Curated OER
Continents and Oceans
Students identify oceans and continents and their locations on a map. They color-code and label their own map of the world's continents and oceans. They play the game Continents and Oceans to identify specific areas.
University of South Carolina
Home Sweet Home
Fifth graders will research a biome (land or aquatic) and create a project (diorama, model or another idea of the student's choosing) which includes the geographic features of that biome as well as plants and animals found there and...
Curated OER
Nutrient Enrichment vs. Oxygen Depletion
Learners investigate how excess nutrients enter a body of water, and the harmful effects they have on aquatic organisms.
Curated OER
Natural Cleaners
Students explore natural cleaners. In this science lesson plan, students gain an understanding of the effects that commercial cleaners have on the environment and teach them to make their own cleaners out of less hazardous materials.
Curated OER
Look At Those Leaves!
Students explore botany by researching plants in class. In this tree identification lesson plan, students examine a group of leaves and list the different characteristics before guessing what types of trees they came from. Students read...
Curated OER
The Sun Safety Activity Guide
Students examine the sun safety guide. They identify the dangers of getting too much sun and not protecting themselves. They participate in hands-on activities to finish the lesson.
Curated OER
Its Getting Thinner and Thinner
Students design posters on the ozone to be judged. They design a board game on the depletion of the ozone and list the layers of the atmosphere. They construct a collage of the atmosphere into layers according to the way temperature...
Curated OER
Snug in the Snow
Students explore how snow helps animals survive in the wild. In this animal science lesson, students review key vocabulary words and discuss types of animal adaptations. Students construct shoebox to simulate the snowy environment where...
Curated OER
Out & About: Waterways
Students visit science museums. In this hands-on science lesson, students visit the Leith Conservation Trust, Catalyst, and the River and Rowing Museum in person or online to study Britain's waterways.
Curated OER
Using Blood Tests to Identify Babies and Criminals
Students solve a crime by matching a suspect's blood type to physical evidence collected at the crime scene. In this forensic science lesson, students identify the different blood types. They explain how blood tests work.
Curated OER
What Affects Plant Growth?
Eighth graders experiment to identify the nine factors needed for plants to grow healthy. They choose one of seven topics to research and develop an experiment based on scientific method, and complete oral and written reports based on...
Curated OER
Making a Brassica Model
Young scholars apply skills they have learned to construct an accurate model of the Brassica and then work together on a group project. They analyze how the parts of a system go together, and how these parts depend on each other. ...
Curated OER
Conservation Connection
Students work in groups to create a script for a one minute commercial on how to conserve our reusable energy sources. When the scripts are written, explain to the students that a story board is similar to a cartoon.
Curated OER
Alessandro Volta: The Invention of the Voltaic Pile (The First Electric Battery)
Students conduct a series of experiments on electricity. In this physics lesson, students study the work of Alessandro Volta particularly his experiment on the the Voltaic Pail. They build their own Voltaic Pile to recreate his experiment.
Curated OER
My Five Senses 2
Students investigate the five senses. In this five senses lesson, students answer essential questions about the use of the five senses as they interact with their environment. They use a computer software program to make a concept web...
Curated OER
Blubber Gloves
Fifth graders examine animal adaptations and how they meet their needs in a variety of environments. They discuss how they might adapt to their own environment before discussing how an animal could adapt. Next, they complete an...
Curated OER
Water Sources in Cape Verde and West Africa
Young explorers study the scarcity and importance of a continuous supply of fresh water in Cape Verde. They research the five main ways that fresh water is obtained in these countries. Each research group prepares a presentation, and...
Curated OER
Transportation and Environmental Sustainability
After listening to the book, We All Go Traveling By, 1st graders discuss different modes of transportation that they see out in the world, and the environmental impacts of each one. Kids work together to create a list of the types...
Curated OER
Artificial Selection
The second lesson in the series begins with a starter activity discussing wild versus domesticated animals. Then, scholars play a card game, with optional variations, to emphasize artificial selection. Next, they attend a field trip to a...
Curated OER
Don't Believe the Hype
Are hand sanitizers good for you? What about the environment? Research the science behind commonly used cold medicines. The class reads an article, creates a product poster, and conducts independent research on product claims made by...
Teach Engineering
Grow Your Own Algae!
Develop a model of a wastewater treatment center. The last activity of the unit has pupils mix a lake water sample into a tank of water containing fertilizers. Over time, the algae from the lake water grows and removes the nutrient-rich...
Rochester Institute of Technology
Laparoscopic Surgery
Nobody is as smart as all of us together. In a collaborative learning activity, scholars learn it takes a team to be successful in laparoscopic surgeries. Groups complete the laparoscopic task as a team and discuss their results to...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Modeling Food Webs in Darién, Panama
It's a jungle out there! Young biologists journey to Darien, Panama to examine the intricate relationships between the organisms that inhabit the jungle. Groups begin by demonstrating an understanding of energy flow in ecosystems, then...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
An Easy (Bake) Approach to an Edible NanoLab
You can make it if you bake it! Young scientists model electronic chip fabrication with an easy bake oven. They create a design to embed in their brownie "chips" and compare their models to wafer production in basic nanotechnology.