Curated OER
Analyzing Discrete and Continuous Data in a Spreadsheet
You are what you eat! Your statisticians keep a log of what they eat from anywhere between a day to more than a week, keeping track of a variety of nutritional information using a spreadsheet. After analyzing their own data, individuals...
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
A Deadly Passion
Depending on the level of maturity of your class, the case study presented here could be fascinating. It focuses on the mating behavior and post-mating rituals of the Australian redback spider, which involves the female eating the male...
Curated OER
Friction of a Block Weight
Fifth graders hypothesize and design an experiment to study the relationship between a block weight and the number of washers it takes to pull a block across various surfaces. Students graph results and apply their findings to a...
Curated OER
How Many Drops?
Seventh graders hypothesize about the number of drops of liquid that can be placed on a penny before it spills over. They examine both the concept of devising a hypothesis and the idea of surface tension. They determine the difference...
Curated OER
The Electromagnetic Crane
Learners explore electromagnetism, simple machines and the design process. They use the concepts of electromagnetism to design and build a device that uses an electromagnet, a pulley and a lever using the provided Engineering Design...
Curated OER
Microbe Experimentation: Sour Milk
Sixth graders design and conduct an experiment with milk to investigate how temperature affects bacteria growth. They, in groups, construct a hypothesis, perform the experiment and then record and present the results.
Shodor Education Foundation
Racing Game with One Die
Pupils roll a die to figure out which car advances on a race track. They determine the rules for each car moving forward and, given the statistics of the winner, compare if it matches their predictions.
Teach Engineering
Combustion and Air Quality: Emissions Monitoring
Help your class determine the types of pollutants coming from vehicle exhaust. Groups use an air quality monitor to determine the emissions from different vehicles, to gain knowledge about combustion energy, and to predict how the...
Shodor Education Foundation
Two Colors Applet
Find the box with two green balls. The applet uses six balls, three green and three red, and hides them in three boxes. Pupils choose a box and click on it to reveal the color of balls inside. Using the chosen box, the simulation keeps...
Curated OER
The Abiotic Limits to Purple Loosestrife Growth
Young scholars investigate the effects of soil temperature, water availability, photo period and other variables of the growth of purple loosestrife. They observe the growing conditions of plants and alter them by adding water, isolating...
Science 4 Inquiry
Maintaining Mass
Can you disprove the law of conservation of mass? Pupils observe the teacher weigh each part of a reaction. Then, the teacher weighs the result of the reaction and everyone sees that the products do not equal the reactants. Then they...
Integrated Physics and Chemistry
Law of Conservation of Matter
Does mass change during a chemical reaction? Demonstrate the Law of Conservation of Matter while encouraging class members to be creative with a two-part lesson. First, learners use Alka-Seltzer® tablets and water to demonstrate the...
Fluence Learning
Writing an Opinion: Buddies that Bark or Purr-fect Pets?
Which animal is best for you—a dog or cat? Why? Engage third graders in an opinion writing assessment that prompts them to read facts about both pets, and then write and decide which pet is best for them.
Serendip
Photosynthesis Investigation
Can scientists increase the rate of photosynthesis to help clean the air? Scholars complete an experiment determining net photosynthesis. Then, they apply knowledge from the activity to design their own investigations of the factors that...
Curated OER
An Apple a Day
Seventh graders explore how to make careful observations and gain valuable practice in drawing what they observe. They stimulate questions about the changes occurring in the apple. Students have an opportunity to ask questions that can...
Curated OER
Enzymatic Reaction
Students explore the effect enzymes have on reactions. They demonstrate the process of enzymatic reaction by making cheese. after experimentation, they answer a series of questions.
Curated OER
Emperical Probability
In this statistics and probability learning exercise, students determine the experimental probability of an event occurring. The two page learning exercise contains a combination of nine multiple choice and free response...
Curated OER
Surveying and Assessing the Environmental Compatibility of a Building Construction Site
Students examine an area of land and assess its suitability for construction purposes. This project requires a vast amount of hands-on experimentation, data analysis, community involvement, and job shadowing/career awareness.
Curated OER
The Science of Aging
Young scholars reflect on the lives of older people they know, then research and debate the key issues surrounding scientific experimentation in anti-aging. They write a short story that reflects their own philosophical beliefs on aging...
Curated OER
Bees
Students design an experiment. In this bees lesson, students research pollination and work collaboratively to discover how bees aid in pollination. Students use tomato plants and create experimental designs. Lesson adaptations...
Curated OER
Pottery-making Methods
Students become experimental archaeologists using three methods of pottery making before the invention of the pottery wheel.
Curated OER
The Monty Hall Problem
Young scholars define and differentiate between experimental and theoretical probability. In this statistic lesson, students play the game "Monty Hall" and use probability to come up with the best strategies to play the game.
Curated OER
Movement
Students explore experimentation as a method for solving problems. In this movement lesson plan, students observe marbles rolling down a ramp, identify variables that could cause the marble to roll faster or farther, test changing one...
Curated OER
Story vs. Plot
Students, after reading and discussing the two texts by Flannery O'Connor, "Good Country People" and "Greenleaf," analyze the plot, tone, characters, themes and setting in each story. They write their own short stories dealing with a...