Curated OER
Natural Disaster
Describe how plate tectonics account for various land formations. Learners discuss different marine sanctuaries and create a poster about tectonic activity in these areas. They share their posters with the class.
Koshland Science Museum
Infectious Disease: Evolving Challenges to Human Health Middle School Virtual Field Trip
Is there one right way to control infectious diseases? Learners determine the facts each stakeholder must consider when making their recommendations for controlling a disease threatening their area. They take into account public health,...
Teach Engineering
Insulation Materials Investigation
Don't melt away! Pairs investigate different insulation materials to determine which one is better than the others. Using a low-temp heat plate, the teams insulate an ice cube from the heat source with a variety of substances. They...
BioEd Online
Nutritional Challenges
Eating healthy can be a challenge, especially for people with special dietary needs. After learning about standard nutritional needs for adults, learners take on the role of a dietician and work together to create a menu for one of the...
National Wildlife Federation
Yesterday: Our Energy Needs Over Time
How has our relationship to energy changed over time? An engaging exploration challenges learners to create a timeline showing human energy needs and uses over time. Scholars review what timelines are, choose a 50-year period in history...
Curated OER
Appearances Are Deceiving
Young scientists study creeks around their area to see how clean the water really is. One way to tell is by the invertebrate populations that are present. This lesson introduces a game which learners simulate a variety of species found...
Curated OER
Ozone Hole - Changes in the Stratosphere
Halting the depletion of the hole in the ozone layer has been one of humanity's happy recoveries from previous damage done to the environment. Meteorology masters muse the Montreal Protocol and examine data on changes in the ozone....
Curated OER
Taking Account of Water
Learners discover how much water they actually use and investigate the need for water conservation.
Curated OER
WS 5.1 Kinetic-Molecular Theory of Gases/Pressure
For this gases worksheet, students answer six questions related to the kinetic molecular theory of gases. They summarize the kinetic theory and they draw diagrams to illustrate different components of the theory.
Curated OER
Which Plants Grew Best?
This presentation gives a visual account of a class's experiment growing sprouts under different conditions. There are three containers with the same soil and the same seeds. One of the containers got water, but no light. One got light,...
Curated OER
Isoseismal Maps
Students examine the difference between magnitude and intensity in earthquakes. They complete map work and write a first hand account of a person living in each level of intensity on the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Curated OER
Weather Enrichment
Second graders, in groups, research and record types of weather from around the world during a one-week period. They complete a chart with their observations.
University of Colorado
Phases of Charon
Charon, the largest of Pluto's moons, was discovered in 1978. Lesson is a walk through of how to solve for the phases of Charon. It uses two different points on Pluto and takes into account the tilt of the pole, the rotational axis, and...
Curated OER
Functions of Leaves
The title is a little deceiving since only one of 17 slides is dedicated to the function of leaves, while the rest is dedicated to the structure. Both internal and external structure is taught with accompanying diagrams. If you are going...
Curated OER
One Sniff Can Kill!
Students investigate the question: In what ways can a common household products hurt you? This lesson integrates with drug and alcohol units in science classes as well as language arts in the form of the Public Service Announcement...
CK-12 Foundation
Third Law Simulation
Keep calm and use the force! Joey pulls a cart and scholars adjust the force required to control the movement. Through simulating different scenarios, participants learn about Newton's Third Law. It includes analysis questions throughout...
Channel Islands Film
Island Rotation: Lesson Plan 3
How far have California's Channel islands moved? What was the rate of this movement? Class members first examine data that shows the age of the Hawaiian island chain and the average speed of the Pacific Plate. They then watch West of the...
National Wildlife Federation
Conceptualizing Module II - Putting It All Together
"Creativity is just connecting things." - Steve Jobs. After weeks of researching climate change, the ninth lesson in a series of 21 combines the data and analysis to address essential questions. It covers natural phenomenon, human...
Curated OER
Getting Fired Up
Students explore first-person accounts of volcanic eruptions throughout time and use second-hand information about volcanoes. They use both types of accounts to write news articles covering the events of a historic volcanic eruption as...
Curated OER
A Whole Lotta Shakin'
Students read first hand accounts of earthquake survivors in order to begin the describe the different types of earthquake waves and the order in which they arrive. They engage in using earthquake waves as a means to indirectly study the...
Curated OER
It Comes In Waves
Students investigate the behavior and different origins of tsunami waves, and they then research and chart the path of certain tsunamis from recent history using the Internet, maps and firsthand accounts.
Curated OER
Blackout!
Students read news reports and first-person accounts of a blackout in a large city and keep weblogs or journals. They take on different roles of people who live in the city or commute there to work and then use their journal accounts to...
Curated OER
The Historiography on Robert Boyle: Was Boyle the Progenitor of Modern Science?
Students participate in a warm-up activity by attending a football match writing an account of who won the game. They discuss how their account could differ from someone else's account of the game. They discuss how different people's...
Curated OER
Shades of Gray
Students examine their own strengths and weaknesses and try to determine if it is a result of nature, nuture or both. After reading an article, they discuss how gender may or may not account for differences in intelligence. They...