NOAA
Exploring Potential Human Impacts
Arctic sea ice reflects 80 percent of sunlight, striking it back into space; with sea ice melting, the world's oceans become warmer, which furthers global warming. These activities explore how humans are impacting ecosystems around the...
Curated OER
Human Anatomy -- How Do We Move?
Students create a model of the digestive system. In this human anatomy lesson the students examine features of the digestive system. The students perform an experiment.
Curated OER
A Pill with a View
Students brainstorm a list of potential uses for micro-video technologies. After reading an article, they analyze the development of a new pill-sized camera. In groups, they create a children's book that shows them the various systems of...
Clean Up Australia
Why are Batteries Harmful to the Environment?
Open this lesson plan by reading together about primary and secondary batteries (such as nickel-cadmium cells), problems they can cause in the environment, and how humans can minimize the damage. Afterward, little ones examine a...
US Geological Survey
The Water Cycle for Schools: Advanced Ages
Explore the water cycle in an interactive diagram of the process. The diagram shows how water is a moving system and constantly changing forms. The resourc includes vocabulary words that pupils click on in order to discover more about...
Cheetah Outreach
Life Cycles
How does a cheetah life cycle differ from a human life cycle? Kids graph weight gain for humans versus cheetahs and compare other life cycle events such as gestation and life span
Curated OER
Ice Age Animals
Students research the ice age and the animals that were on the Earth at that time and have a debate on the explanation for the extinction of the ice age animals.
Curated OER
Roots: The Ancestry of Modern People
High schoolers investigate the models for the origin of modern humans and the conditions that facilitate speciation and evolution. The classification and nomenclature of hominid species is also examined.
Curated OER
Bones: Reading and Quiz
Make no bones about it- this anatomy worksheet is all about the human skeleton! Learners read a 2-page informational excerpt on bones and then use the information they learned to answer 9 recall questions, including 4 multiple-choice and...
Curated OER
Down in the Dumps
After an introduction to municipal sludge, middle school ecologists consider the pros and cons of dumping in the Hudson River Canyon. The class is split into two groups: one to debate in favor or dumping and one to debate against the...
Curated OER
The Volcano Factory
Collaborative groups work together to report on the volcanic activity leading to island formation and construct models to demonstrate the process. Consider having each group present their project to the rest of the class. There are many...
Baylor College
People and Climate
Model how the sun's energy strikes the planet and help your class relate it to a climate map. Assign small groups an individual climate zone to discuss. They reflect on and research how humans survive in the assigned climate and write a...
California Academy of Science
Human Evolution
As the great and hilarious Tim Minchin once said, "Science is simply the word we use to describe a method of organizing our curiosity." Science is more than just a guess; it is based on questions, observations, and evidence. High...
Baylor College
Pre-Assessment: The Brain
Break your class in to the general structure and function of the brain. Brainiacs discuss what they know about it and create personalized brain development timelines. They also take a true-false, pre-assessment quiz to get them thinking...
Baylor College
Drugs, Risks and the Nervous System
In cooperative groups, middle schoolers contemplate the probability of 18 different situations occurring. After they make predictions, they compare them to the actual risk factors. This eye-opening exercise demonstrates that the odds of...
Baylor College
Digestion
Digestion is an amazing and complicated process that provides humans with the energy they need to survive. Lesson six in this series on the science of food uses sliced turkey and a meat tenderizer to demonstrate how enzymes help break...
Nuffield Foundation
Assessing Human Hearing
Young scientists explore hearing through multiple experiments, demonstrations, and activities. They focus on the changes in hearing over a lifetime, how we can determine where a sound is coming from, and the ability to filter noises.
Curated OER
Reproduction, Day 4: Sexual Decision-Making
Every human has the need for affection. This lesson plan teaches mild to moderately disabled secondary learners to make good choices regarding sexual contact. The lesson plan is developmentally and age appropriate and covers topics such...
Curated OER
Tools, Technologies and Inventions through the years
5th graders will gain an understanding of how, what, and why people invent tools. This PowerPoint provides a complete description of what tools are, types of tools, why we make tools and what impact they have had on society. There are...
Baylor College
Fossil Fuels and the Carbon Cycle
Humans are quickly depleting Earth's fossil fuels and locating them is becoming increasingly difficult! Layered muffins are used for models as young geologists take core samples in order to determine the presence of oil. Consider first...
Curated OER
Human Demographics
Students explore factors that change human population growth in a biology simulation for seven countries including the United States, China, Egypt, Germany, Italy, India, and Mexico. Factors such as age at which women begin having...
Curated OER
The Mythical, Magical, Middle Ages...NOT!
Students complete worksheets and roleplay feudal simulations as they are immersed in the daily life of the Middle Ages. They study geography of Europe and the origins of European tribes. They outline and write a biographical essay and...
Curated OER
The Human Memory
This is a well-designed, creative lesson to help young scholars learn more about the human memory. Working in pairs, students complete tasks and gather data. Excellent websites for resources are also provided.
Curated OER
Sizing Up the Supersize Croc
Students examine and compare traits of humans and crocodiles. In this crocodile lesson students use a ratio to estimate the height of a person and compare that to a crocodile.