Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Properties of Water with a Splash of Color

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore the properties of water. In this cross curriculum art and physical science lesson, students experiment with a variety of materials to demonstrate the cohesive forces and adhesion of water. Students create a water color...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Simple Machine Research

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders demonstrate the ability to use scientific skills and Processes to describe forces that act upon objects to cause specific changes in motion. They identify and describe a science problem related to forces and simple machines.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pendulum Clocks

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students use string, wire, weights, and a stopwatch to build pendulum clocks. In this pendulum clocks lesson plan, students use the pendulum clocks to investigate weather, climate, force, and motion.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Balloonautics

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Learners are introduced to basic aerodynamics through a discussion of thrust and drag and a hands-on activity. They examine the forces of thrust, drag, air pressure, aerodynamic shapes and Newton's Third Law Of Motion.
Lesson Plan
Energy for Keeps

Going for a Spin: Making a Model Steam Turbine

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Discover the effectiveness of wind, water, and steam as energy sources. The hands-on activity has young scientists create a turbine from common materials. After constructing the turbines, they use wind, water, and steam to turn them and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigation 1 - Push and Pull

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders study the forces of push and pull on motion
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigation 2 - Zoom Balls

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders create Zoom Balls to explain how sometimes both forces of push and pull need to be used at the same time.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Newton's Three Laws of Motion Lesson Plan

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students explore Newton's three laws of motion using a variety of activities. In this physics instructional activity, students calculate the average speed of a vehicle they constructed using distance and time information. They identify...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching About Magnets in Kindergarten

For Teachers K
Students explore magnets through the five lessons of this unit. The everyday uses of magnets and an awareness of magnetic attraction form the basis of the skills presented in these lessons.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Full of Hot Air

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students investigate technology and its many designs to make our lives easy. In this science lesson, students build a hot air balloon and answer specific questions about weight and rides in the hot air balloon. They analyze their data...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Capturing Wind Energy

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Students investigate technology and make a correlation between technology and the weather. In this science lesson plan, students experiment with the weather and climate using technology to help them understand forces and motion. They...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Charles’ Law

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Searching for a relatively interesting way to demonstrate Charles' Law? Here is a lesson in which pupils heat air inside a flask and then cool the flask to quickly cool the air. They make observations about what occurs during the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigating Motion, Forces, and Energy Lab Book

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders create their own experiements using toy trucks, cars or balls to measure the time it takes two of them to travel 5 meters, as well as at each 1 meter interval. They make use computers to make a time/distance graph and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Science: Discovering Earth's Air Prressure

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders discover earth's air pressure through observation of several experiments. In the "Experiment of the Leaky Bottle," they observe how air pressure forces water out of the lowest hole farther than the holes above it. In...
Lesson Plan
2
2
American Chemical Society

Does Temperature Affect Dissolving?

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
When making sweet tea, why do people dissolve the sugar in hot tea instead of cold tea? The class discusses the previous lab and builds upon it. Working in groups, they design an experiment to determine how temperature affects the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pasta Bridges

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners analyze the correct use of technology as it relates to math and science. In this science lesson, students investigate force and weight as it relates to building an object. They build a bridge and draw conclusion based on the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Friction

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students study the properties of the frictional force between two surfaces in contact. They inspect various phenomena in nature where friction plays an important role and demonstrate
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Endangered Animals in Texas

For Teachers K - 5th
Students research endangered animal in the library and on the Internet for information on its description, habitat, forces causing its decline, and programs to help it; students create slide show about the animal that contains a clay...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Sun Affects Earth

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders read, write, and listen to information about the sun and its effects on the Earth.as it relates to its axis, orbit, rotate, and revolution.  In this solar system lesson, 3rd graders examine how the sun...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Vapor Pressure and Colligative Properties

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Hate to vacuum, but enjoy using a vacuum pump? Explore a instructional activity that starts with a demonstration of boiling water at various temperatures by using a vacuum pump. Then scholars design their own experiments to measure vapor...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Heat Transfer and Heat Capacity

For Teachers 9th - 12th
It's time to increase the heat! Young chemists demonstrate heat transfer and heat capacity in an activity-packed lab, showing the transitions between solid, liquid, and gaseous phases of materials. Individuals plot data as the...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

States of Matter

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Scientists have been studying exothermic reactions before they were cool. The lesson begins with a discussion and a demonstration of heat curves. Scholars then determine the heat of fusion of ice and the heat needed to...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Thermochemistry: Heat and Chemical Changes

For Teachers 9th - 12th
What makes particles attract? Here, learners engage in multiple activities that fully describe colligative properties and allow the ability to critically assess the importance of these properties in daily life. Young chemists...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Molar Heat of Fusion for Water

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How can you describe heat of fusion in a way the class understands and relates the importance of this concept to present day issues? In this third lesson of the series, learners conduct an experiment, demonstrating the flow of heat...