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Growing Native Plants From Seed
Second graders plant seeds of native plants. They study the concepts of native plants, where they grow, how they grow, and why they are so special. They assess long term care monitoring the seedlings as they grow and write the name...
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Nothing New? A Physical Change
Fifth graders discuss the differences between chemical and physical changes. In groups, they complete experiments and discover how a physical chnage can be reversed. To end the lesson, they review the steps of the water cycle and...
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Testing Battery Combinations
Fourth graders examine the required combinations of plates and predict which combination will generate the most and least current and voltage. They use an ammeter and experiment with combinations of their own testing and record each...
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The Day an Egg Solved the Mystery of the Cell
Young scholars conduct an experiment comparing human cells to chicken cells. In this cells lesson plan, students conduct an experiment to see how nutrition moves through cells and how to better take care of their bodies.
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The Greenhouse Effect
Seventh graders investigate the temperature change in open and closed containers. For this earth science lesson, 7th graders relate this lab activity to greenhouse effect. They create a line graph from data collected in the experiment.
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TE Activity: Does Weight Matter?
Young scholars design and conduct experiment to determine if weight added incrementally to an object affects amount of friction encountered when it slides across a flat surface. They graph data from their experiments, and calculate...
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Tidepool Island Biogeography
Students experience and test island biogeography ideas by comparing diversity and abundance of rocky inter-tidal patches. Working, in groups of three, they investigate rocks and creatures found in a tidepool. Lesson plan designed for...
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TE Activity: How Fast Can a Carrot Rot?
Students experiment to define which environmental factors favor decomposition by soil microbes. They decompose carrots in dirt, weigh the carrots periodically to determine how long it takes. They look at how engineers use this type of...
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Opposites Attract
Learners demonstrate the attraction of small pieces of paper to a charged plastic rod and conduct experiment with other objects to determine whether they can hold a charge. They then use online applets to apply their experiments to...
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Salty Sea Water
Students conduct an experiment to find out if there is salt in the ocean. In this scientific inquiry lesson, students pour a cup of salt water onto an aluminum plate and observe the changes over a few days. Students complete an included...
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Food Forensics: A Case of Mistaken Identity
Ninth graders explore the specific reaction between an antigen and the antibody that recognizes it. They carry out an exploratory experiment leading to the concept of specificity.
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Check Out Lights and Shields with Beads
Students explore Ultraviolet detecting beads and conduct several investigations with them. In this investigative instructional activity students participate in an experiment to see the harmful effects of UV light and discuss their...
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Recycling and Waste Reduction
Students investigate recycling and waste reduction and its positive impact on the environment. In this environmental science lesson, students determine how and why materials are recycled. They apply their knowledge by making...
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String Instruments and Pitch
Students make predictions and explore how pitch is altered in string instruments. In this acoustic science lesson, students learn the types and parts of string instruments and create their own. They listen to classical music and identify...
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This Lesson Is a Breeze, So Don't Blow It!
Students conduct an experiment to show that air is all around us and that wind is the movement of air. They construct a weather vane to determine which direction the wind is blowing.
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How Many Drops?
Seventh graders hypothesize about the number of drops of liquid that can be placed on a penny before it spills over. They examine both the concept of devising a hypothesis and the idea of surface tension. They determine the difference...
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Tightrope Trials
Students research the concepts of center of mass and how to make different things balance. They make symmetrical cut-outs of different "creatures" and experiment with how they balance on a tightrope of string.
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Alessandro Volta: The Invention of the Voltaic Pile (The First Electric Battery)
Students conduct a series of experiments on electricity. In this physics lesson, students study the work of Alessandro Volta particularly his experiment on the the Voltaic Pail. They build their own Voltaic Pile to recreate his experiment.
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What Affects Plant Growth?
Eighth graders experiment to identify the nine factors needed for plants to grow healthy. They choose one of seven topics to research and develop an experiment based on scientific method, and complete oral and written reports based on...
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Air -- Is It Really There?
Students work together to perform simple experiments discovering the properties of air. They share their results with their classmates. They examine how engineers use the properties of air to clean the air of pollutants.
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How Far?
Students explore how different textures provide varying amounts of friction to objects moving across them. They build a tool to measure the amount of friction between a note card and various surfaces by measuring the distance that a...
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How Full is Full?
Students examine porosity and permeability and relate these concepts to groundwater flow. They use simple materials to conduct a porosity experiment and use the information to understand how environmental engineers decide on the...
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Earthworm Bridge
Fourth graders complete analysis experiments for decomposers and their adaptable traits. In this decomposers lesson, 4th graders test worm behavior to light, sound, warmth, touch, and moisture. Students work in groups to analyze the...
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Emotional Speed with Balls and Ramps
Fifth graders investigate the relationship between mass and speed. In this physics lesson, 5th graders experiment with motion by being given a ramp, two balls, and blocks or books for elevation. Students determine how different variables...