Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

The Hydrologic Cycle

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
There is the same amount of water on earth now as there was when it was formed. The water from your faucet could contain molecules that dinosaurs drank! Young scientists build their own hydrologic cycle model and observe...
Activity
It's About Time

Properties of Matter

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Never trust an atom; they make up everything! Young chemists make modeling dough and add another ingredient to change the properties. Scholars then compare the properties of emulsion to composite materials. A reading passage and analysis...
Activity
It's About Time

Metals and Nonmetals

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Did you know you can melt the metal gallium with just the heat of your hand? Pupils observe and test materials in order to classify them as metal or non-metal. A reading passage and analysis questions wrap up the lesson. 
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Teach Engineering

Trash to Treasure!

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
One person's trash is another man's treasure. Challenge your class to build something useful out of the trash they throw away on a regular basis. Groups design and build a practical item from trash they collect, allowing the class to...
Activity
It's About Time

Chemical Names and Formulas

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Abracadabra! Provide your class with the tools to perform a chemical "magic show" as they predict the charges of various ions, determine ionic compound formulas, and make observations to determine when a chemical reaction between...
Activity
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Teach Engineering

Circuits and Magnetic Fields

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Have your class use compasses to try to find the magnetic field around an electric current. Groups use the same technique to visualize magnetic fields as they did in the second activity in the series, but this time, the field is...
Activity
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Teach Engineering

Building an Electromagnet

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Your pupils can build their own electromagnet — awesome! The culminating activity in an eight-part series challenges groups to design and build their own electromagnet. The goal of the activity is to build a magnet capable of picking up...
Lesson Plan
Polar Trec

Who Will Melt First?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
If the Greenland ice sheet melted, sea levels would rise by about 20 ft; if the Antarctic ice sheet melted, sea levels would rise by 200 ft. Scholars explore ice melting through the analysis of different ice samples, clean and dirty ice....
PPT
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Normal Community High School

Classification of Matter

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Steel is an example of homogeneous mixture, also called an alloy, which is made of iron and carbon. The presentation introduces learners to elements, compounds, and mixtures. They explore their similarities and differences, and then take...
Lesson Plan
University of Colorado

Looking Inside Planets

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Researchers use scientific data to understand what is inside each of the planets. The first in a series of six, this lesson builds off of that concept by having pupils use a data table to create their own scale models of the interiors of...
Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Looking Inside Planets

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
All of the gas giant's atmospheres consist of hydrogen and helium, the same gases that make up all stars. The third in a series of 22, the activity challenges pupils to make scale models of the interiors of planets in order to...
Activity
NOAA

Make Your Own Volcano!

For Students 3rd - 6th
Make a volcano erupt in your own classroom! Young scientists use household and craft materials to model and simulate the eruption of a volcano.
Lesson Plan
Beyond Benign

The Big Melt: Arctic Ice Caps

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Are the Arctic ice caps really melting out of existence? Junior climatologists examine the statistics of ice decline through four math-based lessons. Each activity incorporates data, climate information, and environmental impact into an...
Lesson Plan
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Beyond Benign

Puzzler

For Students 6th - 8th
Are some packaging materials superior to others? Using sustainability as a guide, scholars analyze different packing materials to describe their life cycles. They create puzzles to communicate their findings.
Activity
DiscoverE

Hidden Alarm

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
It's time to wake up! Young engineers build an electric circuit that will activate an alarm. The use of switches in the circuit is a must—because you don't want the alarm to keep beeping forever!
Lesson Plan
DiscoverE

Sun-Warmed Treats

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Treat your class to a fun activity, complete with treats. Groups create a solar oven from a pizza box. They then use it to heat up some food ... that's what an oven is for, after all!
Lesson Plan
NASA

Catch a Piece of the Sun

For Students 9th - 12th
What does the sun mean to you? Learners have many different interests that may have connections to the sun. Whether its solar radiation, solar flares, or solar storms, there are connections to daily interests that may surprise your...
Activity
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PBS

Hidden Alarm

For Students 5th - 8th
It's time! The fourth lesson in a five-part series has teams of scholars build a circuit for an alarm. A switch lets them turn the alarm on and off and allows them to hide the alarm—just as long as they don't hide it in the classroom!
Lesson Plan
Deliberating in a Democracy

Recycling

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How often have you passed by a recycling container in your school? Scholars research the issue of recycling in the ever-changing global world. Using documentation and video evidence, they form their own opinions on recycling and how it...
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

The Amazing Mundo

For Students 6th - 12th
Rocks and minerals are great on their own, but they also turn into some pretty amazing stuff! An online lesson explains the different types of materials we get from rocks and minerals, including glass, plastic, and coins. An embedded...
Activity
PBS

Cloud Clues

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
It's cloudy with a good chance of learning! An inquiry-based lesson begins with an exploration of transparent, translucent, and opaque materials. Young scientists then connect their learning to the different cloud types as they take the...
Activity
PBS

Star Power

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Let there be light—or maybe not. Pupils learn about light pollution with an investigation of constellations. They create constellation boxes and experiment with different levels of light. Observations are then made about the lighting in...
Activity
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Teach Engineering

Density Column Lab - Part 2

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Groups suspend objects within layers of liquids to determine the densities of different liquids and compare them to the densities of objects calculated in Part 1. The groups then carefully test their calculations by layering the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Colored Pencil Repoussé

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Artists employ a basic metalworking technique by embossing lines and textures into a soft metal. They look for examples of embossed metals in historical and contemporary examples. This fascinating process has been used by many cultures...

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