Curated OER
What Plants Need in Order to Survive and Grow: Light
Students conduct an experiment to evaluate whether plants need light to survive and grow. They observe and gather data about plant responses to different growth regimes, analyze the data, and make conclusions about basic plant needs.
Curated OER
Polluting the Environment
Fourth graders construct mini-ecosystem, pollute the ecosystem, observe, collect, and record data on the effects of these pollutants on their ecosystem, organize data on spreadsheets, create graphs, and design presentations to share with...
Curated OER
The Bouncing Ball
Learners use the scientific method to conduct an experiment to test how a ball bounces. In this inquiry-based physical science and scientific method activity, students drop a ball from specified heights and record the rebound, then...
Curated OER
Studying Snow and Ice Changes
Students compare the change in snow and ice over a 10 year period. In this environmental science lesson, students use the live data on the NASA site to study and compare the monthly snow and ice amounts on a map of the entire...
Curated OER
Diffusion
Students design and carry out an experiment according to the scientific method. The experiment must test the effects of time and concentration on the rate of diffusion of potassium permanganate into potato cubes. After performing the...
Ohio Department of Education
Observe Then Infer
Upper elementary scientists learn that observations made can lead to inferences. They rotate through six weather-related stations that challenge them to make observations and then draw inferences from their observations. A...
Curated OER
Analyzing the Job Market for Babysitting in Your Neighborhood
Young scholars conduct research on a neighborhood in Canada. In this data analysis lesson, students use data from the 2006 Canadian census to draw conclusions about a population group.
Curated OER
How Does the Angle Effect How Fast a Car Will Travel?
In this angle of movement and speed worksheet, students determine at which angle a car will travel the fastest. They test 12 different angles on a toy car and determine from their data which angle is the best for speed.
Curated OER
Is There Liquid Water on Mars?
Learners assess whether there is liquid water on Mars by analyzing images and data. In this planetary lesson students analyze temperature and pressure graphs and hypothesize about how water could have flowed on Mars.
NASA
The Effects of Sunspots on Climate
In this sunspots and climate change learning exercise, learners use a diagram of a tree stump and its rings to determine the age of the tree. They use sunspot data from the internet and they construct an Excel spreadsheet to compare the...
Curated OER
Tsunami Waves
In this tsunami waves worksheet, students explore data from the Indonesian tsunami of 2004 and answer ten questions about the data. They draw conclusions about the devastation and destruction based on the amplitude and speed of the tsunami.
Curated OER
Tides & Lunar Cycles
Students demonstrate how the moon affects the tides, a neap tide, and spring tides by using their bodies as models. After students observe the model they created, they draw and label the diagram on a provided worksheet. They then log...
Curated OER
Urban Effects on Inshore Plankton
Learners investigate the effects of urban pollution on plankton. For this plankton and pollution lesson plan, students use samples of plankton collected in urban areas to observe the effects of pollution on plankton samples. They...
Curated OER
Health Care
Students analyze information and draw conclusions about the reality of human life expectancy; the battle between health care technology and our own internal time clocks. Students answer questions such as "Why does aging occur and can...
Curated OER
Dripping Wet or Dry as a Bone?
Students use a sponge and water model to explore the concept of relative humidity and create a percent scale. They define humidity and saturation, build a simple humidity/saturation model, collect, predict and interpret data, and create...
Curated OER
Gas Laws and Alka-Seltzer Rockets
Students investigate the Ideal Gas Law. In this three states of matter lesson, students create Alka-Seltzer rockets using film canisters. Students record observations and data according to the scientific method and explain the gas...
Curated OER
1930 Census and the Consitution
Students read the Constitution and discuss the importance of enumeration. In this Census lesson, students complete a Census schedule and discuss the job skills of applicants. Students research Census data to compare and contrast the...
Curated OER
How Many Is Too Many?
Students explore the population explosion. They view a video depicting the exponential growth of human population. Students research the internet to project future population data. They perform hands-on, multimedia activities to study...
Curated OER
The Electric Hearth
Students examine popular media. In this media awareness lesson, students keep logs of their interactions with media and then write an essay regarding the data.
Curated OER
Glacier Dynamics
Students create flubber glaciers. In this glacier dynamics lesson plan, students experiment factors that may affect glacier speed. Factors include slope, ice temperature, and basal conditions. Students develop hypothesis, conduct...
Curated OER
Cell Phone Range
Here is a 15 minute activity that can be used as review, a warm, or as a quick example of how to relate functions to the real world. Learners complete an application activity and draw conclusion about functions then discuss open and...
Curated OER
The Little Ice Age - Understanding Climate and Climate Change
Fourth graders receive data about tree ring records, solar activity, and volcanic eruptions during the Little Ice Age (1350-1850). From this data, they draw conclusions about possible natural causes of climate change
Curated OER
Plot! Analyze! Draw your Conclusions!
Students download data reported from the Global Sun Temperature Project website. They graph and analyze the data looking for trends and patterns. They prepare a class report with their observations and post it to the website.
Curated OER
Draw your Conclusions
Students analyze data from a student discussion website and write a report on the outcome of an investigation regarding their local water quality. As part of a larger unit students then post the summary of their investigation on the...