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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Cycle Activities

For Teachers 4th Standards
Explore the water cycle in all aspects with a resource packed full of activities and lessons. The 37-page packet comes with vocabulary, a game, writing prompts, printables, and opportunities to journey through the stages in the water...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
American Chemical Society

Energy Changes in Chemical Reactions

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Some chemical reactions produce heat, but what is really going on? Lesson focuses on the concept of energy changes, both exothermic and endothermic. Scholars perform multiple experiments, hands-on activities, and view videos of the...
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Oceans as a Heat Reservoir

For Teachers 7th - 11th Standards
Oceans absorb half of the carbon dioxide and 80 percent of the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Scholars learn how and why the oceans store heat more effectively than land and how they help mitigate global warming. Pupils...
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Activity
Parenting Exchange

Snow Activities Let Children Explore the Wonders of Weather

For Teachers Pre-K - 6th
Just because there's snow on the ground, it doesn't mean you can't go out and play. Take full advantage of the wonderful winter weather with this collection of fun snow day activities.
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Explore Rocks With Hands On Activities

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
You can have students use crayons to learn about igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks.
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Unit Plan
Teach Engineering

Solar Water: Heat it Up!

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Young engineers are instructed to design and build their own solar water heaters. Then, they calculate the efficiency and cost and compare them to commercially available models. This is a full unit for pupils to apply their knowledge.
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Interactive
2
2
PHET

The Greenhouse Effect

For Students 6th - 12th
How do greenhouse gases impact temperature? Have your classes use the interactive software to explore different concentrations of greenhouse gases and their effect on climate. Learners can recreate different atmospheric concentrations...
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Activity
It's About Time

Exploring Energy Resource Concepts

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Please turn off the lights to conserve energy. Or not, after all energy is always conserved. This first lesson in an eight-part series includes three parts. Part A contains one hands-on activity and two inquiry-based experiments on heat...
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Investigating the Atmosphere - Air Takes Up Space

For Students 1st - 5th
How do you know there is air? Can you see it, smell it, feel it? To begin the investigation, learners watch a video and discuss what they know about air and the atmosphere. Then, they participate in five different hands-on, inquiry-based...
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Lab Resource
Colorado State University

What Is a "Convection Cell"?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Round and round in circles it goes! A hands-on activity has learners recreate a model of a convection cell. They watch as the difference in density of their materials creates a current.
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Chicago Botanic Garden

Understanding the Greenhouse Effect

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Dive into the power of the sun with a two-part lesson. Budding scientists model the greenhouse effect in a hands-on activity, and then participate in a skit that explores the earth's energy balances and what really occurs in the...
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Let's Break the Particles

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Build learning by breaking atoms! Young scientists study the way energy changes with a hands-on activity. As they roll steel marbles down a ramp, learners test the hypothesis that kinetic energy does not go away with friction or...
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Lesson Plan
Energy for Keeps

Going for a Spin: Making a Model Steam Turbine

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Discover the effectiveness of wind, water, and steam as energy sources. The hands-on activity has young scientists create a turbine from common materials. After constructing the turbines, they use wind, water, and steam to turn them and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Heat: Mini Unit

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students experiment with heat. In this physical science instructional activity, students engage in hands-on activities to develop concepts related to heat. Students offer explanations for their observations using given vocabulary.
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Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Try Your Hand at Nano

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Fascinating reading about nanotechnology, nanoscale properties, and liquid crystals precedes a fun activity for young engineers. They measure their hands in nanometers, research, and then investigate how heat effects a sheet containing...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A New Phase In Town

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers explore heat energy and how it is used to change the phase of matter, and discover that temperature does not increase or decrease until the phase change is complete. This extremely well-written plan is packed with great...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

The Sun, Moon, and Our Solar System: Teacher/Student Notes

For Students 3rd - 5th
Introduce basic Earth and space science to your budding astronauts. This handout works in two ways, the first part provides information about the sun, moon, eclipses, and Earth to be read to or by the class. The second part is composed...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coal Derivatives

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students use this hands-on activity to demonstrate the production of coke, one of the most widely used raw materials derived from coal. They are also stimulated to do research into the differences in coal types and coal products.
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Activity
1
1
NOAA

I Didn’t Do It…Did I?: Make Your Own Greenhouse Effect

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
How do greenhouse gases affect the climate on Earth?  Pupils explore the concept by first building their own apparatuses to model the greenhouse effect. Then, they record data to measure temperature change and determine that the amount...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Electricity - Four Activities

For Teachers 4th - 6th
These are four classic activities used for instructing upper elementary electricians. The first involves experimenting with the Van de Graaff generator. The second is a series of hands-on experiences with static. In the third activity,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Hot Is It?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Discuss the difference between conduction, convection and radiation of thermal energy, and complete activities with your class by investigating the difference between temperature, thermal energy and the heat capacity of different materials.
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Lesson Plan
1
1
National Science Teacher Association

Middle School Sampler: Science

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Focus on inquiry-based learning in your science class with a series of activities designed for middle schoolers. A helpful packet samples four different texts, which include activities about predator-prey relationships, Earth's axis and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stop Heat from Escaping

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore the uses of insulation and describe how insulation helps to conserve energy. They work in groups and use plastic, wool, paper and aluminum to experiment with the heat-retaining properties of various materials.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

TE Activity: Hot Cans and Cold Cans

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars work on problems in which they investigate conduction, convection, and radiation. They attempt to maintain the warmth in one can of soda while cooling the other as much as possible in a thirty minute period. They examine...