University of Texas
Matter and the Periodic Table Chemical Families and Periodic Trends
Is assembling the periodic table as simple as Tetris? Scholars arrange colored cards into a logical order and then make connections to the arrangement of the periodic table. Hands-on activities include adding trend arrows and analyzing...
National Park Service
Aspect, Treeline, and Climate
Head to the treeline and beyond to examine how this feature of the landscape affects weather and climate, which gives scientists clues about its health. Class members' observations of photographs provide the data...
Curated OER
A Tacky Cheer
Second graders make predictions, copy cheers, and make inferences as they read a story about an odd bird and his awkward attempts to help his fellow penguins win a cheering contest.
Curated OER
Birds and Birdfeed
Fourth graders examine the basic survival needs of birds before examining a suet ball as an example of what birds eat. They conduct an experiment with pine cones, bird seed, vaseline, and peanut butter. By observing the birds, they...
Curated OER
Mystery Boxes
Students make observations about Mystery Boxes that their teacher has made up and describes the motion of the object inside the box and hypothesizes it's shape based on their observations.
Curated OER
Cool! Awesome! What is it?
Students infer what a mysterious object is in a photo. In this inference lesson, students practice their scientific skills to identify what they see. Students enjoy solving the mysterious identity of objects and extending their knowledge...
Curated OER
Traveling With Limited Funds; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Students participate in a pre-reading activity which helps them see what it would be like to live in poverty. In this reading comprehension lesson, students make a list of items they take on a trip considering they have very limited...
Curated OER
Physical Properties of Ice
Young scholars demonstrate that ice melts faster under pressure. They recognize that ice can be broken up or melted by pressure and then refreeze.
Curated OER
Why Predict?
Twelfth graders examine the process of predicting. They observe a fine art transparency, discuss their predictions about the artwork, identify the types of predictions made during a weather broadcast, and evaluate headlines from...
Curated OER
the Sound Detective Scientist
Students identify sounds in their environment and acquire listening and inferring skills.
Curated OER
Who Am I?
Students read a story together then choose a favorite character to portray. In this inference lesson, students pretend to be one of the characters in the story, they prepare drawings or actions then present them to the class. Students...
Curated OER
Making a Treasure Your Own: Lesson Two
Students write an essay describing the Curtis Center and what they learned there. In this descriptive writing essay, students discuss the five paragraph essay and review sensory discoveries from their trip. Students draft an outline and...
Curated OER
Science TV: Making it Real
High schoolers explore the ways science is presented in a children's television show. Students conduct internet research, and then create and design a skit that highlights the problem-solving process.
Curated OER
Details, Details: How Choices Reveal Character, Setting, Tone, and Theme. (Analyzing and Interpreting, Making Inferences)
Students respond to works of art. In this art interpretation lesson plan, students examine images of art while using concepts they learned as they read literary pieces. They detail the setting, characters, and the mood and theme of the...
Curated OER
Cell Game
Make a prototype of a game based on cell biology. Researching game design and working in groups to create a game will activate knowledge of cell biology. The review task will help learners learning as they test out the games and their...
Curated OER
Protective Design
Over 3 or 4 class periods your young designers will create a wearable garment that provides some sort of protection from a danger in everyday life. In this fashion design instructional activity, high schoolers investigate fear in our...
Curated OER
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: Teaching Through the Novel
Learners are introduced to Chinua Achebe's first novel and to his views on the role of the writer in his or her society. It can be used alone or in conjunction with the related lesson Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart.
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association
A Research Project: A Discussion of the Recreating and Populating of a Colonial Village
Primary source research, secondary source readings, and discussion provide the understanding necessary for learners to create a colonial persona, and simulate a situation appropriate for this person, time, and place. While the lesson...
Curated OER
Parachutes: Is it Surface Area or Shape?
Students investigate how to make a good parachute. In this physics lesson, students observe the motion of parachutes as it falls and measure the time. They collect data and calculate the average descent time for each canopy shape.
Curated OER
North or South? Which has a better way of life?
Sixth graders brainstorm what they believe are the causes of the Civil War. They copy the blank circle graph into their Social Studies journals twice once for their prediction and once for the actual. Students list the following...
Curated OER
Lifestyles of the Tribe, or Tomorrowland?
Eighth graders identify with and analyze through writing various Indian cultural values and how they fit in the modern world. Students organize data utilizing Educational software programs and present their opinions and inferences in a...
NOAA
Watch the Screen!
Can a sponge cure cancer? Life science pupils visit the drugstore under the sea in the fifth activity of six. Working groups research the topic then get hands-on experience by testing the inhibiting effects of several plant extracts...
Curated OER
Classification of Animals
Learners identify observable features of eight dinosaurs and create a sorting chart using SMART Notebook on a SMART Board (or, in case you do not have a SMART Board, a chalk or dry-erase board).
Curated OER
Wreck Detectives
Junior archaeologists examine types of artifacts from the Bronze Age on the internet. In collaborative groups, they create a story about a ship from this period and then construct a model of the ocean floor after their ship has sunk....