Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Nature and Fitness Trail

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students plan stations for a nature and fitness trail and construct an accompanying e-Book for extended descriptions at each station. Data on the human impact on the environment is gathered in this lesson.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Kitchen Vocabulary Words

For Teachers 7th
Working in groups of four, class members sort cards, labeled with kitchen equipment vocabulary words, into groups based on function, i.e., mixing tools, measurement tools, serving tools, baking pans, stove top pans, or preparation tools....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Can You Tell One Clear Gas From Another?

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders perform experiments to determine the identity of an unknown gas sample. In this chemistry lesson, 5th graders fill balloons with air, oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. They use mass and reactivity to identify the gases.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Heart of the Matter

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Upper elementary pupils learn about the blood transportation system and anatomy of the human heart. They fill in an outline of the human heart  (not included) focusing on the flow of blood to and from the heart. Using stethoscopes,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Topographic Maps

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Underclassmen create a cone-shaped landform and then draw a contour map for it. Then they examine a quadrangle (which was easily located with an online search), and relate it to what they experienced. The accompanying worksheet is...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mussel Ecology

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students are introduced to the marine environment of the mussel. The emphasis of the lesson is upon what human factors are present to influence the environment in positive and negative ways. They brainstorm in groups in order to conduct...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ice Cream Lab

For Teachers 4th - 7th
This very thorough lesson plan has learners collect all ingredients necessary and work in pairs to make ice cream using plastic bags. They take temperature readings and record them on the chart as well as record findings on the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ice Cream Lab

For Teachers 7th - 10th
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Even high schoolers enjoy making ice cream. This laboratory exercise has them record the temperature changes throughout the process of liquid becoming solid, graph the results, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reading the River

For Teachers 5th - 8th
In collaborative groups, young ecologists measure the temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen for three different freshwater samples. They examine each sample with a microscope and record observations on the microorganisms in the pond...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oceans in Motion

For Teachers K - 3rd
This simple lesson introduces children to basic marine life as well as to show them the necessity of protecting aquatic environments. Some famous marine life animals are introduced via vocabulary words, then children cut out pictures of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ozone Hole Expert Groups

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Research topics associated with the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. Researchers write five facts about their topic and one question for each of those facts. They present what they learned to the rest of the class. Six topics are...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Amino Acid Sequences to Show Evolutionary Relationships

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Junior biologists compare the amino acid sequences from fragments of five different globin molecules. They count the letter differences between each species pair. They construct a graphic representation of the evolutionary relationships...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Urban Heat Islands: An Introduction to Energy Transfer and Transformation

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Elementary school physical scientists explore kinetic mechanical energy by dropping a golf ball on different surfaces. They discuss how human made materials might react to light differently from nature made materials. This lesson plan...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ask a NASA Engineer

For Teachers K - 6th
Students develop questions to ask a NASA engineer to email them. After emailing the quesitons to the volunteer, the answers are sent to the class via the same method. To end the lesson, they formulate more questions and repeat the process.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Tectonics & Land Forms

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders discuss the different interactions of plates and the ways mountains are created.  In this plate tectonics lesson students complete an activity in groups.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Redesign the Rover: Mars Research Year-Round

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students discuss the solar system, the planets, periods of orbit and revolution.  For this space lesson students discuss the importance of the study of Mars and brainstorm ideas on how NASA might solve its Rover design problem. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pre-Activity Worksheet: Natural Selection

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Although the instructions include reading from a specific textbook, the tasks are appropriate for any unit dealing with how genotype frequency changes over time. Junior biologists define five vocabulary terms and then answer five...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Heart Stopper

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Use the pump from a spray bottle to drive a model of the heart in action! In addition to modeling the function of the heart and blood vessels, aspiring anatomists also simulate arterial blockage. They compare the effects of increased...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Caves Are Formed

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore caves. In this cave formation lesson, students take a virtual tour of a cave and then participate in a scientific investigation that requires them to grow crystals and chart data regarding their growth.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Amino Acid Sequences to Show Evolutionary Relationships

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Compare protein fragments, count amino acids, and use the information to explore common ancestry. The resource mentions a student worksheet, however, a separate printable worksheet is not provided. The exercises are written into the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plan a Mission to Recently Discovered Planet

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Pupils plan a mission to a recently discovered planet. In this science lesson, students research spacecraft design, distances in space, long-term missions in space, and life-sustaining planets. Pupils work in groups to research an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Does Life Look Like Under a Microscope?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars discover cells make up all living things. In this life science instructional activity, students investigate living organisms and the cells that create them. Finally the young scholars create a testable question, conduct an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Your Weight on Other Planets

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students explore their weight on other planets. In this science lesson, students view a presentation about the other planets and complete a worksheet in which they make predictions about their weight on the moon and other planets.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth, Moon, Mars Balloons

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students demonstrate size and orbits of Earth, Moon, and Mars. For this space science lesson plan, students will use balloons to show how the size and distance between the planets and satellite compare.