Curated OER
Open-Ended Questions
Students identify a topic for an open-ended question and evaluate the question. After developing ideas that lead to inquire, they investigate and research this topic on the Internet, and then create an iMovie.
Curated OER
The Nature of Science and Technology
Second graders perform a variety of experiments to observe, form conclusions, and make inferences. In this experiment lesson, 2nd graders experiment based on the result of a pre-assessment. Students share what they have learned.
NASA
A Different Perspective
What can we learn from the data? Young scholars analyze actual solar data to answer specific questions. The activity presents an opportunity for an open-ended investigation of the data to conclude a five-part series on solar winds.
Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Nuts! Calculating Thermal Efficiency
Oh nuts! Do macadamias or almonds produce more thermal energy? Energy enthusiasts find out with this experiment. The objective is to demonstrate to your class how the chemical energy contained in foods can be converted into useable...
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Corn and Oats
How much land does a parcel hold? How much fertilizer does it take for a field of corn? Pupils answer these questions and more as they apply ratio reasoning and unit analysis.
Curated OER
Erosion
Students design and conduct an open-ended investigation using a variety of earth materials to answer a questions posed by the teacher: How does the erosion of sand compare with the erosion of gravel? After producing evidence that...
Curated OER
Stomata: Microscopic Openings that Let Plants Breathe
Students participate in a lab experiment to observe and measure the opening and closing of stomata. They focus on photoperiod, locate and identify stomata on a leaf and explain the role of stomata in the daily functioning of a plant.
Curated OER
Introduction to Adaptation
Tenth graders observe collections of specimens and discuss their answers to provided questions. They explore common ancestry, homology, analogy, adaptive radiation, and evolution, while formulating creative answers based on their...
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Open-Ended Scientific Method Lab
Learners inspect a given problem and come up with a hypothesis. In this investigative lesson students come up with a hypothesis for a problem, test each hypothesis and evaluate how successful each one was.
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The Effects of Alcohol and other Teratogens: A model using Zebrafish
Students investigate the interference of various drugs on an embryo through experimentation. This is an open-ended lab to allow students to see effects of various chemicals humans choose to put in their bodies and create questions they...
Curated OER
Bloodstain Pattern Simulations: A Physical Analysis
Students receive bloodstain pattern evidence from a crime scene. They answer a series of questions through inquiry, observation, measurement, and analysis. Pupils complete this challenge, by reconstructing the evidence through four...
Montana Natural History Center
Studying Grassland Ecosystems
At first glance, grassland ecosystems might seem dull and uninteresting, but once you start to explore it's amazing the things you'll find! Through this series of engaging lessons, activities, and experiments, elementary students examine...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #1 - Solar Cell Inquiry
Give youngsters the components of a solar-powered electric circuit and turn them loose to figure out how to connect them in order for a light to shine or motor to turn. They compare energy output of a solar panel to that of a battery. On...
Curated OER
temperature and the Scientific Method Lesson Plan
Sixth graders study heat, temperature, and heat transfer. Using probeware, the teacher demonstrates boiling points. Students participate in experiments and record the beginning and ending temperatures and mass of objects. After...
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Introduction to Materials Science - Part B
Students are able to give specific examples of what to do and what not to do during given safety situations, and classify materials as metals, polymers, ceramics/glass, or composites. They are able to distinguish between chemical and...
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Pendulums
Students explore the period of a pendulum. In this pendulum lesson plan, students make a pendulum using a fishing weight, hook, string and paper clip and measure the pendulum's period. Students measure the number of seconds for 10 cycles...
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Fences
Pupils design a fence for a backyard pool. Scholars develop a fence design based on given constraints, determine the amount of material they need, and calculate the cost of the project.
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Framing a House
If members of your class wonder where they can use the math they learn in middle school, let them discover the answer. Learners apply geometry concepts of scale and measure to calculate the costs of framing a house addition.
Curated OER
Analysis of Grooming Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster
Students engage in a lab that focuses on animal behavior in an open ended inquiry based laboratory experience. They build an ethogram, display a transition matrix and analyze a Markov Chain. They remove wings from the drosophila and...
Curated OER
Finding Mass
Student measure mass to discover how pennies have changed in their composition. In this measurement lesson, 8th graders investigate through an open-ended problem to discover how the US pennies composition changed in the 1980's.
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What is a Seed?
Students share experiences they have had with different types of seeds. After being read a story, they are given a lima bean in which they split apart and examine the inside. To end the lesson, they share their own ideas on how they...
Curated OER
What Happens to Our Bodies When We Get Sick?
Seventh graders explore ways in which they become sick. They find out ways that there bodies fight off bacteria. Students watch a video from the Magic School Bus series:"Inside Raphie." After reviewing video students can openly discuss...
Curated OER
Matter
First graders are read a story about the various stages of matter with a focus on gases. Using a ziploc bag, they capture as much air as possible and discuss how it takes up space even though it is invisible. To end the lesson, they blow...
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Weather Watchers
Second graders discuss what weather is and list words that can be used to describe weather. In this science lesson, 2nd graders develop symbols for each type of weather and record the weather for two weeks at the same time and the same...