Curated OER
What the Heck Is Science Anyway?
Here is a 12-page outline of an introductory science lesson plan. The teacher lectures on what science is, the role of a scientists, different disciplines of science, and the impact of scientific discoveries. Detailed lecture notes are...
Curated OER
Quiz #2 - Branches of Earth Science
For this earth science quiz, test-takers use photographs posted around a classroom to identify the 4 branches of earth science. They receive bonus points for identifying the event or activity of a scientist associated with the...
Curated OER
Regents High School Examination: Physical Setting Earth Science 2006
Test your class on earth science with this extensive resource. This test, created by The University of the State of New York Regents, is made up of 50 multiple choice questions and 32 short answer questions that cover the branches of...
Urbana School District
Physics Intro, Kinematics, Graphing
Some consider physics the branch of science concerned with using long and complicated formulas to describe how a ball rolls. This presentation, while long, is not complicated, yet it covers rolling, falling, and more. It compares vectors...
National Wildlife Federation
Branching Out – Exploring Dendrochronology
Tree rings from North America give a continuous history of El Nino intensity over the last 1,100 years. Scholars learn how scientists use tree rings to create timelines demonstrating variations in weather patterns. The cumulative...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Stalking the Genetic Basis of a Trait
Need an a-maize-ing lesson to show your class how regulatory genes work? If you use the well-written resource, they'll be all ears! Biology scholars discover the gene responsible for the evolution of the modern-day corn plant through a...
Illustrative Mathematics
Accuracy of Carbon 14 Dating II
The scientific issue of carbon-14 dating and exponential decay gets a statistics-based treatment in this problem. The class starts with a basic investigation of carbon content, but then branches out to questions of accuracy and...
Curated OER
It's Your Right: A Civil Rights Brochure
Learners examine the US Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Supreme Court cases in order to broaden their understanding of the US Judicial System. They research a variety of textual and Internet resources to create a tri-fold brochure,...
Curated OER
Chemistry: Section Review
Review the 5 branches of chemistry and related terms with this worksheet. The focus of these activities is on terms and definitions. Learners answer questions about the study of chemistry, reasons to study chemistry, and pure and applied...
Channel Islands Film
Human Impact on the Food Web of Santa Cruz Island
What happens when a non-native species is introduced onto an island? Santa Cruz Island, part of the Channel Island chain located off the coast of southern California, provides the perfect laboratory for young environmental scientists to...
Chicago Botanic Garden
What Can Tree Rings Tell Us About Climate?
Tree rings are slightly thicker on the south side of the tree because it receives more sunlight. Part two in a series of five lessons helps learners analyze tree rings to determine the environmental conditions that caused size...
Curated OER
Probability: The Study of Chance
Young scholars conduct an experiment, determine if a game is fair, and collect data. They interpret data, then display line graph. They conduct analysis of game for probability.
Virginia Department of Education
Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
Curated OER
The Bill of Rights and the Supreme Court
Students explore what the United States would be like today if the Bill of Rights had never been written. In this exploring the constitution lesson, students research Supreme Court cases that were heard in the early years of the...
Curated OER
Tree of Life
Young scholars study genetics and evolution. They evaluate a group of organisms and estimate their genetic relatedness. Then they use an online program to check the accuracy of their estimations and make a branching phylogenetic tree...
Teach Engineering
Acoustic Mirrors
Investigate sound waves with acoustic mirrors. Using audio software, groups make recordings of musical instruments, both with and without acoustic mirrors. They compare the recordings to see the effect of acoustic mirrors on sound...
LABScI
Taxonomy: Who is in My family?
Find similarities in seemingly unlike organisms. The second instructional activity in a series of 12 builds the concept of a taxonomy and explores the use of a dichotomous key. Learners begin in part one by attempting to group a set of...
Judicial Branch of California
Our Government Today…What A System!
A group of citizens in North Canada has decided to leave their country, and they are asking for help in setting up an American-style democracy. Using a carefully structured activity, pupils lay out the principles in the American...
Curated OER
Fungi
Why did the mushroom go to the party? Because he was a fun guy! Biology learners study fungi while completing this activity. Structure is compared to that of other life forms. The life cycle is displayed with colorful diagrams for...
Curated OER
Types of Circuits and Ohm's Law
In this circuits an Ohm's Law instructional activity, high schoolers read about the differences between series and parallel circuits. They are given Ohm's Law and the definitions of current, voltage and resistance. Students match...
Teach Engineering
Aerogels in Action
Model an oil spill cleanup. An engaging engineering lesson has groups using aerogels to simulate an oil spill cleanup (vegetable oil in water). Along the way, they learn about nanotechnology and hydrophilia/hydrophobia.
Teach Engineering
Clean it Up!
Harness the power of bacteria. Scholars see how using organisms that exist in nature can help solve human problems in the process known as bioremediation. They research and discuss several successful examples, such as using oil-eating...
Curated OER
A Tree of Life Activity
High schoolers solve a mystery of the identification of a unknown organism by comparing its morphological characteristics to those in a tree of life classification poster. They compare the observable characteristics of the specimen and...
Curated OER
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Young gardners read and listen to books about seeds, plants, and the growing process. They plant seeds in plastic cups to observe the process of root-growing and plant formation. The whole class walks through a field to collect seeds...