Curated OER
Glacial Geocaching
Eighth graders measure strike and dip of given land features and explain the difference between them. They also look at rock and mineral samples for indentification, along with calculating the density. Finally, information is analyzed...
Curated OER
Searching the Attic
Students investigate an attic or basement to "discover" family artifacts. They develop a grid map using string, create a naming system for the grid, and analyze items of interest.
Curated OER
Taster/Non-taster Lab Activity
Pupils determine if they are tasters or non-tasters and then replicate the experiment with family and peer group members. They collect data from the experiment to determine which trait is dominant.
Curated OER
Average Vehicle Occupancy In Your Community
Students determine the average vehicle occupancy in their community. In this transportation lesson plan students develop and analyze a survey to determine attitudes towards air pollution and transportation.
Curated OER
OUtside Influence
Students identify factors that are important for brain functioning of learning. They observe the impact of interaction in mice. They also create their own experiment dealing with the mice. They analyze and share their results.
Curated OER
Snow on Sea Ice
High schoolers examine different samples of ice and predict the amount of snow that has fallen in a given year. Using a calculator, they graph the various thicknesses. They analyze the graphs to determine the relationship between the...
Curated OER
How Typical or Atypical is Your Community?
Students analyze and answer specific questions posed by the teacher about their community. They assess how typical a community is by comparing its characteristics to those of the whole nation. They determine how typical or atypical...
Curated OER
Cloning and Related Issues
Eighth graders research information on cloning and the surrounding issues online. They analyze the issues surrounding cloning and present their point of view with supporting details in a Powerpoint presentation.
Curated OER
Identifying the Relationship Between Black Carbon and the Weather
Students identify the relationship between black carbon and the weather. In this investigative lesson students compare samples of black carbon with a color-scale and analyze others samples.
Curated OER
Our Solar System and Seasons
Sixth graders investigate the relative diameters of planets and distances between them and the cause for seasons on Earth using the 5-E Learning Model. They appreciate the size and distances involved with objects in the real universe....
Curated OER
Air Pollution: The Issue of Global Warming
Here is an outstanding 10-page lesson plan on global warming. Learners discover that there is a lot of controversy surrounding this topic in that the science behind global warming is difficult to prove. The best thing about this plan is...
Curated OER
Suited for Space
A fantastic lesson on survival in outer space should excite your learners! Pupils explore the challenges that living, working, and surviving in space elicit. They focus on the spacesuit itself; how it protects astronauts, and enables...
Discovery Education
Ahead of the Game
According to the movie Wildcats, "It's the sport of kings, better than diamond rings, football!" It is also, however, the sport of severe concussions and ongoing blows to the head. In order to keep our Seahawks soaring and Broncos...
Columbus City Schools
Force Field Physics
Attracted class members to an activity-packed journey through the science behind the invisible forces at work all around us. From jump rope generators to junkyard wars, there's never a dull moment when eighth grade physics scholars...
California Academy of Science
Color Vision Genetics Evolution Simulation
At one point, all mammals carried only two color receptors, but now most humans carry three. An informative presentation and hands-on activity demonstrate how this evolved through genetics. By participating in the activity, pupils...
Curated OER
Testing the Hypothesis
Middle schoolers create and conduct various experiments to determine the origin of a family artifact, and then determine whether their results were successful. Students summarize their results and evaluate whether their hypotheses were...
Curated OER
Time-Lapsed Observations
Students explore timed observations for science investigations. They record ideas on a chart related to a classroom closed terrarium. They repeat their observations for several days and time observations for changing shadows during the...
Curated OER
Paleoecology of "Fossilized" Owl Pellets
Young scholars examine fossilized owl pellets to determine how a species environmental preferences allow us to reconstruct probable past environments. Differences in anatomy are used to identify species in this lesson.
Curated OER
Biological Sampling Device Using a Sea Perch
Students construct plankton nets to be towed and collect specimens to be examined and analyzed in the classroom. They develop research skills through collection of an aquatic sample. They write lab reports after interpreting, identifying...
Serendip
Introduction to Osmosis
A chicken egg is a very large cell—perfect for investigating osmosis! Scholars conduct an experiment with vinegar and eggs that helps them understand the process of osmosis. They follow the activity with an in-depth look at osmosis...
Discovery Education
It's Getting Hot in Here
Class members engage in a STEM experiment and investigate how materials affect heating in a house by creating models of houses and using different top surface materials. They record the temperature inside the models and consider what the...
Discovery Education
Cushion It!
Sugar cubes, collide! Groups design protection systems using bubble wrap to protect sugar cubes from being destroyed by falling batteries in the STEM lesson plan. They consider how the experiment relates to collisions in real-world...
Curated OER
What's The Big Deal About Accutane?
Young scholars take on the role of epidemiologists. They investigate an "outbreak" in serious birth defects that occur in infants born to teenage girls. students discover a link between the use of the acne drug called Accutane and birth...
Curated OER
Toxicants and California Blackworms
Students determine the normal behavior of California blackworms. They determine how various concentrations of assigned toxicants affect the worm's behavior. Students are introduced to testing of potential toxicants, an important...