Curated OER
How to Use Classroom Animals to Spark Life Science Inquiry
Use low maintenance classroom pets to get your students engaged in life science inquiry investigations.
Curated OER
Science on the Skids
Students discuss the decline in the sciences in America by comparing statistics and information from the U.s. to other countries. Then they write and deliver a "State of the Sciences" address to their peers.
CSI Crime Lab: Classroom Edition
Participants use their observation skills, communication skills, and reasoning skills to perform forensic tests and solve a crime. This series of activities provides a first-hand (but scaled-down) introduction to careers in Forensic...
Curated OER
Observing Chemical Reactions
Start this series of lessons with a bang! Five exothermic reactions are outlined in this resource, including a demonstration that produces both light and sound. In the lab, chemistry apprentices record temperature changes, make hand...
Curated OER
Cell Size and Shape; Diffusion and Osmosis Processes
Use salmon eggs as a cell model for demonstrating the movement of water over concentration gradients. Junior scientists examine the same process microscopically with an onion cell. They use a thistle tube and a semipermeable membrane to...
Curated OER
The Mozart Effect
Music has been said to effect short term memory. Learners test out this hypothesis, graphing how knowledge retention in a biology classroom changes when music is played in the background. In the end, a better appreciation of the dynamics...
Baylor College
Can Nutrients in Water Cause Harm?
Ecology candidates culture pond water organisms over a few days time, then they experiment to find out how increasing nutrients affects the population. As part of a unit on water, this exploration gives your class an understanding of how...
Steve Spangler Science
Halloween Dry Ice Secrets
Want to use dry ice in your classroom this Halloween but you're not sure how? A thorough packet of 13 dry ice activities showcases engaging ways to bring chemistry to life this October.
Curated OER
Recognition and Classification of Mixtures
Immerse your chemistry class in solutions! They melt and compare the mixtures that make up margarine, separate black ink into its component colors, distill ocean saltwater, and practice chromatography with plant pigments. There are eight...
Curated OER
Transportation Fuels: What Car Will You Drive?
How many different types of biofuels are out there? Seventh graders watch a series of videos and participate in a series of activities in order to better understand all the transportation options available. They consider what type of car...
Curated OER
Where Did They Come From?
Give science learners nine questions about the biogeography of hydrothermal vents and turn them loose to research this fascinating habitat. Working in cooperative groups, they prepare a report that addresses each of the questions. A...
Curated OER
Rock On! Featuring the Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic Trio!
Get your classroom rocking with this four-lesson earth science unit. Through a series of shared reading activities and hands-on investigations, young geologists learn about the three types of rocks and the unique properties of each.
Big Kid Science
Exploring Shadows
What's that lurking in the shadows? An activity that demonstrates how eclipses happen. Science scholars investigate how light and distance interact to form shadows. The experiment uses simple materials to generate data and observations...
Curated OER
Salmon in the Classroom
Students list the salmon life cycle stages in order. They draw a stream with the vegetation, animals, and water quality parameters that are necessary for salmon survival. Students explain the connection between animal morphology and...
Curated OER
Current Earthquake Activity
Fifth graders record any earthquake activity throughout the school year on various maps. In groups, they identify a map locating the points given to them by their teacher. To end the lesson, they add the date, strength and damage to each...
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Infectious Diseases Classroom Activity
Here is a different approach: emerging epidemiologists first go home to interview family on the topic of infectious disease. Then they come to class and view a video and PowerPoint that explore how climate change may increase the...
Curated OER
Classroom Archaeology
Students, in groups, receive a box of artifacts. They record their findings and discuss what the items would have been used for. They come together at the end of the lesson to share their findings.
Curated OER
A Snapshot of Science
Sixth graders explore physical and chemical changes. In this physical science lesson, 6th graders study vocabulary, discuss the changes they see in the world and look up information on chemical and physical changes. Students create...
Penguin Books
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activity Booklet
Enter the colorful world of The Very Hungry Caterpillar with a booklet filled with activities to celebrate Eric Carle.
Curated OER
Sounds like Science
Second graders create sound effects to produce a radio drama. In this sound lesson, 2nd graders read a book and provide the sound effects to transform it into a radio drama. They discuss sound and the shape of sound waves based on their...
Curated OER
Plate Tectonics
Help young scientists piece together the theory of plate tectonics with this comprehensive collection of materials. Whether your are looking for worksheets, hands-on activities, or assessments, this resource has everything...
PBS
Hands-On Engineering Challenges to Bolster Your Electricity, Sound, and Force Units
Need some activities to go along with your unit? A collection of hands-on activities from PBS offers opportunities to add to your electricity, sound, and force units. The electricity activities revolve around building a...
Towson University
Mystery Tubes
How do scientists know they're right? Truth be told, they don't always know. Explore the scientific process using mystery tubes in an insightful activity. Young scientists discover how to approach and solve problems in science, how ideas...