Curated OER
Three Clouds Activity
Students understand how clouds are formed. In this cloud lesson, students participate in three experiments to make clouds. Students complete activity sheets for each experiment.
Curated OER
Greenhouse Effect: A Computer Simulation
Students complete an online simulation of the greenhouse effect. For this lesson on the greenhouse effect, students use a website, similar to a webquest, to simulate and answer questions on how the greenhouse effect works. This lesson is...
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Dust in the Wind; Chemicals in the Water
Students explore mechanical and chemical weathering at stations. They articulate some mechanisms of chemical and mechanical weathering through exploration in a lab. Students stations describe how chemical weathering differs from...
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Weather
Students explore the earth's atmosphere, weather, and climate. They begin class with a discussion about weather patterns, atmosphere, and the layers of the earth. After the class discussion, students rotate through four stations to...
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Create a Cloud In a Jar
Students investigate cloud formation. In this weather lesson plan, students examine how clouds are formed. Students participate in experiments that model how water vapor in the air works.
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Atmospheric Processes - Conduction
Students explain the process of conduction using a molecular explanation, and explain how different materials conduct at different rates.
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Dark Skies: Volcanic Contribution to Climate Change
Students examine how volcanic eruptions affect global climate. They listen to first-hand accounts of the effects of a large volcanic eruption and illustrate a landscape to show understanding. They experiment with the loss of light and...
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Michigan Food: From Farm to You
Students recognize Michigan on a map and understand how its climate is affected by the Great Lakes. In this Michigan food lesson plan, students play a trivia game to identify the produce of Michigan. Students relate the climate in each...
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Newton Gets Me Moving
Learners discuss Newton's laws of motion. The conduct motion experiments by building "Newton Rocket Cars" from assorted materials. They propel the cars with rubber bands and wooden blocks and record the distance traveled on data sheets.
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Floodplain Modeling
Students simulate the impact of fluctuating river volumes on structures and landforms. They experiment with table top-sized riverbed models and water. Students consider how human design can help mitigate the effects of a flood.
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Falling Water
Learners drop water from different heights to demonstrate the conversion of water's potential energy to kinetic energy. They see how varying the height from which water is dropped affects the splash size. In seeing how falling water can...
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Newton Rocket Car
Students observe a demonstration of Newton's third law of motion using a small wooden car. They discuss Newton's third law of motion and what happens to motion if the mass or acceleration is increased, construct their car, and record...
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Planting Seeds Around the World
First graders discuss the book The Lorax and research what living things need. In this environmental lesson, 1st graders investigate how humans affect the growth of plants. Students conduct an experiment with sunflowers.
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The Great School Clean-Up
Students clean up their school grounds. In this environmental stewardship instructional activity, students take part in cleaning their school area and reflect on the experience.
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TE Lesson: Renewable Energy
Students examine renewable energy sources such as solar, water, and wind. They experiment to determine how renewable energy is transformed into electricity. They investigate the role of engineers who work in the field of renewable energy.
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The Lifecycle of a Butterfly
Students study the life cycle of the butterfly. In this butterfly life cycle instructional activity, students examine and discuss a large diagram of the four stages of the butterfly life cycle. They read books and access web sites that...
PHET
Planet Designer: Kelvin Climb
It's time to get those creative juices flowing! This second activity in a series of five continues allowing pupils to design their own planets. It the same format as the first, but, this time, allows learners to alter greenhouse...
Space Awareness
What is Time?
Does it ever seem like time is slipping through your fingers? Model the passing of time with an hourglass activity in which individuals determine whether hourglasses are the most efficient way to measure time.
Tech Museum of Innovation
Analogous Models
What goes into a museum display? A secondary-level STEM project prompts groups to design a museum display for the Tech Museum of Innovation. They create an analogous, interactive model illustrating a science concept to complete the...
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"A Pig is Big"
Students explore the concept of big, bigger, and biggest. They examine and classify items by size, listen to and discuss the book "A Pig is Big," complete a fill in the blank activity, and create a tri-fold that illustrates two items...
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Radiation Budget Lesson: Exploring Albedo
Students experiment with sunlight and temperature. They study the definition of albedo, or the percentage of incoming sunlight that is reflected, rather than absorbed.
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Why Is It Hotter At the Equator?
Students investigate the different heating effects of sunlight. They conduct an experiment that demonstrates the way sunlight strikes the equator, the poles and other parts of the globe.
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Cooler In The Shadows
Students investigate the concepts of shadows and how they are projected with objects different positions in relation to the sun. They conduct an experiment by observing objects in different positions. Then students record the observations.
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Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation with Simple Machines
First graders engage in a lesson that is about Newton's Laws Of Gravitation while conducting research in order to perform an information search. They sing a song about the Law of Gravitation and play a game of Ring Around The Rosie. Then...