Curated OER
Recycling
Middle schoolers relate recycling to waste reduction. In this science lesson, students talk about the environment and how recycling certain natural resources actually saves on energy. They also discuss what type of recycling causes...
Curated OER
Water Power
Students observe a model of a waterwheel to investigate the transformations of energy involved in turning the blades of a hydro-turbine into work. They work as engineers to create a model for a new waterwheel while considering resources,...
Curated OER
Designing "Green" to Save Our Green Planet
Students design an environmentally friendly home. In this middle school math/science lesson, students watch videos on creating green design. Students work in collaborative groups to determine what makes a house green and to...
Curated OER
Simple Thermodynamics of Transportation
Students watch videos about various modes of transportation, they examine the energy transformations that occur in each, and they be introduced to the laws of thermodynamics.
Curated OER
Foucault's Pendulum
Students investigate how the motion of the Foucault pendulum proves that the Earth is rotating. They research the Internet about pendulums and conduct an experiment online. They view a multimedia presentation about pendulums and read...
Curated OER
I See a Coyote
Students role-play coyotes looking for natural resources. For this natural resources lesson, students examine the relationship between animal life and the environment. Students play a game that demonstrates how natural...
Curated OER
Hydrologic Cycle Scavenger Hunt
Students explore the water cycle using educational resources. In this water cycle lesson, students use a global climate DVD to complete a scavenger hunt on the hydrologic (water) cycle.
Curated OER
Harvest the Wind
Wind is a natural resource available around the world. Help your pupils appreciate the power and importance of wind by researching wind farms, making pinwheels, and designing windmills.
Curated OER
Ecology Vocabulary Exercise: Wetlands
In this ecology vocabulary exercise: wetlands worksheet, students read the definitions of 8 words, then categorize a species found in a wetland in their region. This page has numerous links to helpful web resources.
Curated OER
What Makes a Cat a Cat?
Students investigate the lives of pets by videotaping them. In this animal life lesson, students videotape a cat and other pets using school cameras in a computer lab. Students review the footage from the cat and other...
Curated OER
E-Cycling!
Eighth graders research how and why electronics are recycled. In this earth science lesson, 8th graders determine the types of materials electronic devices are made up of. They produce a creative ad to encourage people to recycle.
Curated OER
Too Cool for School-The Greenhouse Experiment
Learners create a town model and analyze the type of greenhouse gases their town emits. In this earth science lesson, students build greenhouses to investigate how trapped heat causes temperature change. They relate this activity to...
Curated OER
Severe Weather
Fifth graders identify the causes and effects of several different kinds of
severe weather phenomenon. They read an excerpt from John Muir's book The Mountains of California and research one of the following severe
weather phenomena...
Curated OER
See the Wind
Students explore alternative energy sources. For this wind energy lesson, students will investigate the difference in the speed and smoothness of wind at different altitudes above earth. Students will use kites, helium balloons,...
Curated OER
Shine On, Moon
Students explore space science by conducting an experiment in class. In this Moon lesson, students define a list of space science vocabulary and read the book The Moon. Students utilize shoeboxes and string to conduct a sunlight...
Curated OER
Modeling Oil and Gas Reservoirs
High schoolers investigate energy by researching how oil reservoirs work. In this fossil fuels lesson plan, students conduct an experiment using a half full bottle of water, corn oil and oxygen, recording their data as the elements are...
Virginia Department of Education
Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
Messenger Education
Dangers of Radiation Exposure
Gamma radiation, which is harmful, is useful in treating cancers. In the second lesson in a series of four, young scientists take surveys and calculate their yearly exposure to ionizing radiation. Then they read about how harmful their...
University of Colorado
Can Photosynthesis Occur at Saturn?
In the 19th activity of 22, learners determine if distance from a light source affects photosynthesis. Participants capture oxygen in straws and find that the amount of water the gas displaces is proportional to the rate of photosynthesis.
Science Geek
Bulk Properties of Water
Learn the ins and outs of the properties of water through an engaging slide show. The lesson presents different facts about water including phase change, heat of fusion, heat of vaporization, and specific heat among others.
Curated OER
Hazards: Third Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Learners discover hazards related to volcanoes and predict the effects these hazards have on people and land. As blossoming geologists explore various volcanic eruptions, including the hazards associated with them, they...
K12 Reader
Rainforest Ecosystems
Rainforests are the topic of this brief reading passage. Learners can find out all about the different layers of the rainforest as well as the types of creatures that live there. After reading, they respond to five questions about the text.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Natural and Human Causes
Part three in the series of seven has pupils discussing the different greenhouses gases, learning about the carbon cycle, and then watching a short video about the carbon cycle. Based on their knowledge, individuals complete a greenhouse...
US Geological Survey
The Water Cycle for Schools: Beginner Ages
Explore a day in the life of a water droplet. An interactive infographic helps scholars learn how water cycles work from precipitation all the way around to condensation. Learners hover over each step of the cycle to read more as they...