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Lab Resource
Colorado State University

Can Gravity Push Something Up?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
How does a hot air balloon fly? An experimental lesson has scholars build a balloon from a garbage bag and monitor the movement of air. As the temperature of the air in the balloon increases, gravity moves the denser cool air down,...
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Lab Resource
Colorado State University

Does Air Weigh Anything?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Can you feel the weight of the air on your shoulders? Your classes may not believe that air has weight. A straightforward experiment asks individuals to weigh a bottle before and after adding air. Their results may surprise them!
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Lab Resource
Colorado State University

Why Do Clouds Form in the Afternoon?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The stability of the atmosphere changes on a daily basis. A kinesthetic lesson models how the stability of the air changes as it's warmed by the sun. Learners connect their models to the changing air currents and movement of warm and...
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Lab Resource
Colorado State University

How Can Freezing Make Something Warmer?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Crazy fact—freezing liquid actually gives off heat! Young scholars investigate the transfer of energy when liquids freeze using a chemical heat pack. The heat pack gives off heat as its liquid core freezes.
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Lab Resource
Colorado State University

How Can Clouds Keep the Air Warmer?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Condensing water warms the air around it. Young scholars consider this concept as they experiment with air temperature around evaporating and condensing water vapor. They simulate the formation of clouds to experience the associated...
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Lab Resource
Colorado State University

Why Does it Get Colder on a Clear Night than a Cloudy Night?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Clouds are nature's insulator! A lab investigation asks learners to use an infrared thermometer to measure differences in infrared temperatures. They find that pointing the thermometer at a cloud has a much different result than pointing...
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Lab Resource
Colorado State University

Do Cities Affect the Weather? (Making a Cloud in a Bottle)

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The dynamics of a city can have a drastic effect on the weather. A hands-on lesson asks learners to build a model to illustrate how city pollution provides a nucleus for condensation. The greater the pollution, the greater chance for...
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Lab Resource
Colorado State University

Can Boiling Make Something Freeze?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Use boiling as an avenue for freezing. Young scholars watch as liquid nitrogen removes heat from the ingredients for ice cream. As this happens, the nitrogen boils and the ice cream freezes—all in the same container. A little science magic!
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Lab Resource
Colorado State University

What Is a "Convection Cell"?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Round and round in circles it goes! A hands-on activity has learners recreate a model of a convection cell. They watch as the difference in density of their materials creates a current.
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Lab Resource
Colorado State University

How Does the Earth Cool Itself Off?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Where does all the heat go when the sun goes down? An interesting lesson has learners explore this question by monitoring the infrared radiation emitted over time. They learn that hot spots cool more quickly that cooler spots.
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Lesson Plan
Colorado State University

What Is a "Model"?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Model the transfer of energy during a typical 24-hour period. Young scholars use a game-like approach to learning the patterns of heat transfer through the day and night. Groups of four exchange different tokens as the energy transfers...
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Activity
Colorado State University

Why Can Warm Air "Hold" More Moisture than Cold Air?—Vapor Pressure Exercise

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Does it feel a little humid in here? Learners assume the role of water vapor in the atmosphere as they explore the differences between warm and cold air. They roll dice to determine their level of energy, which determines if they stay...
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Activity
Colorado State University

Why Do Hurricanes Go Counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Test your class' coordination as they model the Coriolis Effect. Forming a large circle, learners move to the right as they try to toss a ball to the person across from them. The movement of the circle represents the rotation of the...
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Activity
Colorado State University

What Makes a Gas, a Greenhouse Gas?—The Carbon Dioxide Dance

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Investigate a heated topic in environmental science. Scholars team up to play the parts of gas molecules in the atmosphere. As the teacher moves about, acting as the electromagnetic wave, learners react as their molecules would to the...
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Lab Resource
Colorado State University

Can Energy Be Created or Destroyed?

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
Energy doesn't come out of nowhere! An engaging lesson has learners investigate energy as it transforms from one type to another. They collect data to prove that energy is not lost as it changes.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Sense of Our Senses

For Teachers K
Students participate in activities about the five senses. They explore objects, listen to stories and discuss the senses with classmates.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Get to The Root of It!

For Teachers K
Students study a real plant to explore its parts. They discover the function of the plant parts which they diagram and label.
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Activity
Curated OER

Bicycle Wheel Gyro

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Using a bicycle wheel and a rotating stool, young physicists experiment with angular momentum. This is a simple, fun, and educational activity that demonstrates a foundational concept. If you can secure the materials, it is definitely...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Illustrated Safety Contract

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students create illustrated contracts that spell out chemistry lab safety rules. They create original drawings illustrating one of the safety rules published by Flinn Scientific.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Adaptation and Diversity on Sheffield Island

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Written for an exploration of shoreline ecosystems on Sheffield Island, this gives ecology or marine biology buffs a hands-on experience. Using GPS or visual triangulation techniques, they lay transect lines on a high and a low energy...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introducing Grammar: Grammar, Spelling, and Punctuation

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Focusing on correct grammar usasge as well as the concept of language evolution, this conventions lesson prompts middle and high schoolers to examine the structure of sentences and word classes (parts of speech). Use the three activites...
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Lesson Plan
Key Curriculum Press

Lesson 10.2 Volume of Prisms and Cylinders

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders investigate volume in class and in the real world. They explore volume of cylinders and prisms as it relates to different subjects. Pupils also investigate how important volume is in different career field.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Slash Trash! Reducing, Reusing and Recycling Our Way to Zero Waste

For Teachers Pre-K - 6th
The other "Three Rs" are covered in this lesson: reduce, reuse, and recycle. Over four weeks, conservationists collect data about waste in their own homes. They combine their findings with those of other students in order to analyze...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stereotype Characters Activity

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Here is a lesson designed for middle schoolers which helps them recognize stereotypes one way or another against a particular group of people. They also determine what may have motivated the author to use a stereotype in the first place....

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