Grab any two topics, some index cards, and a couple of kids, and you're ready to compare and contrast! The resource provides instructions for this method and three graphic organizers in addition to or in place of the index cards.

Don't just tell class members about how to measure inflation, have them experience it firsthand by asking them to work with real data and construct graphs!

Biodiversity refers to the variety of animal and plant species in a specific habitat. With a collaborative activity, the habitat becomes a page from the white pages, and the species are the surnames in the book. Learners calculate the...

Young geographers collect samples of different kinds of soil to match to the soil terms in Barry Rudner's rhyming book Filet of Soil: dirt, mud, dust, soot, etc. They start a glossary for the project on index cards or large sheets...

Using a pinhole in an index card, learners of light find that it can be used as a magnifier. 

Using NASA's Live Access Server, earth scientists compare the temperature, precipitation, and normalized difference vegetation index for four different locations. They use the data to identify the climate zone of each location using...

Using a number line, as a class, discuss the concept of the number after. Choosing numbers on the number line, ask your kindergartners what number comes next and point to that number. Once the class has this concept down, pair-up and...

Your favorite sports team is ranked #1. How do the powers that be determine this rating? Learn how ratings are mathematically computed using probability concepts, from the Elo Rating System for chess to the Rating Percentage Index for...

Mint candies are good for more than just one's breath. Using basic materials such as mint candies, straws, index cards, and Popsicle sticks, scholars create race cars that meet a given budget as well as design constraints. They perform...

There are more ways to use mint candies than to just eat them. In groups, learners design and build race cars using mint candies, drinking straws, Popsicle sticks, index cards, and other materials. They decide on an independent variable...

Writers compose an original found poem by searching for words that inspire them. Words are taken from everyday conversation, books, cut from magazines, the mail, or an already written poem. 

Don't shine like a diamond, refract light like a diamond. Young scientists use an acrylic block and a laser light to observe refraction. Advanced scholars figure the sine of the angles of reflection and incidence as well as mastering...

Bubbles aren't just for children. In the third installment of a seven-part series, teenagers use bubble solution to create bubbles and observe patterns of refraction on the bubble surfaces. Application of this concept to thin films in...

Math and medicine go hand-in-hand. After viewing several infographics on historical adult obesity rates, pupils consider how they have changed over time. They then use percentages to create a new graph and write a list of questions the...

Which of these pictures is living? Which one is non-living? Use a set of pictures to introduce living and non-living objects to young scientists.

Make a class set of spectrum tubes by first purchasing some diffraction grating, and then constructing the tools with mailing tubes or shoe boxes. If you aren't up for assembling them, you could purchase prepared spectroscope kits. This...

Let's heat things up! This simple experiment demonstrates for students the important role the sun plays in providing the earth with energy. Place one cup of water in direct sunlight and one in shade, then take measurements in order to...

Life on Earth is made possible by the unique composition of its atmosphere. Working collaboratively, a scale model is created as young scientists learn about the different layers of gas that surround the planet. Cards are included that...

During a three-part instructional activity, learners make a cabbage juice pH indicator and use it to analyze the waste products of yeast after feeding them with sugar. The intent is to demonstrate how living organisms produce carbon...

In session one, demonstrate for your class how a flame eventually goes out when enclosed in a jar in order to teach that oxygen is required for combustion. In session two, class members then burn sugar in a spoon to observe how it...

Using a simple circuit with the battery representing the brain, future physiologists test to see which solutions conduct electrical "nerve impulses." Enlighten learners with plentiful information on electric signals in the nervous system...

Model how the sun's energy strikes the planet and help your class relate it to a climate map. Assign small groups an individual climate zone to discuss. They reflect on and research how humans survive in the assigned climate and write a...

Several subjects are addressed within the context of a science lesson about the sun's ultraviolet rays. Elementary earth scientists consider protection of the skin with sunscreens (health), estimating and measuring surface area or an...

Lub-dub, lub-dub. Why does the heart beat? Why does blood circulate throughout the body? Life scientists find out how important circulation is for dissolving and dispersing materials by timing how long it takes for food coloring spread...