Does the early bird really get the worm? If so, which color of worm does it prefer? In an exciting and easy week-long field investigation, young field biologists set up a one square meter feeding area for birds. If you have a webcam,...

How prevalent is pollution in the water system? A hands-on activity focuses on one area that is prone to pollution. Learners use game chips to represent clean water and polluted water and complete an activity that demonstrates how...

Expanding our students' understanding of government at a local level is a great way to build an understanding of government at a global level. Start the understanding by using any of these fun teaching ideas. Learners engage in several...

This is a nice hands-on activity where young geometers create trapezoids and calculate their area by looking at areas of quadrilaterals and triangles. 

Scholars investigate levels of nitrogen dioxide in the Pacific Northwest by examining the role of nitrogen in air pollution and how remote sensing can be used to measure nitrogen levels. An Excel spreadsheet calculates the difference...

Learners simulate the impact of fluctuating river volumes on structures and landforms. They experiment with table top-sized riverbed models and water. Students consider how human design can help mitigate the effects of a flood.

How does the Earth continually repair itself? Explore the answer to this question, and others, with a unit on plate boundaries and interaction. Pupils classify the types of movement at plate boundaries and identify the...

Playing with matches (unlit, of course) becomes an engaging learning experience in this fun instructional unit. Teach pupils how to apply properties of exponential functions to solve problems. They differentiate between quadratic and...

Learners use field research and traditional research to identify migrating species of birds as well as their migratory patterns. Students generate a list of questions regarding migration and a plan to research the questions. A field...

Students devlop a model, which they illustrate a water table and allow for the discussion of common terms and illustrate what those terms mean. They comprehend that a flow rates, removal of contaminants, and the amount of water stored...

Third graders relate that the quality of their drinking water is subject to the condition of the environment and water found in streams and creeks in their community. They track the travel of a wad of paper from a student's desk to a...

Students investigate the climate changes occurring locally, regionally and globally over the last one hundred years. They brainstorm and predict whether the current year's weather was warmer or colder than last year then check the...

High schoolers evaluate the effects of point and non-pointy sources of water pollution using a model. They assess human impact on water quality. Students build a model which represents an aspect of the hydrosphere and compare their model...

Students sequence the steps leading to the formation of rain, and design a model to represent these steps. This task assesses students' abilities to classify, generalize, infer, interpret and communicate data, and construct a pictorial...

Students are introduced to the anatomy and characteristics of the North American wolf, grizzly bear and bobcat through a purchased kit. They cast plaster models of each of the animals for study and display.

Students investigate the circulatory system. In this circulatory system lesson, students complete a WebQuest and explore all the areas of the heart. Students determine the functions of different parts of the circulatory system and...

Students discuss how groundwater becomes polluted. In groups, they design and create models of groundwater pollution sources. They demonstrate to the class how the water may become contaminated from local and nonlocal pollution sources.

Pupils gather data, make and share predictions about the time of sunrise ans sunset in their area. Patterns are analyzed and shared with students from other areas.

Students model a watershed and delineate one using topographic maps. In this hydrology lesson plan, students use aluminum foil to model a landscape and observe how water moves on it. They also observe the features of a topographic map...

Students use materials to research the soil in their local area. They complete worksheets with the information they gather and locate the areas on a soil survey map. They share their information with the class.

Students explore the concept of air pressure. Using candy or cookie wafers to model how air pressure changes with altitude, they conduct an aluminum can crushing experiment, compare the magnitude to gravitational force per unit area,...

Students use a sponge and water model to explore the concept of relative humidity and create a percent scale. They define humidity and saturation, build a simple humidity/saturation model, collect, predict and interpret data, and create...

Students examine the causes of tsunamis and observe a table top wave making machine. They make model houses while working in groups so that the can see how different construction types work. They discuss how engineers can design and...

Students develop a creative building design. In this technology lesson, students create a model of their building using a computer software. They present their final product in class.