National Park Service
Fire Ecology on the Rim
An engaging unit on wildfires includes three sections, including a background section with eight lessons and five activities, a field experience section with 13 lessons and five activities, and a conclusion section featuring an analysis...
Physics Classroom
As the Crow Flies Lab
A simple, yet memorable, way of practicing with displacement vectors is described here. Divide your class into groups and assign each a different landmark on campus. They measure smaller legs of the path from the classroom to their...
Curated OER
Peer Review Meets D.I.Y.: Publishing a Student Science Journal
Peer review of science laboratory reports? You bet! First, learners work in pairs to review a scientific article. Then they trade lab reports for peer review. The end result is the publication of a classroom scientific journal!
Mathalicious
On Your Mark
With many factors leading to a great athlete, does height make Usain Bolt unfairly fast? Middle schoolers conduct analysis to change the running distance of the Olympic races to be proportional to the height of the participants. They...
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...
NASA
The X-1 Paper Glider Kit
After reading an interesting account of how the X-1 aircraft was designed, built, and utilized, young engineers try their hand at constructing a paper glider version of the airplane. They cut out the plane out of a nicely designed...
National Wildlife Federation
Green Green Revolution
School budgets don't have a lot of extra money, so when students propose saving the district money, everyone jumps on board. The first instructional activity in the series of 21 introduces the concept of an energy audit. Scholars form an...
Space Awareness
Navigating with the Kamal
Historians have proven that as early as 1497 skilled navigators were using a kamal to sail across oceans. Scholars learn about navigation tools and astronomy before building their own kamals. They then learn how to use it to determine...
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...
Mascil Project
Sports Physiology and Statistics
If I want to build up my heart, where should I start? Science scholars use statistics in a sports physiology setting during an insightful experiment. Groups measure resting and active heart rates and develop a scatter plot that shows the...
Curated OER
Power On to Present- What You Know About Where You Went
Third graders write an essay. In this earth's layers lesson, 3rd graders view a power point presentation on layers of the earth and discuss it. They write a short essay on the layers and their characteristics. They use Microsoft Word to...
Curated OER
Fishing for Points
Learners explore the concept of ordered pairs. In this ordered pairs lesson, pupils list the ordered pairs of a graph in the shape of a fish. They use their calculator to translate the fish using lists, then translate the fish left,...
Curated OER
Ocean of Words
Students explore aspects of the ocean. In this ocean wildlife lesson plan, students watch a power point presentation on the ocean. Students complete a worksheet on what they learned.
Curated OER
Bar Graphs
In this bar graphs worksheet, pupils, working with a partner, explore how to read and analyze the five answers to one mathematical bar graph.
Curated OER
Interview! Magazine
Middle schoolers interview a subject and write a biographical sketch for a fictional magazine. In this interview lesson, students choose a person to interview and create two sets of questions. Middle schoolers conduct the interview....
Curated OER
Trundle Wheel
Sixth graders explore the uses of a trundle wheel. In this units of measurement lesson, 6th graders use trundle wheels to measure distances.
Curated OER
Track's Slippery Slope
Young scholars graph data of sports figure running time using x-axis y-axis to find slope of trend line, mathematically find the interpolated and extrapolated values for data points. Using the information they make predictions.
Curated OER
Temperature Comparisons
Students practice plotting temperature data points on a line graph in groups and examine the temperature differences at the same time of year. They graph the temperatures in Lannon, WI, and Mitchell's Plain, SA. After the data has been...
Curated OER
The Search for Housing Pagurus hirsutiusculus= hermit crab
Students collect snail shells, measure and record their lengths and if they are occupied by a hermit crab. They discover if their is a size difference between occupied and unoccupied shells.
Curated OER
Unexpected Answers
Students explore and complete a variety of activities demonstration probability. They make observations about the results of the activities. Students complete and discuss conditional probability. Also, students draw conclusions about...
Curated OER
Continuity
Students examine graphs to determine if they are continuous at a given point. In this examining graphs to determine if they are continuous at a given point activity, students examine various graphs. Students determine points on the...
University of Colorado
The Moons of Jupiter
Can you name the three planets with rings in our solar system? Everyone knows Saturn, many know Uranus, but most people are surprised to learn that Jupiter also has a ring. The third in a series of six teaches pupils what is around...
Curated OER
How Long Can You Go?
Eighth graders examine the usefulness of a line of best fit by collecting and graphing data, using a graphing calculator to determine the line of best fit, and making a variety of predictions. They watch a video, then design a...
Spartan Guides
Infographics Lesson
An infographic is fantastic way for learners to illustrate their understanding of content, express themselves creatively, and teach others in a manner that is both engaging and informative. While originally designed for a lesson on...