Shmoop
ELA - Literacy.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.6
Key to understanding scientific or technical texts is identifying the underlying question the author is attempting to answer. Provide your young scientists with an opportunity to practice identifying these questions and the procedures...
Curated OER
A Duck's Bill on Capitol Hill?
Use a list of environmentally related words to engage learners in a discussion about ecosystem conservation legislation. As a class, read "Aware of Political Ecosystem, Property Rights Advocate Embraces Conservation Plan." Then, present...
Curated OER
Beyond Media Messages: Media Portrayal of Global Issues
Take a close look at news reporting techniques and global issues. Begin by creating a graphic representation of developing nations and defining the term. After class discussion, the second day's activities pick up by deconstructing news...
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
Breast Cancer Risk
How does one determine whether or not someone is at risk for breast cancer? Find out through a comprehensive case study involving two readings and a group activity in which learners assess four women's potential for acquiring the...
Curated OER
Scientific Root Words, Prefixes, and Suffixes
It's hard to imagine that anything was missed on this five-page list of science roots, prefixes, and suffixes! Listed in alphabetical order, all are included in a single, two-column list. This may be especially useful for advanced...
Curated OER
Case Study--"What Good Is It?"
Young scholars receive a realistic introduction to the intricacies of the endangered species problem. Students examine and refine personal concepts of non-utilitarian value and biocentric stewardship. Young scholars examine what, if any,...
NASA
The Big Climate Change Experiment Lesson 2: The Influence of Climate on Culture
No conversation about culture is complete without considering climate. Scholars first view videos of climate witnesses who describe the climate in their regions and how climate change affects their daily lives. They then write essays or...
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
To Boldly Go, or Not
Here is a different way to combine social studies and science. Have your high schoolers read a passage about the 2004 vision for space exploration and then discuss the practicality, costs, and reasons for returning to the moon. Then, the...
Curated OER
Design Challenge: Cup in the Cupboard
Students design device that will place a cup into a cupboard for a physically challenged person. They study the engineering design and how structure relates to function.
Curated OER
Filling in the Picture
Students study archaeological sites. They discover some of the problems inherent in choosing sites and what parts are chosen for excavation. They evaluate and explain their choices for study and articulate the process of archaeological...
Curated OER
Introduction to Aseptic Techniques
Students study bacteria and aseptic microbiology laboratory techniques. They discover how to pour, label, streak, seal and store plates in an incubator and articulate what they have learned via an informational laboratory poster.
.
Curated OER
Dust in the Wind; Chemicals in the Water
Students explore mechanical and chemical weathering at stations. They articulate some mechanisms of chemical and mechanical weathering through exploration in a lab. Students stations describe how chemical weathering differs from...
Curated OER
Popular Mechanics
Young scholars explore the five essential parts of every robot and design their own robots to perform everyday tasks. They explore robots created for fighting competitions by reading and discussing "When Nerds Collide: Robots at War."
Curated OER
Araceli Solis Butterflies Unit
Third graders study the life cycle, eating habits, habitats, and migration patterns of butterflies in this series of lessons.
Curated OER
What Can You Learn About Dinosaurs by Watching an Ostrich?
Students collect a variety of drawings of dinosaurs and maps of a zoo. Students observe an animal in motion during a field trip to a zoo from reproducible worksheets. Students study about the process by which scientists and film...
Curated OER
Our Class, Our Earth day
Students understand the importance of participating in recycling and clean-up efforts in the community. In this recycling lesson, students respond to questions after reading "The Wartville Wizard" by Don Madden. Students articulate...
Curated OER
Where Is The Juice?
Students are introduced to the component's of Ohm's Law. In groups, they practice their problem solving skills by reviewing problems solved earlier. They participate in activities that help them gather information on the importance of...
Smithsonian Institution
Water/Ways: The Poetry of Science
Water is the source of life. It appears in poetry in both peaceful and torrential descriptions; it appears in earth science in its liquid, gaseous, and solid states. Combine these interpretations of our planet's most precious and...
Teach Engineering
Magical Motion
Make solutions to projectile motion problems magically appear using equations. Pupils watch a clip from a Harry Potter movie and find the length of time it takes for a remembrall to fall into Harry's hands. They use a projectile motion...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Niche Partitioning Activity
Dinnertime on the African savanna is a highly choreographed event! Introduce young ecologists to the concept of niche partitioning through a hands-on activity. Pupils research animal behaviors and use data to develop an understanding of...
Curated OER
Climate Patterns across the United States
High schoolers articulate differences between climate and weather using examples in a written statement. Using climate data from across the country, they describe climate patterns for various parts of the United States on a map. Students...
Curated OER
Combustion Reactions
Students write a balanced chemical reaction. They articulate how burning fossil fuels increase the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Students incorporate all the environmental risks involved as well.
Curated OER
Kraut Lab
Students explore the process of fermentation through the process of making Sauerkraut. Students use their observational skills and their five senses to create an articulate description of their lab created sauerkraut. They discuss the...
Curated OER
Slick Moves: Exploring the Controversial Plan to Drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Young scholars recount their knowledge of natural resources and articulate their understanding of the multi- faceted debate that surrounds drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. They then examine the complexity of drilling in...