Curated OER
Children: Then and Now
Through a series of activities, children discover the differences between their lives and the lives of children in the 19th century. They research and compare roles and responsibilities (in general and among genders), forms of education,...
Curated OER
Toy Selection and Safety
High schoolers investigate the role toys play in child development, to become more aware of what toys to select, and the safety features in toys.
Curated OER
Rave Reviews
A fun lesson that utilizes toys and persuasion! After reading the article, which was written in 2005, pull some advertisements for toys currently being sold. These will be more relevant to your middle and high schoolers. What toy is a...
Curated OER
Structures And Mechanisms
Eighth graders explore and demonstrate an understanding of the factors that contribute to the efficient operation of mechanisms and simple machines. They design and make a mechanical toy device that moves a given object a specified...
Curated OER
Rat Round Up
Students build a device that captures and carries a pet rat safely back to its cage with out "harming" the rat or themselves. They build and experiment with wind-up or battery operated rat cat toys after predicting the outcome of their...
Curated OER
Dangerous Fun
For this line graph worksheet, students analyze the data on a graph about toy-related injuries by year. Students solve 5 problems in which the change in injuries per year is calculated and recorded on a table.
California Academy of Science
Earthquakes and Tectonic Plates
Here is a comprehensive package in which middle schoolers learn about types of seismic waves, triangulation, and tectonic plate boundaries. Complete vocabulary, colorful maps, and a worksheet are included via links on the webpage. You...
American Chemical Society
Great Electron Ripoff
Create a charge in the classroom. Using pieces of cellophane tape, a plastic grocery bag, and a balloon, learners investigate the effects of static electricity. Pupils create different charges in the materials and observe whether they...
Curated OER
Playing in Lesotho
Students learn about another culture. In this cultural awareness lesson, students learn about the location of the kingdom of Lesotho in southern Africa, discuss the toys used in Lesotho to those used in the United States and draw a...
Curated OER
Toys in Space
Studentsexplore how gravity affects the operation of toys and simple machines. They watch a video and experiment with simple machines.
Curated OER
Balancing The Day Away In Grade 2
Second graders sped the day exploring about balance by playing with and making balancing toys. They discover how varying the amount and position of mass affects the toys' balance. Pupils explore gravity and balance while playing with the...
Curated OER
Make and Shake a Snowglobe
Learners make a holiday or seasonal snow globe to give as a gift. Make it, then shake it! Students use small jars with lids. They use a glue gun or silicon glue to attach a small plastic toy to the inside of the lid. When the glue is...
Perkins School for the Blind
Taking Turns
For small children or learners with disabilities, learning to wait patiently and taking turns is very important. In pairs, two children with visual impairments take turns asking for, waiting for, and playing with a musical toy. Each turn...
Curated OER
Energy At Play
If you can find Tinker Toys™, then this may be a fun assignment for your physical science class. Using the construction set and a few other toys, they examine the forces involved when it they are being played with. For each, they...
Curated OER
The Magical Diving Sub
First graders discuss and predict if a given object sinks or floats. They record their predictions on a data sheet. Pupils test the objects and organize them into floating/sinking groups. Students observe the floating and sinking of a...
Curated OER
Slam On the Brakes!
Fifth graders study the concept of momentum and its application by Newton in his studies. They view a demonstration and complete an experiment with toy cars on a racetrack that shows them the properties of momentum and how velocity and...
Curated OER
Motion Commotion!
Young scholars explore the drawings of Rube Goldberg to design and construct a simple machine. They discuss simple machines, and using various materials and toy parts, design and construct a "Rube Goldberg" style machine to ring a bell.
Curated OER
Some Spelling Rules
This presentation offers up some of the trickier rules of the English language when it comes to spelling. For example, one slide goes over the "i before e, except after c," rule. The rest of the slides present examples like this one and...
Curated OER
Zhu Zhu
Pupils read an article about the toy Zhu Zhu and answer comprehension questions about it. In this toy lesson plan, students also create an ad for a new toy that they invent in groups.
Curated OER
Marching to the Music
This lesson plan reinforces that physical movement/fitness can be directly related to dance and music. Tell the students that you are going to read a fun Christmas story. In the story there will be toys that magically come alive. Read...
Curated OER
Toddler's Delight
Students are challenged to design a toy or something that can attach to a toddler's car seat to help distract them during long car trips. Students research toddler toys prior to beginning the design process in order to determine the...
Curated OER
The Alphabet
Students discover the letters of the alphabet by participating in a game. In this phonics lesson, students create books about themselves using their favorite toys and pets. Students utilize a computer program called Mouse In the House...
Curated OER
Toy Planet
Students design a toy store, supply it with merchandise (on paper) and create advertisements. They also manage the store's debits and credits by using a spreadsheet. They consider how to promote the sale of their merchandise.
Curated OER
Old Fashioned Christmas Toy
Students create an old fashioned toy that explains stored, potential and movement energy.