Curated OER
Hawk in Flight
Learners use information gathered by satellites to explore the migration of the Swainson's hawk from the western border of Minnesota to the southern portion of South America.
Curated OER
Placing Artificial Domiciles to Attract Bumble Bees
High schoolers investigate how to entice bumble bees to accept artificial domiciles. They conduct research about bee biology and nest architecture, plan and construct an artificial domicile to attract bumble bee queens, and monitor and...
Curated OER
The Reason for the Seasons
Students compare graphs of their data that was generated on a NASA website. In this seasons lesson students complete a lab activity.
Polar Trec
Polar Detectives: Using Ice Core Data to Decode Past Climate Mysteries
How does examining an ice core tell us about weather? Learners set up and explore fake ice cores made of sugar, salt, and ash to represent historical snowfall and volcanic eruptions. From their setups, scholars determine what caused the...
Polar Trec
Ice Cores: Modeling Ice Sheets
Ice cores provide scientists with knowledge of historic melt layers, air temperatures, greenhouse gases, and climate stability. Scholars work in groups to build layers representing snow and ice over thousands of years. Then, groups...
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Melting Glaciers
Resource links to a video, satellite images, data, and photographs of glaciers provide emerging earth scientists the opportunity to examine how the ice has been retreating over the years. A data table is included for pupils to record...
Curated OER
Kildare, USA: An Environmental Health Simulation
Your biology class plays the role of epidemiologist when a mysterious illness breaks out in Kildare, USA. Using interviews with doctors, patients, and local citizens, maps, the results from different materials sampling, they work to...
University of Kentucky
Beneficial Bug Scavenger Hunt
Many people think of bugs as annoying pests to be squashed, but most insects and spiders are beneficial, eating the actual pests or pollinating plants. After reviewing some of the common bugs in your area (they may differ from those...
Curated OER
Beneficial Bug Scavenger Hunt
Going on a scavenger hunt sounds like a great way to spice up any lesson plan. To better understand how beneficial insects are, the class goes outdoors to search for and observe a bug that has big benefits. Included in the lesson are...
Curated OER
Help the Duck Find Her Babies
Students are introduced to a basic characteristic and need of living things-the ability and need to reproduce. They investigate how birds (and people) attract mates. Students discover how to build a nest. They discuss the needs and...
Curated OER
Phytoplankton in the Gulf of Maine
Students use satellite data to see the correlation between sea temperature and sunlight in the Gulf of Maine. In this phytoplankton activity students use Excel to analyze data.
Curated OER
Hurricane Research
Learners examine the factors that influence hurricanes to develop. In this hurricane lesson students research atmospheric trends that affect hurricanes and create a summary.
Curated OER
Dirt Babies
Dirt babies are an excellent way to show young botanists the plant life cycle. They explore the functions and industry behind grasses before growing some of their own. Use the informational text here and consider implementing some...
NOAA
A Laboratory Simulation of Ocean Surface Currents
Stimulate interest in ocean currents with a simulation. The first installment of a five-part middle school series teaches future oceanographers about the forces that interact to cause ocean currents. A simulation shows how wind and...
Curated OER
Forest Fun
Learners explore orienteering and how to use a compass. They explore the importance of forests and identify some of the trees in a local forest.
Center Science Education
Glaciers: Then and Now
Cooperative groups compare pairs of photos of Alaskan glaciers. They match a historical photo to the recent photo of the same glacier. The class discusses what conditions are necessary for glaciers to retreat. This abbreviated activity...
Cornell University
Spectral Analysis with DVDs and CDs
Build a spectrometer to analyze properties of light. Scholars examine the spectrum from CDs and DVDs from two different light sources. Using the spectrum, they work to identify different elements.
Curated OER
Preparation and Staining of Mammal Cells to View Sister Chromatids
Observation of sister chromatids is possible as students culture and stain mammal tissue cells.
Curated OER
Creating a School Herbarium
Learners develop working knowledge of common plants and awareness of plant diversity by starting a school herbarium.
Curated OER
Exploring Seasonal Shadows and Sunlight
What can shadows tell us about the changing season? Over several months, astronomy learners record length and position of an outdoor object's shadow, such as a flagpole. They apply the data to a growing hypothesis and note the...
Curated OER
Under the Sea - KWL Chart
Students create a KWL chart to start the discussion on ocean animals. They practice sorting the animals into their different classifications. They use indexes, table of contents and glossary to find information.
Curated OER
Praire Biome Models
Fifth graders, in groups, list the physical characteristics of a biome and think of ways in which animals might have to adapt to live there and make a biome mobile ball that show the different types of habitats that shape the praire biome.
Curated OER
The Earth's Atmosphere and Temperature
Students describe and compare the layers of the atmosphere. They explain how to measure the temperature of the atmosphere and discover what causes the atmosphere to heat up in some places more than in others.
Curated OER
Desert Plant Adaptations in the Sonoran Desert
Middle schoolers are able to identify adaptations that plants have developed to deal with harsh desert conditions, as well as explain how these adaptations help to protect these plants.