Your teenagers may have heard of fracking, but do they really know what it is? And could they debate the benefits and risks? Educate your environmental science class with a lesson about hydraulic fracturing, non-renewable energy...

Did you know that jumping spiders sometimes wear water droplets as hats? A seventh grade science lesson introduces the concept of what makes up water: tiny molecules that are attracted to each other. Starting with a...

Why do some items feel colder when they are the same temperature? How should you keep your soda cold? What makes the wind blow? These are just some of the things middle schoolers discover when completing a lesson on...

Wheeeee! Young thrill seekers build a bungee jump—not for themselves, though, but for an egg. The egg must fall from a height of five feet and rebound within two inches of the ground or floor.

Bring a set of pre-lab, lab, and post-lab lesson plans on volcanoes to your earth science unit. Sixth graders explore the three types of volcanoes found on Earth, plot the specific locations of these volcanoes on a map, and...

Polymers are an important part of our day-to-day lives, but how much do your pupils know about them? Learn the basics and beyond in a series of activities designed to build skills in observation, planning, organic chemistry, and bonding.

Soil scientists gain experience with an infiltrometer can to determine the infiltration rates at different locations on campus. If you are using the entire unit, the class has already analyzed water flow and soil types, so they should...

Find out the characteristics that makes a bug an insect with a workbook designed to inform scholars about the crawly creatures that live around us. Scholars complete an ant-themed word search, answer questions using a solution key,...

Practice electric vocabulary using multiple methods. Learners begin by watching a video that explains vocabulary related to electric currents. They match vocabulary cards to practice and then create an electric circuit. Using the...

What a big job for such a small particle. Young scientists learn about the role of nanoparticles in catalytic converters for cars. They conduct an experiment to create alginate-MnO2 catalytic spheres. 

Appreciate the chance to get out of the classroom. Scholars take a field trip to a solar cell or solar panel facility to learn about the manufacturing aspect of the business. They also hear from a guest speaker and ask questions about...

How did the Ebola virus first infect humans? Young virologists examine genetic sequences from the 2014 Sierra Leone outbreak to find similarities during a riveting activity. Following similar methods used by MIT and Harvard, partners...

Turning white light into colors only takes a little scientific know how! Young scholars create their own spectroscope in a hands-on activity exploring the properties of light. Using a diffraction grating, they discover how white light...

Explore animal habitats and reinforce speaking, listening, reading comprehension, and writing skills with a unit that focuses on the Arctic, desert, ocean, prairie, and rainforest. Enthusiastic scientists read informational text to...

Candy rocks! A sweet lesson offers a different take on the rock candy experiment. Groups use a supersaturated sugar solution to create rock candy. Pupils then add other ingredients to the solution to test their effect on the...

Militaries throughout history have used topography information to plan strategies, yet many pupils today don't understand it. Scholars use Legos and a contour gauge to understand how to construct and visualize topographic profiles. This...

A chicken egg is a very large cell—perfect for investigating osmosis! Scholars conduct an experiment with vinegar and eggs that helps them understand the process of osmosis. They follow the activity with an in-depth look at osmosis...

Have you ever wondered why some people are lactose intolerant? Participants test simulated patients in a hands-on lab activity to find out! They learn about lactose intolerance by performing an experiment, analyzing data, and drawing...

Learn the ins and outs of hurricanes through a series of lessons answering, "What is a hurricane? How does it travel? How is one formed, measured, and named?" Information is presented through informative text and images, while...

You've got to pump it up! Using the equations for projectile motion and Bernoulli's Principle, class members calculate the water pressure in a water gun. The pupils collect data on the number of pumps and distance traveled in order...

Arsenic in drinking water is a common problem in third world countries. Young chemists create a procedure to calculate the mass percent of arsenic in the soil. The virtual lab allows individuals to experiment with different methods.

When it comes to teaching writing, it helps to start small. A supplementary guide to A Writer's Guide to Powerful Paragraphs provides suggested activities to help writers craft a variety of paragraphs. Each assignment covers a...

It's time to break the ice! If you are doing all of the lessons in the unit, children have already seen that increasing heat increases the rate of evaporation, but is the opposite true? Does decreasing temperature cause more condensation...

For scholars tired of reading the textbook, this unit includes nine hands-on lessons. Through group work, lab activities, experiments, and even one inquiry-based lesson, scholars apply knowledge about cells, genetics, and...