Students examine the relationship between energy and the environment. In groups, they participate in experiments to discover the law of thermodynamics and the differences between potential, kinetic and mechanical forms of energy. They...

Students explore the concept of topographical maps.  In this topographical map lesson, students discuss how airplanes know where to fly.  Students use topographical maps to simulate a field trip on the computer. 

In this detecting dwarf planets learning exercise, students read about the Webb Space Telescope that will be launched in 2014 to detect dwarf planets using an infrared telescope. Students solve 3 problems and create a graph for each...

Pupils brainstorm and write arguments for Evolution and Intelligent Design. They research the history of each of these ideas. They also examine the controversy of teaching one or both ideas in schools.

Fourth graders engage in a study of the solar system. The teacher constructs an outside model of it. They walk through it making constructive observations. Students conduct a class discussion about the solar system and planets. They...

Students work together to construct a model of a water catchment basin. They survey water patterns and complete experiments to see where rain travels and collects. They discover how engineers design structures that help with drainage.

Students speculate how a location can develop into a large town. They investigate the physical resources and how populations can grow. There are guiding questions to help students through the research and class discussion. Students make...

Students discover the faults throughout the Earth. They describe the different types of faults and how they are related to earthquakes. They build models of the faults.

Students explore the use of sundials. They observe the shadows cast by the sun and record the times at various points throughout the day. They create sundials and record the location of the shadows and the time of day. They view a...

Students observe, measure, and graph a model of slow down slope movement representing soil creep. This task assesses students' abilities to collect, record, and organize data, set up graph axes, plot data points, draw line graphs, apply...

In this literature book review activity, students read a nonfiction book about space or space exploration before choosing a topic to explore further. They choose from 7 activities such as designing a model, writing a letter, write about...

Students use a model to conduct an experiment involving dam construction. Based on their observations, they draw conclusions about social, economic, and and environmental issues and make a decision concerning dam location. As a group,...

Pupils place a peat pot in water to observe and calculate the rate of capillarity in a model of a soil. This task assesses students' abilities to make simple observations, collect, record, and represent data, use a data table to...

Students develop a legal system. In this justice system lesson, students examine case law in the Untied States and draw on that experience to create a legal system for a "moon colony" which integrates the legal systems on Earth.

Fifth graders observe real bones and models to learn about the structure and function of the skeletal system. In this skeletal system instructional activity, 5th graders manipulate objects and models of bones. They handle real bones and...

Students explore the relationship between magnetism and electricity byby explaining how the model motor operates. They observe the the spinning of a coil of copper wire that is part of a circuit.

Students conduct an experiment to measure the diameter of the sun. In this astronomy lesson plan,  students construct a simple equipment to collect scientific data. They calculate the sun's diameter using a given formula.

Ninth graders study the origin and organization of the solar system. They investigate the Earth's place in the system and how planetary motions explain natural phenomena observable from Earth.

Students construct a scaled model of a city that provides for the economic and cultural needs of a community while maintaining high quality air and water to protect the public health. They articulate, in a presentation, the locations of...

Young scholars explore volcanoes, hurricanes, and tornadoes through the use of the Internet.

Students explain the different heat transfer mechanisms and how they influence the building envelope. They develop ways in which the building envelope can be improved and test hypotheses about building envelope designs.

Students are introduced to some basic ideas the Framers used in creating the kind of government they thought would best protect the natural rights of each individual and promote the good of all. At the conclusion of the lesson, they know...

Fifth graders prepare five activities to do then show their energy saving skills.  In this investigative lesson students create five projects then participate in an energy saving demonstration. 

Turn up the heat! Young mathematicians develop models to represent different climates and collect temperature data. They analyze the data with regression and residual applications. Using that information, they make conclusions about...