Middle Tennessee State University
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? A Comparison in American Culture
As part of their study of the Progressive Era, class groups examine a 20th century version of "The Three Little Pigs" through a New Era lens and identify how ideals such as the value of hard work, creativity, and problem solving, etc.,...
Illustrative Mathematics
Tilt of Earth's Axis and the Four Seasons
Geometry meets earth science as high schoolers investigate the cause and features of the four seasons. The effects of Earth's axis tilt features prominently, along with both the rotation of the earth about the axis and its orbit about...
Curated OER
Tree Friends
Students are introduced to tree structure and use. They identify their special tree using all senses except sight. Students identify six different internal parts within a cross section of tree trunk (bark, phloem, xylem, cambium,...
Curated OER
Weightlessness
Students compare and contrast the terms "weight" and "mass". In this physics lesson, students observe an experiment in which objects are placed on a balance scale and weighed under different circumstances. Partners drop items and observe...
Curated OER
They Don't Just Eat Grass
Pupils explore and examine different types of feed used for livestock. They discuss types of feed, the need for energy and health, and create graphs of food compared to categories. Students organize data and complete worksheets on...
Curated OER
Grooming Is A Good Thing
Students construct fly traps, collect house flies, and observe the flies grooming. They compare/contrast the fly's grooming techniques with their own. They develop a good grooming habits chart.
Curated OER
Whale of a Tale
Students apply problem solving techniques to answer a question. After reading a passage, they compare and contrast three species of whale in a quantitative fashion.
Curated OER
Life of a Logger
Students are introduced to the work and lives of 19th century lumberjacks through a living history slide show presentation. They compare and contrast life 150 years ago with the present. Students describe the history of logging in...
Curated OER
Weather And The Seasons
Students illustrate characteristics of the different seasons using digital and pen and paper drawings. They creat captions for their drawings and present them to the class. Students compare and contrast their pen and paper drawing...
Curated OER
Specific Heat and Insulation
Students measure the air and soil temperatures at designated times. They graph the temperatures of each on one piece of graph paper with different colors. Students compare the information for the two line plots and analyze their results...
Curated OER
Special Place
Students observe and describe a "special place" chosen along a nature trail. In this habitat observational skills and writing lesson plan, students take a walk on a nature trail and choose a spot to sit and meditate. Students complete a...
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Hetch Hetchy: The Story of San Francisco's Water
How did San Francisco supply enough water for its residents over the last two centuries? Learn about droughts and water conservation in California, as well as specific historical events that led to the water system today. Kids read two...
Curated OER
In a Giants Garden
Students explore the effect of the earths rotation and its relationship to the suns position and the effect that the longer and shorter amount of daylight has on a pumpkin plant which they have planted.
Curated OER
Time Capsule
First graders collect data in the fall and again in the spring. they use the data from both seasons to compare and contrast changes over time. They put the data from the fall into a box or "time capsule." The teacher encourages students...
Curated OER
Native Chili Planting
Students discover the process of planting chili. After comparing two types of seeds students plant and with the use of a digital camera, record the seed progress. When ready for transplant, students take young plants to a retirement...
Curated OER
Bison Calculations
Students discuss how animals are cared for when they are captured. Using calculations, they determine how much food and water it takes for one bison and compare their water intake to humans. They also compare their weight to that of a...
Curated OER
Insect Biodiversity
Young scholars observe the process of transect sampling using insect nets, to get a chance to compare the presence of different species and populations in various vegetational areas. They study the different specimens caught and compare...
Curated OER
Today's Weather on Mars
Students investigate the temperature and wind data locally, nationally, and internationally and compare these conditions to those on Mars. Conclusions are drawn about the differences of these conditions and the causes for the variance...
Curated OER
Where is Water Found?
Fourth graders examine the amount of water and its distribution on Earth. As a class, they brainstorm a list of where water can be found and classify the places according to salt water, fresh water or glaciers. They estimate how much...
Curated OER
Forecasting Weather
In this weather learning exercise, students review the different things a meteorologist studies and how they collect weather data. Students compare weather watch and weather warning. This learning exercise has 10 matching and 3 short...
Curated OER
Which Fish Where?
Focusing on the fish in the Hudson River Estuary, this activity could be used to practice reading, graphing ,and critical-thinking skills. Answering the 6 questions should be interesting for students due to the interesting subject matter.
National Wildlife Federation
Citizen Science to the Rescue!
You don't have to be a scientist or even out of high school to contribute to scientific research. In the 12th lesson in the series of 21, scholars use this opportunity to add to the growing body of scientific knowledge and consider the...
Curated OER
Can't Wait - Gotta Migrate:The Monarch Butterfly
Students study the migratory behavior of the monarch butterfly and to carefully develop a scientific method for answering one question concerning their behavior. They perform many meaningful tasks which help them explain the Monarch...
Curated OER
Difficult Decisions: The Sakinaw Sockeye Case Study
Eighth graders examine Sakinaw Sockeye as species at risk, participate in role playing exercise to consider different perspectives of various interest groups, and try to come to consensus on how to deal with dwindling Sakinaw sockeye...