Tech Museum of Innovation
Tree House Escape
Use simple machines to escape from a tree house. Pupils learn about simple machines and how they are useful in everyday life in a STEM lesson plan. Groups then design a device to rescue a friend stuck in a tree house.
Smithsonian Institution
Weather Widget
What's so difficult about predicting the weather? Scholars work collaboratively to build a device that models how meteorologists use computers to forecast weather. Team members collect and interpret data while working together to...
Curated OER
Gravity - The Glue of the Universe
Learners explore physics by conducting a class experiment. In this gravitational force lesson plan, students define several scientific terms associated with force. Learners utilize a styrofoam cup and marbles to simulate a satellite...
Curated OER
Bryant Creek Watershed Project - Making a Karst Dictionary
Students explore the definitions relevant to Karst topography. They develop a Bryant Watershed Dictionary of the special words and terms that are used to talk about the topography and hydrology of the area they live in.
Curated OER
Winter Holiday Celebrations
Students understand how holidays revolve all around light. In this winter holidays instructional activity, students find the similarities and differences between the winter holidays. Students discuss the winter solstice and how it...
Curated OER
From Where to Where?
Students find locations based upon their latitude and longitude coordinates. In this latitude and longitude lesson, students locate points on a grid and learn how to use an astrolabe.
Curated OER
A Bight is Born
Students sequence and model the events leading to the formation of the southeastern coast of the United States, including the formation of the South Atlantic Bight.
Curated OER
Rivers, Maps, and Math
Students use maps to locate and label the major rivers of North and South America. Using the internet, they identify forests, grasslands, mountain ranges and other landforms on the continents as well. They compare and contrast the...
Curated OER
Landscapes
Students explore landforms and landscapes. They demonstrate an appreciation for and examine how to recognize the attributes of landforms and landscapes. Students create a landscape and reflect on their painting.
Curated OER
Study of Fossils
Fifth graders dig for fossils. In this fossil lesson, 5th graders read about the oldest found fossils and discuss the process of fossilization. They dig for their own fossils in a fossil box made of several dirt layers.
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
Tree of Life
Young scholars explore the importance of the tropical rain forest in different cultures. Through a cooperative game, they locate countries that are known for their forest resources. Students discuss the similarities and differences of...
Curated OER
Young Learner's Writing Workshop 2
Students choose a short story and role play one of the characters in the story. They interview each other about the character they are playing to research them.
Curated OER
A World of Myths
Students read and write myths. In this world mythology lesson, students read and analyze myths from various cultures and then recognize their attributes as they write their own myths to explain natural phenomena.
Curated OER
Renewable Energy and
Students identify and explore renewable energy options and then research, develop and install a renewable energy system in their school or community. Students identify the use of renewable energy sources in the north, demonstrate their...
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Designing Future Houses
Young scholars discuss the changes we face and what kind of future house designs students can imagine. They create a floor plan, make an architectural drawing, and write a short description about their future house.
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Composting
Eighth graders collect data from Bottle Biology compost columns and record using Excel spreadsheet.
Curated OER
Limited Resources - Understanding Our Cultural Resources
High schoolers examine and compare preserving natural resources and preserving cultural resources. They conduct Internet research on two topics, and write a position paper on whether cultural resources or natural resources are more...
Curated OER
Lines, Segments, and Rays
Fifth graders use their arm, toothpicks, and marshmallows to create lines, segments, and rays. In this lines, segments, and rays lesson plan, 5th graders learn how these appear on a plane.
Curated OER
Plotting Data on a Graph
Students investigate graphing. In this graphing lesson, students survey the class and create graphs to reflect the data collected.
Curated OER
Discovering the Physical Geography of Washington
Pupils develop a mental map of the state of Washington and draw it on paper. Using the Virtual Atlas, they identify the physical features of the state and draw them on their map. They also examine the populations and diversity of the...
Curated OER
Adventures in Exploration
Fifth graders research major explorers in history using their textbook and then create a timeline using Timeline Software. Students participate in class discussions and write an essay about the explorer they researched.
Curated OER
Visual Opacity
Students discover the difference between transparent, translucent and opaque. They use those descriptions to classify clouds. They create a presentation in which they show the different types of clouds with their descriptions.
Curated OER
Understanding the Indoor Environment
Students create and deliver speeches about why their school should have an Indoor Air Quality team. In this speeches lesson plan, students make presentations to school board members about having an IAQ team.