Interactive
CK-12 Foundation

Satellites, Shuttles, and Space Stations: Satellites in Orbit

For Students 6th - 8th
Blast off! How do satellites, space shuttles, and space stations escape Earth's gravity and achieve orbit? Young astronauts study rocket science (literally) with an interactive lesson. They discover the four main uses for satellites, how...
PPT
Mr. E. Science

Forces

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
May the mass times acceleration be with you. The presentation covers forces, Newton's three Laws of Motion, momentum, and vectors.
Unit Plan
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Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl Matilda Lesson Plans

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
Fifty eye-catching pages contain six lessons about Roald Dahl's novel, Matilda. Each lesson has a theme and covers a different subject—literacy, social-emotional learning, science, and geography. Scholars analyze characters, examine...
Activity
Exploratorium

Balancing Ball

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Demonstrate lift to the class that is studying aerodynamics. In the stream of air produced by a blow dryer, little physicists place a wad of tissue paper and a spherical figure to compare. Or, if you have a vacuum cleaner and beach ball,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pre-School Ball Run

For Teachers Pre-K
Students demonstrate force and motion by rolling a ball through a tube. In this motion lesson students explore what happens to the ball when it is rolled with other balls of various sizes, weights, and textures.
Lesson Plan
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NASA

Newton Car

For Teachers 7th - 11th
If a car gets heavier, it goes farther? By running an activity several times, teams experience Newton's Second Law of Motion. The teams vary the amount of weight they catapult off a wooden block car and record the distance the...
Unit Plan
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Curated OER

Earthquakes: Third Grade Lesson Plans and Activities

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Introduce third graders to energy waves with a hands-on geology activity, in which they answer questions and compare seismograms in the San Francisco Bay area. After a demonstration that shows how bigger waves indicate a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Physics: Bounce - Projectile Motion and Collisions

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students conduct and observe experiments in Newtonian mechanics, kinematics, and projectile motion. They analyze the motion of a ball rolling off a table, falling, and then bouncing. Students answer a series of questions analyzing the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Newton's Second Law of Motion with Simple Machines

For Teachers 1st
First graders study Newton's Second Law of Motion before demonstrating the concept with a simple machine. They sing a song about speed, force, mass, and acceleration. They use simple machines to demonstrate how objects that have a higher...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Physics: Force and Motion

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students use the internet to discover the basic concepts in physics. They complete interactive simulations where variables can be changed. They answer comprehension questions to end the lesson.
Printables
Curated OER

Isaac Newton’s Three Laws of Motion

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Explore the laws of motion though a window book activity. Learners use the provided templates to put together a book that includes Isaac Newton's three laws. Behind the window flaps, they can place images, graphic, experiment results,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

One, Two, Three--Isaac Newton and Me

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students experiment to develop understanding of Newton's Laws and how they apply to space travel in this ten day lesson sequence.
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Buoyancy

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Swimmers know to float by turning their bodies horizontally rather than vertically, but why does that make a difference? In an interesting lesson plan, scholars explore buoyancy and the properties of air and water. They test cups to see...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sports and Science

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Using footballs, basketballs, tennis balls, and more, learners conduct experiments to illustrate Newton's Laws of Motion.  The experiments are conducted outside, and require them to throw, kick, and hit a variety of balls. Your...
PPT
Curated OER

The Coastal Ocean: Estuaries and Continental Shelves

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Amazing high-quality satellite imagery, photos, informational graphs, and detailed diagrams comprise this presentation on the movement of estuaries and the continental shelf. Data used as an example is from The Chesapeake Bay and because...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Constancy and Change

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders investigate how objects can move in different ways. They move in different ways across the room and develop a class list of movement words. Students also conduct a measuring motion experiment, create a bar graph for the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pendulum Clocks

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students use string, wire, weights, and a stopwatch to build pendulum clocks. In this pendulum clocks lesson plan, students use the pendulum clocks to investigate weather, climate, force, and motion.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigating Newton's Second Law Of Motion

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students participate in a lesson that investigates Newton's Second Law of Motion. They conduct an experiment of observing balls that are rolled down a ramp. The lesson includes background information for the teacher for preparation and...
Activity
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Teach Engineering

Equal and Opposite Thrust in Aircraft: You're a Pushover!

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
It's the law—every action requires a reaction, no matter how small. Pupils experience two demonstrations of Newton's third law of motion as it relates to thrust in the 10th segment of a 22-part unit on flight. Using their mathematical...
Lesson Plan
PHET

Science and Engineering Conference

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scientists present their experimental designs from the previous experiment. The ninth activity in the series outlines what learners should present, what class discussions should happen, and the solution NASA came up with for the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Moving Experience - Forces and Inertia

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students view a video and complete corresponding activities to observe inertia. They observe and predict the effect various forces have on objects.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Multimedia Presentation to Describe Newton's Laws of Motion

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders use various sources to find pictorial evidence of Newton's laws of motion in everyday life. They use various sources of technology to import those pictures into a multimedia presentations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Force and Gliders

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Learners explore physics by creating data graphs in class. In this flight properties lesson, students read the book Flying Machine and identify the force, resistance and construction necessary to keep a glider in the air. Learners...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Physics and Me

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders compare and contrast mass and weight. In this physics lesson, 6th graders calculate speed given distance and time information. They construct a rocket and relate this to Newton's 3rd Law of motion.