Discuss personal ideas about science and how a filmmaker can employ the arts to promote science. After reading an article, young scientists will discover how James Cameron is trying to interest people in the oceans. In groups, they will...

Science is magic that works. Magical color-changing beads and a coffee can that follows voice commands are just two examples of magic tricks that rely on science. After completing a hands-on activity and an experiment investigating the...

What caused the collapse of the environment on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)? Who constructed the Moai? What was their purpose? Class members assume the role of investigators and use evidence drawn from field studies, ships' logs, and...

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...

Middle schoolers recognize that science writing is organized in identifiable patterns called text structures. Understanding and using these different text structures help refine students' abilities to read and write in science.

High schoolers use mystery novels to focus on the history and ethnicity of different regions of the United States. As a class, they are introduced to the elements of a mystery and compare them to the other types of novels they have...

Students imagine and describe fictitious sea animals that might live in the ocean. After reading an article, they reflect on new discoveries found in the ocean recently. Using the internet, they research the interdependence of animals...

Reading, writing, and rings! A lesson from NASA combines space science with authentic reading and writing tasks. Included in this lesson are pre-reading activities, four mini informational booklets on Saturn, a structured...

Pupils develop an understanding of how students and volunteers can make scientific observations that can aid conservation. They read the account of the Minnesota New Country School project by Ryan Fisher, Mystery of the Malformed Frogs....

Students explore the solar system by conducting Earth science experiments. In this Sun lesson, students identify the different seasons on Earth and discuss their purpose and cause. Students create a sundial and observe the changes to...

Seventh graders investigate the causes and effects of El Nino and explore its global impact on weather related occurrences through this series of activities.

It's a classification sensation! Demystify why we classify using an inquiry activity that helps your class sort things out. Groups begin by classifying a variety of shoes before they research organisms and design their own dichotomous...

First graders in kindergarten science class discuss matter. They make predictions and then identify mystery items in brown paper bags as either solid, liquid, or gas by using their senses. They discuss that a chemist is a scientist that...

Learners read, analyze, and solve a mystery using problem-solving skills. They explore the History Detective website, discuss the difference between clues and red herrings, complete a dot-to-dot sheet, take notes in a detective...

Students research the effects of soil erosion and pollution in the soil.

Show the class the world as they've never seen it before—from way above! Learners try to unravel the mysteries presented by rich satellite imagery, learn to interpret topographic maps, and study erosion by constructing their very...

Students role play the position of a scientist to gather information on Meriwether Lewis' death. They discover what he did after the famous expedition and how centuries affect the study of a body. They share their information with the...

Students investigate and demonstrate the science behind the development of tornadoes.

Learn to analyze handwriting samples in a textual analysis lesson. Middle schoolers complete a textual analysis procedure based on the text Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief. They also provide supporting evidence for their work.

Students divide substances into categories: made of chemicals/not made of chemicals, synthetic/naturally occurring, and toxic/nontoxic. They observe a mystery chemical and determine what precautions they need to take when handling an...

Young geologists discover the important role that rocks and minerals play in our everyday lives through this series of hands-on activities. Starting off with a lesson that defines the difference between plants, animals, and...

Students investigate the different regions of our oceans by researching the Internet.  In this oceanography lesson, students discover the different jobs related to ocean research and examine their roles by reading related...

Students compare and contrast key skeletal differences between chimpanzees and humans: brain size, teeth, hand and thumb, trunk, pelvis, lower limb, foot and big toe. They then sort and group a set of mixed "fossil bones" of chimpanzee...

Students research microarrays on the internet in cooperative groups. Students write an essay describing the use of microarrays in environmental research and in medicine.