Teach Engineering
Edible Rovers (High School)
Design and build a rover ... then eat it? This activity has groups of two design and build Mars rovers. The teams determine what instruments they want to include with their rover and plan a budget. They calculate the cost of the body of...
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Bird Communication
Sing for your dinner! Investigate the purpose of bird songs and strategies birds use to communicate. Through the lessons, individuals learn how to recognize different types of bird communication as well as hypothesize the purpose of...
WE Charity
High School–Module 2: Circular Economy and Nature
Everyone's heard the popular slogan reduce, reuse, recycle, but there may be a better way to talk about sustainability. Using the second lesson from the five-part WE Are Innovators—High School Modules series, learners explore issues...
Teach Engineering
The Great Gravity Escape
Groups simulate an orbit using a piece of string and a water balloon. Individuals spin in a circular path and calculate the balloon's velocity when the clothes pin can no longer hold onto the balloon.
Chymist
Tritration: Standardization of a Base and Analysis of Stomach Antacid Tablets
Do antacid tablets really do what they claim? An experimental lesson attempts to answer this question. Individuals practice the process of titration during the first part of the experiment. They then use those skills to neutralize an...
Channel Islands Film
Once Upon a Time (Saxipak’a): Lesson Plan 4
How did the environment and natural resources found on the Channel islands influence the culture of the Chumash? Archaeology meets technology in an activity designed for middle schoolers. After viewing West of The West's documentary Once...
Curated OER
River Planning
Students use a model to conduct an experiment involving dam construction. Based on their observations, they draw conclusions about social, economic, and and environmental issues and make a decision concerning dam location. As a group,...
Pulitzer Center
The Global Water Crisis
High schoolers examine the "quiet crisis," the lack of clean water, by reading articles and viewing video clips. They discuss the situations in Ethiopia, Yemen, Kenya, and Nepal. There are two options for the lesson, but one of them...
Curated OER
The Game is Afoot - A Study of Sherlock Holmes
Mystery is an exciting genre for young readers to investigate. The plots are so intriguing! Here is a series of lessons featuring Sherlock Holmes stories that invite learners to enter the world of the mystery genre. Based on what they...
University of Colorado
Great Red Spot Pinwheel
The great red spot on Jupiter is 12,400 miles long and 7,500 miles wide. In this sixth part of a 22-part series, individuals model the rotation of the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. To round out the activity, they discuss their findings as a...
PBS
The Impact of Genetically Modified Seeds
What is all the fuss about genetically modified foods? PBS provides this resource designed to supplement the documentary Food, Inc. to help learners investigate the benefits and controversies of genetically modified foods for individuals...
Curated OER
Ecological Footprint--How Does The Way We Live Affect Earth?
Young scholars demonstrate an awareness of the global implications of decisions that individuals and families make about their needs and wants. They identify environmental and health issues related to the production and consumption of...
Curated OER
Ruminating on the Digestive System
Young scholars compare the digestive systems of the buffalo and of the zebra, diagram their systems, and compare their lengths. In this digestive system lesson plan, students learn about their diets as well.
California Academy of Science
Paper Cup Planetarium
Bring the night sky to your classroom! Using simple materials, learners create flashlight constellations on the wall. They then use their imaginations to create their own star patterns that tell a story.
US Environmental Protection Agency
Teach English, Teach About the Environment
Spread the message of recycling while teaching your English language learners new vocabulary and practicing verb tenses. Included here are four lesson plans for each level (beginning, intermediate, and advanced) as well as accompanying...
University of Colorado
Using Spectral Data to Explore Saturn and Titan
Saturn's rings are made of dust, ice, and solid chunks of material. Individuals use spectrographs in this final installment of 22 lessons to determine the atmospheric elements. They analyze spectrums from Titan's atmosphere and Saturn's...
University of Colorado
Phases of Charon
Pluto, although no longer considered a planet, has five moons. Pluto's moon, Charon, is the focus of a resource that describes how the moon is viewed from the surface of Pluto. Photos help individuals see how Charon would look at...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Personal Choices and the Planet
How big is your footprint? Activity three culminates the series by having groups complete carbon footprint audits with people in their schools and/or around the districts. Groups then gather their data, create a presentation including...
Global Oneness Project
Then and Now
The devastating changes happening to the Native American inhabitants of an island off the coast of Louisiana are the topic of an informational lesson. After scholars break into groups to explore particular topics, they come back together...
American Chemical Society
Changes Caused by Heating and Cooling
It's heating up—and cooling down—in here! A hands-on lesson allows learners to experiment with melting and freezing butter to observe changes as a substance transitions between liquid and solid form. They also view an animation that...
American Chemical Society
Designing an Absorbency Test
Time to soak up some learning! A hands-on lesson teaches learners about the absorbency properties of substances. They conduct tests by dipping different materials in water to determine which hold water and then complete a handout to...
Curated OER
Human Body Series - Cardiovascular System
Pump up your class while studying the cardiovascular system with this pair of activities. In one, learners record heart rates during different actions. In the second, they read kid-friendly heart health articles online and then write a...
UNICEF
Get Real on Climate
Climate change isn't just about a warming planet; it will affect humans' health, spread of disease, changes in heat waves and droughts, and changes in storms and wildfires. Participants explore global climate change through discussions...
Curated OER
Return to the Moon
Students react to statements about space exploration, then read a news article about plans to resume manned flights to the moon. In this space science and current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a discussion and...