Scholars become detectives and use science to solve a crime! A complete unit introduces DNA and includes hands-on activities that have learners model DNA and extract it from different food types. A culminating activity challenges...

  Wake up, sleepy head! High schoolers craft a creative presentation that represents how they feel when they wake up on a school morning. After the presentations, a reading of Academic Sleep Times and Academic Performance launches a...

Take young geologists on an exploration of the rock cycle with this six-lesson earth science unit on rocks and minerals. Through a series of discussions, demonstrations, and hands-on investigations your class will learn...

Students explore the art of shadow puppetry. In this performing arts instructional activity, students study the functions of lighting in the puppet theater as they examine the transmission, absorption, and reflection of light. As a...

Students research scientific discoveries and technological innovations. They organize discoveries and innovations in life, environmental, physical, earth and space science categories. They analyze impact of selected discoveries and...

Students investigate how knowledge of science influences people in their daily lives, specifically in their careers. Students conduct interviews with an individual in a science or technology career as part of their research on the impact...

Students research articles about science technology and society. In this science and technology lesson, students answer questions about an article they chose. They share what they learned with their peers.

Assess anatomists' understanding of the structure of the mammalian heart by giving a pretest. Have them visit some websites to further learn about heart anatomy. Then take them into the laboratory to perform a dissection so that they get...

A virtual 3-D tour leads students to developing icons representing the function of various parts of the brain. These icons are then used to label hand-drawn maps of the brain. A worksheet, assessment, and detailed procedures are included.

As an assessment of their skill in crafting a compare and contrast essay, class members read and compare the portrayals of nature in excerpts from naturalist John Muir's My First Summer in the Sierra and from poet Emily Dickinson's...

How do opposable thumbs help you complete certain tasks? An activity about evolutionary traits prompts learners to try writing their name, twist the lid off of a jar, and use tweezers to pick up a straw, first with their normal grip, and...

Students explore how science and technology interact. They discuss important inventions, discoveries and technologies. They research a specific technological advance, or invention, and prepare a presentation that includes the...

Discover colonies! Young historians will listen to a primary source journal entry read aloud with a backdrop of wave sounds. They discuss the entry, add historical facts to a chart and personal insights to another. Then they listen to...

It's no fun catching a fungus. Scholars first investigate how the seasons affect the angle of the sun and the lengths of shadows. They then apply right triangle trigonometry to determine the height of trees based on their shadows to...

A three-part writing assessment challenges scholars to think critically about schools of the past and present. Learners read informative texts, answer questions to prepare for a discussion, research in small groups, complete a Venn...

An ecosystem is really just the flow of energy through many different living organisms. A study of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book leads to an environmental science activity in which learners study how various factors can affect...

Middle schoolers complete a writing assessment task to demonstrate their ability to craft a narrative based on a variety of informational texts. They view West of the West's documentary Magic Isle, read three print resources about...

Learners perform simple and fun experiments to use the scientific method, take careful notes, and write a lab report. They first make and test a hypothesis about how many drops of water they can fit on the face of a penny and then test...

Second graders, after assessing why forecasting weather is important, study about temperature and how to read a thermometer. They experiment being able to observe the mercury rising up and down when given a thermometer and cups of cold...

Students question the accepted practices of science by scientists and their interactions with technology and society. They devise and conduct appropriate interview procedures for scientists to question their understanding and...

Take your class on the ride of their lives! Physical science scholars get an in-depth look at potential and kinetic energies in an amusement park-themed unit. Students research, design, and promote their own amusement parks,...

Students take the role of a science reporter and gather data for a newspaper article. Students create a question sheet. Students receive a copy of the Science Reporter's Journal task sheet. They complete the items on the sheet and...

Young scholars explore mountain formation. In this cross curriculum earth science and legend writing lesson, students listen to the poem "The Way to make Perfect Mountains" by Byrd Baylor and identify examples of vivid language used....

I'm compressed. Groups do a rapid research of different file types to determine what kind of compression the formats use and how it works. They share their information with the rest of the class until everyone has all the information for...