Curated OER
Ice Cream
Open this instructional activity by giving a brief history of ice cream. Using liquid nitrogen to lower the temperature, preteens make their own confection. The accompanying activity sheet queries learners about freezing point, the...
Curated OER
Law Day: Constitutional Law Outline
Students receive information about laws. Some of the categories include powers of the federal government, federal powers vs. state powers, and the Bill of Rights. It is in an outline form that looks like the student follows along with...
Curated OER
Faith-Based Initiatives
Middle schoolers consider the effectiveness of faith-based initiatives. In this religion and ethics lesson, students research issues relative to the separation of church and state. Middle schoolers investigate the Bush faith-based...
Science Matters
Energy and Winds
In the study of wind energy, scholars build a small windmill and observe how it transfers wind into mechanical energy. Learners will make connections to the previous lesson with concepts such as the creation of wind...
Science Matters
Seismic Activity and California Landforms
By the 19th lesson plan in the 20-part series, scholars realize volcanoes and earthquakes are related to plate boundaries. The lesson plan extends and applies the knowledge by having individuals create a bumper sticker for one specific...
Georgia Department of Education
Exploring Poetry and Poets
Combine the study of poetry and non-fiction texts with this complete and ready-to-use six-week unit. After reading numerous poems from local writers and compiling a personal anthology, high schoolers find and read a memoir or biography...
Curated OER
Mystery Words
In this language arts lesson, 8th graders verify the meaning of a word in its context, even when its meaning is not directly stated. After a class discussion on how to use context clues, students pairs are given a worksheet of "mystery...
Curated OER
Changes in Matter
Eighth graders, in groups, explain the difference between physical and chemical changes.
Curated OER
The Day the Atom Died (Grade K-1)
Students investigate what is wrong with the Rutherford atomic model. For this chemistry lesson, students answer questions about the atomic model after watching a video. They draw conclusions from the video and discuss how the atomic...
Curated OER
How a Liquid Changes to a Gas
Second graders identify three forms of matter- solids, liquids, and gases with 100% accuracy. They observe water evaporating from an open container and water evaporating and condensing in a closed container. The students assess that a...
Curated OER
The Periodic Table
Eighth graders read and interpret the Periodic Table. They also make decisions on how to group and arrange different kinds of matter and draw the structure of atoms of pure elements. Finally, 8th graders contrast and compare basic...
Curated OER
Properties of Matter/Comparing Mass, Volume and Density
Students participate in a discussion of volume and density and then engage in a hands on lab. They weigh equal volume cubes at lab stations of an assortment of common substances in a lab setting and record data on their findings on...
Curated OER
Catherine Blaine: Seneca Falls and the Women's Rights Movement in the State of Washington
Young scholars recognize the accomplishments of Catherine Blaine. In this Women's Rights Movement lesson, students research primary and secondary sources about life for American women in the 1800's. Young scholars trace Blaine's journey...
Curated OER
A Matter of Proportion
Middle schoolers measure the relative heights of the mosaic giraffe and its trainer and compare their proportions to an actual giraffe and zoo trainer.
Curated OER
Money Matters!
Students get to build a piggy bank and experiment with coin denominations. Students gather parents and community volunteers to join with them for this class art project. Students and volunteers papier-mache an original piggy bank.
National Science Teacher Association
Middle School Sampler: Science
Focus on inquiry-based learning in your science class with a series of activities designed for middle schoolers. A helpful packet samples four different texts, which include activities about predator-prey relationships, Earth's axis...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lego Atoms and Molecules: Chemical Reactions
Show young chemists what a chemical reaction looks like with two parts of a hands-on experiment. First, learners conduct a wet lab where they observe the reactants (baking soda and calcium chloride, with phenolsulfonphthalein)...
American Chemical Society
Condensation
It's time to break the ice! If you are doing all of the lessons in the unit, children have already seen that increasing heat increases the rate of evaporation, but is the opposite true? Does decreasing temperature cause more condensation...
Personal Genetics Education Project
DNA, Crime and Law Enforcement
Civil rights meets biotechnology in a instructional activity that scrutinizes the collection of DNA of citizens who have been arrested, but not yet convicted of a crime. Real-life cases are examined in which the DNA of a relative was...
Cornell University
Shedding a "Little" Light on Cancer Surgery
Many types of cancer treatments now depend on nanotechnology—a big "little" discovery. Scholars begin by removing "malignant" tissue from simulated brains, one using fluorescent markers thanks to nanotechnology and one without. This...
American Chemical Society
Exploring Moisture on the Outside of a Cold Cup
As a stand-alone or as part of the intended unit, this is a valid investigation of what causes condensation to occur. By limiting the amount of air around a cold cup of water and comparing it to one out in the open, they find that...
Curated OER
Balancing Bottles
Students explore the Law of Conservation of Matter using effervescent tablets. In this mass and energy lesson, students investigate how mass is conserved in the reaction of effervescent tablets and water. They will discuss and...
Curated OER
On Being Hindu...and American
Students explore the concept of acculturation. In this cultural diversity lesson, students examine how second generation Hindu-Americans have adjusted to life in the United States.
Curated OER
pH and Red Cabbage Juice
Students review properties of materials and define what pH tells them about matter. In this pH levels lesson, students determine whether materials are acids or bases using indicator substances.