Curated OER
Fossil Fuels (Part III), The Geology of Coal
Do not overlook this set of lessons just because your school does not have a data analysis system. There is plenty of material here to administer a complete mini unit on the formation, distribution, and properties of coal. Since it...
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...
Serendip
From Gene to Protein via Transcription and Translation
DNA carries the codes for creating just the right protein. A well-designed lesson leads pupils through the process from start to finish and everywhere in between. Guiding questions with supporting video help scholars understand the...
Curated OER
Get the Picture!
Astronomers practice downloading data from a high-energy satellite and translate the data into colored or shaded pixels. As a hands-on activity, they use pennies to simulate high-energy satellite data and they convert their penny...
Teach Engineering
Preconditioning Balloons: Viscoelastic Biomedical Experiments
What does stretching a balloon have to do with equilibrium? Groups explore preconditioning by stretching a balloon to a point of equilibrium. They then measure the amount of force required to stretch the balloon to the same point several...
Teach Engineering
Package Those Foods!
Designing the right package — it's more than a pretty picture. Challenge small groups to design a food package. They must consider the type of food they are packaging and the package's ability to control the physical and...
DiscoverE
Human Arch
Sometimes, we all need somebody to lean on. Scholars create a human arch by leaning against each other. They consider different approaches to making the arch sturdier and stronger.
Discovery Education
Cushion It!
Sugar cubes, collide! Groups design protection systems using bubble wrap to protect sugar cubes from being destroyed by falling batteries in the STEM lesson plan. They consider how the experiment relates to collisions in real-world...
Serendip
The Molecular Biology of Mutations and Muscular Dystrophy
Different types of mutations cause unique types and degrees of muscular dystrophy. Scholars learn about the types of mutations and the impact on the body. They compare the location of the mutations and draw conclusions about how it is...
Curated OER
Introduction to Adaptation
Tenth graders observe collections of specimens and discuss their answers to provided questions. They explore common ancestry, homology, analogy, adaptive radiation, and evolution, while formulating creative answers based on their...
Curated OER
The Web of Life
Students demonstrate the interrelationships of animals and plants. For this ecology lesson, students discuss the things plants and animals need for survival and study the glacier food chain. Students simulate the web of life by using a...
National Security Agency
Equations and Expressions
Learners demonstrate their knowledge pictorially, concretely, and abstractly in this unit meant to last three hours over three days. Using hands-on activities, manipulatives, real-world applications, and problem...
Wildwood Trust
Habitats
The circle of life is all around us, from the black bears in the nearby mountains to the pile of dead leaves in the backyard. Encourage young scientists to take a critical look at the world around them with a set of lessons...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Measuring Biodiversity in Gorongosa
Take your biology class' understanding of biodiversity to a whole new level! Ecology scholars use data to calculate three different diversity indices based on the organisms in the Gorongosa National Park. The four-part activity uses an...
Computer Science Unplugged
Kid Krypto–Public-Key Encryption
Class members have an opportunity to experience how to use a public key to encrypt information and a private key to decrypt it. Groups create their own public key and encrypt information then develop private keys to decrypt this...
Curated OER
Crocodiles
Work on research procedures in this lesson, which prompts writers to collect and evaluate information pooled from a number of sources. They work in teams to collect information about crocodiles from different sources. They compare the...