Lesson Plan
NASA

Measuring Dark Energy

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
You're only 10 minutes late? Do you know how much the universe has expanded in those 10 minutes? Scholars graph supernovae based on their redshift and see if the results verify Hubble's Law. If it does confirm it, the universe is...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Discovering the Milky Way

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What do you call a tiny collection of galaxies? A puny-verse! Young scholars graph data gathered by scientists studying Cepheids. They attempt to identify a relationship between the variables through standard and logarithmical...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Just How Far is That Star?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Pupils often wonder how we know the distance to various stars. Starting with a thought experiment and progressing to a physical experiment, they determine the brightness and distance to various stars. The evaluation requires...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Determining the Nature, Size, and Age of the Universe

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Prompt scholars to discover the expansion of the universe themselves. Using photographs of other galaxies, they measure and then graph the size and distance of each. Finally, they draw conclusions and prove the universe is...
Lesson Plan
NASA

What’s the Problem with Isotropy?

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Some patterns are so small, we can't see them without the help of technology. The same is true for cosmic microwave background radiation. During this activity and discussion, scholars examine both anisotropic and isotropic items and...
Lesson Plan
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Science 4 Inquiry

Introducing the Types of Energy

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Young scientists explore many different types of energy including light, heat, nuclear, sound, potential, and more. They match the types of energy and identify when energy transfers from one type to another.
Lesson Plan
NASA

Moon Phases and Eclipses

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Starry-eyed astronomers draw different views of the Moon in order to introduce its phases. Then they experiment with a ball and a lamp to recreate the phases. A demonstration ensures every pupil understands the process, and the...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Tools of the Trade

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Did you know every state in the U.S. has at least one observatory? During the lesson, scholars research the cost of building and maintaining an observatory. They must present their information in a proposal to build a new observatory,...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Century Timeline

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Scholars use the Cosmic Times and the Internet to create a timeline of events from 1916 when Einstein presented the Theory of General Relativity to 2016. Scientific discoveries are the main focus, then pupils add in events from culture,...
Lesson Plan
University of California

Energy and Biomass Pyramids

For Teachers 6th - 10th Standards
Young scientists play tag as they act out the food pyramid in the ocean ecosystem. Energy circles pass from the smaller prey to the predators and at the end of the activity, a data chart and analysis questions allow pupils to apply their...
Lesson Plan
Maine Math & Science Alliance

Earth as a System

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Ecosystem, human body system, weather system. We hear the word system a lot, but what does it really mean? In the activity, pairs or groups of learners discuss how a bicycle is a system and then analyze objects in their classroom and...
Unit Plan
Columbus City Schools

Earthly Waves

For Teachers 8th Standards
How did scientists discover what lies beneath the earth's surface? Dig a hole? X-ray vision? Guide your class through the types of seismic waves and how these waves helped shed light on Earth's many layers. The included resources provide...
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Up and Down Fault Blocks

For Teachers 6th Standards
The Sierra Mountains in Nevada and the Tetons in Wyoming originally formed as fault block mountains. In order to visualize these fault blocks, pupils use construction paper to create layers of earth. They cut the paper models and form...
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Earth Shaking Events

For Teachers 6th Standards
The world's largest measured earthquake happened in 1960 in Chile, reaching a terrifying 9.5 magnitude on the Richter Scale. The second lesson in the 20-part series introduces earthquakes and fault lines. Scholars map where previous...
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Fault Formations

For Teachers 6th Standards
The San Andreas Fault moves about two inches a year, approximately the same rate fingernails grow—crazy! The third lesson in the series allows for hands-on exploration of various fault formations. Through the use of a Popsicle stick,...
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Spaghetti Fault Model

For Teachers 6th Standards
Does increasing the pressure between two moving plates provide a stabilizing force or create more destruction? The hands-on lesson plan encourages exploration of strike-split fault models. The sixth lesson plan in a 20-part series...
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Finding the Epicenter

For Teachers 6th Standards
The epicenter is the point on the ground above the initial point of rupture. The 10th lesson in a series of 20 encourages scholars to learn to triangulate the epicenter of an earthquake based on the arrival times of p waves and s...
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Eruptions and Volcano Types

For Teachers 6th Standards
The Mammoth Lakes area regularly releases warnings to hikers and skiers to be careful because melting snow releases trapped gases from volcanic vents. The 17th lesson plan in the 20-part series opens with a demonstration of carbon...
Unit Plan
Columbus City Schools

Diversity of Living Things

For Teachers 8th Standards
Here's a topic classes can really dig—the fossil record. Use the well-organized and thoughtful road map to take eighth graders back in time to unearth the answer. Learn how our climate has changed, and how organisms have...
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Earthquake Building/Shaking Contest

For Teachers 6th Standards
Japan is one of only a handful of countries that constructs buildings that are almost earthquake proof. The 13th lesson in the 20-part series challenges scholars to build structures to test against earthquakes. With limited materials and...
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Earthquake Preparedness

For Teachers 6th
Forty-five states and territories in the USA are at moderate to very high risk of earthquakes. The discussion-based lesson covers what to do before, during, and after an earthquake. The 14th lesson in the series includes how to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

5E Magnets

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders, when working with magnets, make a prediction about what will happen if you put two ring magnets on an upright pencil, with 100% accuracy. They also experiment with magnets on poles to see which one pushes the other one away.
Lesson Plan
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American Chemical Society

Moving Molecules in a Solid

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Who likes magic shows? In the fourth of five lessons, pupils view a scientific magic trick. The ball fits through the ring easily, but then moments later, it won't pass through anymore. What changed? Can we reverse the change? Scholars...
Activity
University of California

You Are What You Eat: Testing for Organic Compounds in Foods

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
We have all heard that we are what you eat, but what are we eating? An informative lesson opens with a discussion of the foods pupils have recently eaten. Then, young scientists perform four experiments on seven...

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