University of California
Roots of the Cold War
When and how did the Cold War begin? To answer this question, you will not find a better-organized, in-depth, activity- and inquiry-based resource than this! Executing best teaching practices throughout, each portion of this inquiry...
Baylor College
There's Something in the Air
Clever! In order to compare indoor and outdoor dispersal rates for the movement of gases and particles through air, collaborators will participate in a classroom experiment. Set up a circular grid and set students on lines that are...
Baylor College
Serving Sizes
Are serving sizes for different foods always appropriate for what you need? In this hands-on activity, learners work in groups to estimate what one serving size of various foods are, and then evaluate their hypotheses by measuring...
Curated OER
Introduction To Fractals: an Inquiry
Students evaluate a playful case study about a dog searching for fetching sticks to identify the steps in the science inquiry method. They read the case study and fill in a worksheet with the examples of questions, observations and...
Curated OER
A Helping Hand: The Role of Guides During Western Expansion
Students research and examine the lives and culture of western mountain guides during the early to mid 1800s. Students write reports about a guide they research, do a simulation of the guide by keeping a journal, managing money and...
Curated OER
View: Visual Inquiry/Experience in Writing
Students discuss the importance of having good observational skills. Using artifacts, they discuss what can and cannot be told about previous cultures. They use their observations to write a paper about the culture and use the internet...
Curated OER
Inquiry Lesson About Color
Pupils investigate the color choices artists make in their work, and to practice the scientific process of predicting, observing, inferring, and interpreting. This lesson's purpose is to prepare students for a museum visit.
Curated OER
Burr Airlines Flight to Asia: Building Inquiry Skills
What a wonderful way to explore this topic! Learners take an imaginary trip to Asia, take a visual tour, and formulate questions for a research project. As a final project, they create a travel brochure.
American Chemical Society
Forming a Precipitate
Things are getting a little slippery in an inquiry-based lesson studying precipitates. Learners use soap and Alka-Seltzer tablets to create different mixtures with water. They then study the properties of the mixtures including their...
American Chemical Society
Mixing Liquids to Identify an Unknown Liquid
Yellow and blue make green in a colorful lesson on liquid solutions. The seventh installment of a 16-part Inquiry to Action series asks pupils to mix different-colored solutions and record their observations. They then use their...
American Chemical Society
Engineering a Floatation Device
Classes will definitely not be sinking after a buoyant instructional activity! A project-based assessment helps highlight the importance of prior knowledge as individuals design a floatation device for a cell phone. They use their...
American Chemical Society
Dissolving is a Property
Believe it or not, it is possible for liquids and solids to get along! A hands-on lesson has individuals explore dissolving properties of candies in water. They complete an activity guide to record observations about different candies...
K20 LEARN
Periodic Shuffle: Introduction to Periodicity and Electron Configuration
No matter how you shuffle the elements, their electron configurations keep them in the same order. How can that be? Introduce the concept of periodicity through a lesson that combines inquiry, discussion, and comparison. Partners...
American Chemical Society
The Periodic Table and Transuranium Elements
The periodic table has so much more to it than meets the uninformed eye. An inquiry-based lesson leads learners through the history of the discovery of several transuranium elements. They then use informational resources to build a...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Investigating the Discriminant
When is finding the discriminant enough? Using the quadratic formula helps find solutions to quadratic equations, but there are times when just using the discriminant is appropriate. Use this algebra II lesson to help classes see...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Are Global CO2 Levels Changing?
According to the Mauna Loa observatory, carbon dioxide levels increased by 3 ppm in our atmosphere between 2015–2016. Individuals analyze carbon dioxide data from around the world and then share this with a home group in lesson...
American Chemical Society
What’s the Difference between Baking Soda and Baking Powder?
Introduce pupils to chemical reactions. Using the hands-on lesson, learners experiment with substances that combine to form a gas. Different substances react to form different amounts of gas, leading to a discussion about the particles...
NASA
Make a Planetary Exploration Balloon
Balloons aren't just for parties! An inquiry-based lesson explores the idea of using balloons for space exploration. Learners become engineers as they attempt to control the ascent and descent of a helium balloon using different masses.
American Chemical Society
Using Dissolving to Identify Substances
It's time to test observation and dissolving skills! After investigating the process of dissolving in previous lessons, pupils see if they can use their dissolving skills to identify substances. They dissolve known and unknown substances...
American Chemical Society
Liquids Have Properties
Liquids have many similarities, but their differences can set them apart. Using a student activity guide, learners conduct different property tests on water, oil, and syrup. They record their results and use them to rank the liquids by...
American Chemical Society
Changes Caused by Heating and Cooling
It's heating up—and cooling down—in here! A hands-on lesson allows learners to experiment with melting and freezing butter to observe changes as a substance transitions between liquid and solid form. They also view an animation that...
American Chemical Society
Designing an Absorbency Test
Time to soak up some learning! A hands-on lesson teaches learners about the absorbency properties of substances. They conduct tests by dipping different materials in water to determine which hold water and then complete a handout to...
American Chemical Society
Designing a Shade Structure
Bring the learning outdoors with an enjoyable activity about Earth's heating, sunlight, and shade. Scholars use problem-solving skills as they design, build, and test a sunshade structure. Participants view a video summarizing the...
Curated OER
Scientific Inquiry
Students create a poster. In this recycling lesson, students discuss pollution and the ways humans negatively affect the environment. Students describe examples of litter or pollution they have experienced. Students collect litter from...