.
Curated OER
Natural Selection Day 1
Young scholars define the concept of classification. In groups, they categorize a series of objects into categories they identify. As a class, they participate in a variety of activities to examine the concept of natural selection. To...
Take the challenge
Connecting with Natural/Open Spaces
Get your class outside, away from the television, and maybe even learning something about nature while they're at it. Individuals will chose an open, natural space to spend time in for several days. Each day they will complete a page in...
Curated OER
Settlement Exploration: Then and Now
NASA has crafted an imaginative and memorable series of lessons, "NASA and Jamestown Education Module." This lesson is one of the five components. In it, middle schoolers connect history and science by comparing the settlement of...
Curated OER
Beauty: Patterns in Nature
Students explore the patterns of nature. In this interdisciplinary lesson, students examine beauty in nature and participate in a hands-on simulation that demonstrates how human preferences for beauty have led to an increased frequency...
Curated OER
Fossil Fuels (Part II), The Geology of Oil
More of a mini-unit than a lesson plan, these activities lead inquisitors through a survey of oil deposits. In the first part, they read about and view diagrams of sedimentary rock layers that trap oil. Next, they test porosity and...
Indian Land Tenure Foundation
Relationship with Nature
After a class discussion that focuses on kinship and extended family, young learners explore how Native Americans have lived in clans and other forms of extended family divisions. Pupils also see how Native Americans relate to the...
Curated OER
Natural Selection
Students estimate how many different species of organisms inhabit the Earth. In groups, they match the pictures of embryos at the different stages of development. They compare and contrast animals from the sky, land, and water and...
Curated OER
Natural Selection
Eighth graders define natural selection and adaptation. They simulate natural selection within a species and relate the elements of natural selection to the simulation. They analyze the results of natural selection in terms of...
Curated OER
Natural Selection II
High schoolers participate in a discussion about the three types of natural selection. In groups, they identify examples of adaptations from photographs. To end the lesson, they analyze results of natural selection in adaptation,...
New York City Department of Education
Egypt
This six-week unit encompasses all subjects with a focus study on world history and the development of ancient civilizations. As gifted and talented students dive into the interesting yet challenging topic of Egypt, they...
PBS
Lessons - Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!
Volcanoes are among the most spectacular geological features on the planet. Jump into an exploration of these amazing phenomenon with this multimedia lesson series. Working collaboratively in small groups, young scientists view videos...
PHET
The Dynamic Nature of the Sun
In this second lesson plan of the series, pupils learn to observe similarities and differences in photos of the sun and record them in a Venn diagram. Then, small groups practice the same skill on unique images before presenting...
Curated OER
Chocolate Chip Cookie Mining
To understand the impact coal mining has on the environment, pupils will extract chocolate chips from a cookie. Imagine the cookie is the environment and the chips are the coal. Instruct them to mine as many chips as they can, then have...
Brooklyn Children’s Museum
Volcanoes!
Give young geologists an up close and personal look at volcanoes with a series of hands-on earth science lessons. Whether they are investigating the properties of igneous rocks, building their own volcanoes, or making...
Beyond Benign
What is Biotechnology
Examine the sequence of key events in the history of genetics. An engaging lesson plan asks scholars to sort events to create a timeline of biotechnology milestones. Arranging the events gives learners a perspective on the...
Curated OER
Fossil Fuels (Part II), The Geology of Oil: Topographic Mapping, Crustal Deformation, Rock Porosity, and Environmental Pollution
Students review an interpretation of geologic history and relate it to the formation of oil deposits. They explore and explain factors controlling the porosity and permeability of sediments and sedimentary rocks. Pupils also interpret...
Curated OER
Classification and Binomial Nomenclature
Students practice identifying different groups of living organisms using a dichotomous key. Students also examine the history of an organism and its lineage by writing a paragraph about it and "three generations" of ancestors.
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Adaptation of Species (Birds and Butterflies)
A video about the impact of climate change on butterfly populations and a PowerPoint about butterfly and bird adaptations warm science learners up for the activity to follow. Using a variety of tools that reprsent unique styles of bird...
Curated OER
Wright Again: 100 Years of Flight
Aspiring aeronautical engineers demonstrate different forces as they construct and test paper airplanes. This lesson plan links you to a website that models the most effective paper airplane design, an animation describing the forces...