Curated OER
Rockin? Chalk (Integrating science - make own chalk)
Students use plaster of Paris, talc, and cornstarch to create their own chalk. They hypothesize what mixture of ingredients produce the "best" chalk. Students discuss what they think are the characteristics of the "best" chalk.
Curated OER
Growing Up
Here is a sweet lesson that will help your young learners think of themselves in a new light. They compare themselves to babies, and brainstorm all of the ways that they are different from babies. They make a list of things they can do...
Curated OER
Dirty Decomposers
Students explore the ecosystem by conducting a ziploc bag experiment. In this recycling lesson, students identify decomposer organisms in our environment and how they speed up the recycling process. Students utilize a ziploc plastic bag,...
Curated OER
Earth Energy Budget Pre Lab
Students explore energy by conducting an in class experiment. In this climate change lesson plan, students conduct a water vapor experiment in a soda bottle. Students utilize graphs and charts to analyze the results of the experiment and...
National Gallery of Canada
A Cultural Portrait
Explore heritage and identity through an examination of art and a related project. The featured art, related to the African diaspora, includes several types of art created by different artists. Pupils consider their own backgrounds and...
Curated OER
Make a Windmill
Students explore Earth science by conducting an energy experiment in class. In this windmill instructional activity, students identify how wind has been used to pump water throughout history and the latest developments wind energy has...
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Take a Leap!
Eighth graders discuss the flight of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. They study artwork of various sculptors showing the concept of flight. They write a paragraph and design a papier-mache' sculpture that shows movement.
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Plants 'n' Bugs
Second graders experiment to find if pollinators have color preferences. In this plant and bug lesson, 2nd graders gather information about how flowers pollinate. Students participate in a pollination experiment using the scientific...
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Crazy for Cubes: Art and Science
Learners discuss Sol LeWitt and conceptual art, then analyze the differences in expressing a concept through model-based inquiry and aesthetic art criticism. They develop a geometric, scientific, or mathematical concept, then create an...
Curated OER
Friction Restriction: Creating a Design Plan to Redesign the Tread of Tennis Sneakers to Increase Friction
Students evaluate the friction of tennis sneakers and redesign them to increase friction. In this physics lesson, students calculate starting, sideways and forward stopping friction. Using quantitative data, they prove that redesigning...
Curated OER
Woodwind Instruments and Pitch
Learners explore musical pitch. In this cross curriculum musical instruments and "sound" physics lesson, students identify and describe common traits of woodwind instruments. Learners research "pitch" and what causes pitch fluctuation by...
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Fun with Balloons
Fifth graders design their own hot air balloon. In this science activity, 5th graders investigate how factors like weight and sizes affect a balloon's lifting power. They also write math problems based on facts written in the book "The...
Curated OER
Experimental Music
Students test people's response to different kinds of music. In this music lesson plan, students associate different cords with different feelings or moods. They then observe a video that describes different feelings related to different...
Curated OER
Oobleck
Students explore "matter." In this literacy and three states of matter lesson, students listen to Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss, then work in groups to explore "oobleck" (cornstarch and water mixture) with their five senses....
Curated OER
Properties of Water with a Splash of Color
Learners explore the properties of water. In this cross curriculum art and physical science lesson, students experiment with a variety of materials to demonstrate the cohesive forces and adhesion of water. Learners create a water color...
Curated OER
Hot Problem Solving
Students follow the steps of the engineering design process to meet the challenge of getting their entire class from one location on the playground to the sidewalk without touching the ground between. The class develops a well...
Curated OER
Density Rainbow and the Great Viscosity Race
Students explore the densities and viscosities of fluids as they create a colorful 'rainbow' using household liquids. While letting the fluids in the rainbow settle, students conduct 'The Great Viscosity Race,' another short experiment...
Curated OER
Who Takes Care of the Maya Forest Corridor?
First graders study the animals in the Maya Forest Reserve. In this conservation lesson, 1st graders create a graph to compare the environment of animals to their own. They design a 3D model of these two environments.
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Housing: Types of Shelters
Students experiment with the construction of shelters and the various types of architectural designs. In this shelters lesson, students draw the building they live in. Students compare and contrast buildings made today and made 150...
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Animals Up!
Learners design and build a pedestal or platform that holds a toy animal. In this building lesson, students use knowledge from a prior lesson as they build a platform or pedestal for a toy animal using on index cards. They learn the...
Curated OER
Meeting an Earthworm
Students inspect the anatomy of earthworms. In this earthworm instructional activity, students participate in a hands-on experiment as they analyze the structure of earthworms. Students demonstrate mastery through differentiated...
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Poetry In the World Around Us
Students engage in a instructional activity which is designed as a literacy connection to science lessons on the effects of water on plants. This instructional activity uses an excellent Reading Rainbow episode on the effect of drought,...
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Barnegat Bay Watershed
Students design a model watershed. In this watershed lesson plan, students learn the needed parts of a watershed and how they work. Students evaluate how watersheds effect communities.
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James Welch's Fools Crow
Learners explore the history of Montana's Native Americans by reading James Welch's Fools Crow. Set shortly after the Civil War, the novel focuses on a young Blackfoot Indian and his tribe. Over the course of several weeks, class members...