Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ants In Motion

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students brainstorm ants and their characteristics in a class discussion. They observe the ants and answer question pertaining to their behavior; then they apply the scientific method in creating and investigating a problem.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wildlife Sampling-Capture-Recapture

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders simulate the capture-recapture method of population sampling using beans. In this biology lesson, 7th graders calculate the total population of beans in the bowl. They assess whether this method is reliable or not.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cave Formation Age Estimation

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students investigate growth rates of flowstone formations. They view a virtual field trip and discuss how flowstones form. They observe the cave fieldtrip and predict the growth rate for a cave formation. They graph growth rates and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Is an Egg Without its Shell?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars observe osmosis, a cellular process that normally can't be observed without a microscope, and use scientific method to observe osmosis in a chicken egg.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Carbon Dioxide Heats It Up

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students design an investigation to test whether vegetation in an area helps regulate the ambient air temperature. They make comparisons between the investigation and global changes in climate. In groups, they present their findings to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Succession in the Classroom

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate their environment by growing plants in class.  In this botany lesson, students discuss the lifespan of plants and animals and how they must be cared for continuously over time.  Students grow a plant in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

People and Space

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students eat dehydrated foods that the astronauts would eat in space. In this dehydrated foods lesson plan, students make lists of food they could eat, discuss how dehydration takes place, eat food, and complete discussion questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Energy

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students investigate solar energy. They explore ways that energy from the sun can be turned into energy that humans can use in our everyday lives. In various experiments, they explore the effect of clouds and dust on photovoltaic energy...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Cycle Stories

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students explore the water cycle. In this water cycle lesson plan, students simulate the water cycle by placing an ice cube in a Ziploc bag and observing the changes which occur over time. Students record the mass of the Ziploc bag and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Species Diversity and Phylogeny

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars explore the classification system of organisms: taxonomy. They examine prepared slides of Protozoans and record information on a Taxonomy Recording Sheet. Two additional classifying activities are also included in this...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What the Sun Can Do

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students develop and test a unique, personally-relevant hypothesis about the consequences of exposure to UV radiation based units on a living organism, common baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae).
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Tectonic - Volcanoes

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Students watch and learn the different levels of "viscosity" in liquids to explain molten lava after viewing a video of a Hawaiian volcano.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

work in pairs for the activities of this lesson which include researching and identifying butterflies, writing, and a brief oral presentation.

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the concepts of rdioactive decay and dating. They generate a radioactive decay table, use their data to plot a decay graph, develop the concept of half-life, and then use the graph to find the age of a mummified seal in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making a Crater

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students examine the characteristics of craters. In this crater lesson, students discover how meteors form craters on planets and moons as they make their own craters and respond to observational questions regarding the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reservoirs and Production

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students complete activities for a lesson about reservoirs and production. In this geology lesson, students complete a 7 page packet of activities to explore porosity, permeability, and rock properties.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Water Cycle

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students develop a better understanding of the need to conserve our renewable resources.  In this water cycle lesson students take notes, complete a guide sheet and illustrate the water cycle. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching About the Properties of Water

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use video, Internet research, graphs and tables, worksheets and hands-on experiments to investigate the properties of water in a lake environment. They work under direction or through an inquiry process.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar and Lunar Eclipses

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students complete a WebQuest in order to better explain solar and lunar eclipses. They observe images and videos of eclipses from around the world.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mechanical Properties of Chocolate: How Hard is your Chocolate?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students calculate, measure and identify the hardness of various chocolate bars. They determine the hardness of the chocolate bar using quantitative data. Students make observations of the hardness of chocolate while dropping the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar and Lunar Eclipses

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students examine eclipses. In this eclipse lesson, students investigate solar and lunar eclipses. Students complete a WebQuest and write a descriptive summary of eclipses. Lesson references a WebQuest, but does not include a link.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chemical and Physical Changes

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders investigate different gas behaviors. In this chemistry lesson, 8th graders describe how changing volume and temperature affect gas particles motion. They collect data and make a generalization about these variables'...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Scientist in Me

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Young scholars make a poster.  In this scientist lesson, students define the term scientist, draw pictures of themselves as scientists, and write about what they would study as a scientist.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Measuring Snowfall

For Teachers K - 4th
Students predict the amount of snowfall for the week and measure snowfall.  In this measuring snowfall instructional activity, student use a precipitation gauge to measure the week's snowfall; and analyze the data to determine...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Weather Detectives

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders make weather observations and record data. They use the internet to get data on the weather. After 5 days students predict the weather for the next 3 days.