Illustrative Mathematics
Weather Graph Data
Teaching young mathematicians about collecting and analyzing data allows for a variety of fun and engaging activities. Here, children observe the weather every day for a month, recording their observations in the form of a bar graph....
Chicago Botanic Garden
Plant Phenology Data Analysis
Scientists monitor seasonal changes in plants to better understand their responses to climate change, in turn allowing them to make predictions regarding the future. The last activity in the series of six has scholars analyze BudBurst...
NOAA
Ground-truthing Satellite Imagery with Drifting Buoy Data
Ground-truthing ... is it even a word? The last installment of a five-part series analyzes how scientists collect sea surface temperature data. Scholars use government websites to compare temperature data collected directly from buoys...
Curated OER
Lead and Mercury: Comparing Two Environmental Evils
High schoolers in chemistry or health courses look at the material safety data sheet (MSDS) and periodic table of elements to gather information about mercury and lead, two toxic materials that have been found in food products. They read...
Curated OER
Deep Convective Clouds
Students observe clouds. In this deep convective clouds lesson, students analyze cloud data recorded over one month and draw conclusions based on results. Students predict "Thunderstorm Season" and prepare to defend their decision...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Historical Climate Cycles
What better way to make predictions about future weather and climate patterns than with actual climate data from the past? Young climatologists analyze data from 400,000 to 10,000 years ago to determine if climate has changed over...
National Wildlife Federation
Stifling, Oppressive, Sweltering, Oh My!
Looking for a hot date? Pick any day in August, statistically the hottest month in the United States. The 15th lesson in the series of 21 instructs pupils to investigate the August 2007 heat wave through NASA data, daily temperature...
National Wildlife Federation
Why All The Wiggling on the Way Up?
Some of the CO2 emitted by burning fossil fuels is removed from the atmosphere by natural sinks, such as the ocean. The fifth engaging lesson in the series of 21 examines the CO2 data from three very different locations. It then makes a...
Curated OER
Trends of Snow Cover and Temperature in Alaska
Students gather historical snow cover and temperature data from the MY NASA DATA Web site. They compare this data to data gathered using ground measurements from the ALISON Web site for Shageluk Lake. They graph both sets of data and...
Polar Trec
Ozone Data Comparison over the South Pole
Did you know the hole in the ozone is seasonal and filled by January every year? The lesson uses scientific measurements of the ozone over the South Pole to understand patterns. Scholars learn that the hole grew bigger annually before...
Curated OER
Shake It Up with Scatterplots
Middle schoolers identify how to use a scatterplot to compare two sets of data to determine if they are related. Then they identify and describe the definition of regression line (the "line of best fit"). Students also identify how...
Center Science Education
Weather and Climate Data Exploration
Access local temperature data online, graph averages, and critique it. Learners listen to a scenario where weather and climate are confused, and then answer questions to differentiate the two. The lesson plan itself is compact, but there...
Curated OER
Weather Data Analysis
In this weather learning exercise, students read a data table comparing the temperature and weather conditions at three different locations. Students use this data to complete 8 fill in the blank, 1 short answer question, and one graph.
NOAA
Graphing Temperatures
Battle of the hemispheres? In the fourth installment of a five-part series, young oceanographers use the NOAA website to collect temperature data from drifters (buoys), one in the Northern Hemisphere and one in the Southern Hemisphere....
Curated OER
The Floating Egg Problem
This is the grown-up version of the classic "float an egg in salt water" experience, plus an experiment in soap making. High schoolers explore density, but more importantly, practice accuracy, precision, and the use of significant...
Curated OER
Random Sampling
In this random sampling worksheet, students compare data collected by a random sample to data collected by an actual count using pieces of paper with numbers written on them. They compare their data for the actual count to the random...
Curated OER
Designing the Experiment and Answering the Question
Learners investigate scientific methods by analyzing an article from the Natural Inquirer. In this data analysis lesson plan, students read an article from the magazine and discuss at least 2 scientific methods that could be used...
Curated OER
Animal Skin
Students investigate the skin surface to body area ratios for different animals. In this seventh/eighth grade mathematics/science lesson, students explore heat transfer between an animal’s body and the environment. Using...
Workforce Solutions
On the Job
Four lessons spotlight a variety of professions while boosting listening and observational skills and making inferences. Lesson one challenges pupils to group cards based on a commonality then justify the relationship they see....
Curated OER
Historical Pollution in the Hudson: Part 2
Ninth graders practice how to format and enter data into an Excel spreadsheet, make a graph, and interpret graphed data. They recognize how the pollution in the Hudson River has changed over time, and explain the consequences of these...
University of Colorado
Spacecraft Speed
Space shuttles traveled around Earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour, way faster than trains, planes, or automobiles travel! In the 13th installment of 22, groups graph different speeds to show how quickly spacecraft move through...
Curated OER
Osmosis and the Cell Membrane-part 2
Young scholars participate in a review of diffusion and the basic properties of the cell membrane before exploring the process of osmosis in a lab activity. Using shell-less eggs that have soaked in various solutions, students make...
Curated OER
Ramp Builder
Young scholars plan and build a ramp designed for maximum distance a car can travel. In this physics and data collection math lesson, students work in groups to design a ramp using various household materials. Young scholars test small...
American Chemical Society
Preparation and Combustion of Biodiesel
The United States is the world's largest producer of biofuel. During an in-class investigation, young scientists produce their own biodiesel. They burn a sample of it to determine the heat of combustion. Then they discuss the...