University of California
Marble Rollercoasters
Don't let your classes coast through school! Engage them in their learning as they build their own roller coasters to study potential and kinetic energy. Young scholars complete several challenges that require them to consider the...
American Chemical Society
Does Temperature Affect Dissolving?
When making sweet tea, why do people dissolve the sugar in hot tea instead of cold tea? The class discusses the previous lab and builds upon it. Working in groups, they design an experiment to determine how temperature affects the...
PHET
Learning about Space Weather
Is the sun the only celestial body with magnetic fields? A guided discussion on the weather in space is designed with a mix of questions, discussions, explanations, and applications. Additionally, the resouce includes an...
PHET
Iron Filings and Magnetic Field Lines
How do magnetic fields differ? Allow scholars to see the difference between 2-D and 3-D magnetic fields. They construct models of both and observe how they are similar and different. It is the fifth installment of an 18-part unit.
Curated OER
Polymers and Products from Petroleum
Over four sessions, learners survey the production and use of polymers and petroleum products. First, they participate in a kinesthetic activity to demonstrate how polymers act, and review a list of common products made from...
Curated OER
Density
Learners predict when an object will float or sink based on comparison of density of the object to the density of the substance in which it is placed. The access a website and sketch the object in the first column of their table and then...
Curated OER
The Tibetan Plateau
Learners discuss the characteristics of the biosphere, with a focus on the Tibetan Plateau. They participate in a question and answer period discussing biomes and climate patterns. They compare and contrast different ecosystems.
Berkeley Engineering and Mentors
Marshmallow Catapaults
After a brief lecture on levers, torque, projectiles, and the five-step engineering design cycle, young physical science learners or engineers build catapults out of craft sticks. This is an open-ended exploration of what works and what...
Curated OER
Simple Machines or Are They?
Students discover basic machines and how they make completing work easier. They identify two basic machines, the inclined plane and the lever and the functions of these simple machines.
Curated OER
Sounds Like Science - Kazoo
Students discover that energy is needed to produce sound. They see that identifying where the energy comes from enables us to control the type of sound produced. They play the kazoo and manipulate the sound in a variety of ways.
Curated OER
Olympic Training Center
Students decide on an activity like running, swimming or skating for a performance analysis. They have friends or family members videotape them as they exercise, then review the video to see how they can improve their performance.
Curated OER
Mechanics Aren't Just for Cars
Third graders are introduced to the correct mechanics of throwing. They work in peer groups to demonstrate proper throwing form and critique each other's performance.
Curated OER
Harnessing Solar Energy
Learners identify the properties of light from the sun. In groups, they participate in experiments with solar collectors, cookers and calculators to determine which one harnesses the most energy. They record their observations and...
Curated OER
Angles: Angles, Angles, Everywhere
Students estimate and accurately measure the size of angles communicate with the appropriate geometric terms and symbols to describe and name angles, lines, line segments, rays
Curated OER
D-Day Message from General Eisenhower to General Marshall
Students use documents in the National Archives of the United States to evaluate the effectiveness of D-Day.
Curated OER
Mystery Machines
Young scholars explore simple machines and demonstrate thier acquired understanding by building a simple machine.
Curated OER
A Guided Journey Into the Past
Fourth graders use guided imagery to discover and judge an alternative way to enjoy artifacts without removing them from archaeological sites.
Curated OER
Four-Wing Paper Boomerang
Students cut out the pattern of the Four-Wing Boomerang and trace it on to one half of the file folder. They practice throwing it.
Curated OER
The Law of Inertia
Learners practice the 4 question strategy to form more questions and develop further experiments. The four questions are engage, explore, explain, and elaborate. They use the 4 question strategy on an investigation involving the mass...
Curated OER
Simple Machines Vocabulary Quiz Worksheet
In this simple machines vocabulary quiz worksheet, students match the 19 terms in the word bank to the appropriate definitions.
Curated OER
The Unit Circle
Pupils relate the trigonometric functions to the coordinates of the unit circle with access to explorelearning.com. They determine the signs of trigonometric functions in each quadrant.
Curated OER
Plate Tectonics
Students identify that most of mountain ranges found on all major land masses and in the oceans are external reflections of tectonic movements within the earth. They identify that earthquakes and related phenomena are caused by the...
Curated OER
Magnets
Students investigate the magnetic attraction of different materials by observing a demonstration, and review the words "attraction" and "materials." Next they conduct exploration of a number of materials which have different properties...
Curated OER
Simple Machines In Complex Machines
Students brainstorm the concept of a machine. They make lists of the characteristics that all machines share. The teacher uses questioning in order to get students to think more deeply about the subject. They create a lab to demonstrate...