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...
Agriculture in the Classroom
Understanding the Columbian Exchange Through Old World and New World Foods
If you're interested in teaching your class about the impact of the Columbian Exchange on contemporary society, this is worth a look. The plan begins with an introduction to the topic, which stems from a cell phone poll...
Curated OER
Litter From Lunchtime
Learners explore environmental care by participating in a litter identification activity. In this food trash lesson, students discuss the destruction litter causes in our environment and ways we can avoid littering ourselves. Learners...
National Park Service
Reduce Our Carbon Footprint, Let’s Compost!
Roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty with this elementary and middle school compost lesson plan. All you need is a large plastic container, a couple old newspapers, some organic waste, and a few hundred worms and you're ready...
Teach Engineering
Tippy Tap Plus Piping
Getting water to a tap requires an understanding the fundamentals of fluid flow. Groups design, build, and test a piping system to get water from the source — a five gallon bucket — to a tippy tap. The objective is to be able to...
Teach Engineering
Dress for Success
Dressing for success is not always about looking sharp. Sometimes it is about staying warm and dry. Present your class with an activity that challenges groups of pupils to design a layered material for blizzard conditions. The teams test...
Teach Engineering
Tell Me Doc—Will I Get Cancer?
Can you beat the odds of cancer? In the first installment of a seven-part series, future biomedical engineers consider how to detect and diagnose cancer. An article on biosensors provides useful information toward this goal.
University of North Carolina
Argument
What elements make up a successful argument? A helpful resource describes aspects of an argument such as the claim, evidence, counterargument, and audience. Perfect as an individual assignment for a flipped lesson or collaborative work,...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Help or Hype: The Ethics of Bio-Nanotechnology
Ethical concerns are not always black and white. A well-designed lesson presents learners with scenarios for which ethics may come into question. Scholars learn to consider the different sides of a situation and make an unbiased...
Curated OER
Tread Lightly: Where We Stand
Learners explore the concept of ecological footprints. In this environmental stewardship lesson, students calculate their ecological footprints and consider how to reduce them.
Curated OER
J the Jump Rope and G the Jungle Gym
First graders observe that the key to reading words is memorizing the symbols that make them up. They observe a picture of children jumping rope and watch as the teacher models the /j/ sound. They then all pretend to jump rope and make...
Curated OER
Brothers in Hope
Students demonstrate their understanding of a book read in class. In this reading comprehension instructional activity, students participate in a process drama led by their teacher in order to demonstrate their understanding of the...
Curated OER
Ecosystem Services - Water Purification
Middle schoolers see that ecosystems provide services to people that are essential to life as we know it. Reporters (drops of water) could interview the trees and soil in the surrounding ecosystems for news stories on how they helped...
Curated OER
Water Purification
Students use the example of natural water purification to show that healthy ecosystems provide services to people that are essential to life as we know it.
Curated OER
Bacterial Transformation
Students discuss a bacterial experiment they previously performed and complete a pre-assessment. They participate in a lecture discussion given by the teacher through PowerPoint and then complete a cartoon worksheet and post-assessment.
Curated OER
A New coat for Anna
Second graders participate in a bartering activity. They discuss the problems of bartering. Students read the book "A New Coat for Anna," by Harriet Ziefert. Students discuss the bartering Anna's mother did. They record the trades made...
Curated OER
Dissolved Oxygen and Temperature
Students are shown how temperature affects dissolved oxygen and they create a graph showing this relationship. They think about the adaptations of animals to live in different water temperatures. Students test four different water...
Curated OER
Dissolved Oxygen Introduction
Learners are shown how dissolved oxygen enters the water. They are taught the difference between a water sample that has been exposed to the air and one that has not. Students brainstorm what organisms need to survive. They use dissolved...
Curated OER
Aquatic Ecosystem Exploration
Learners visit a local stream, pond, creek, or river and collect macroinvertebrates. They sort macroinvertebrates and identify each species using a dichotomous key. Students decide on trophic levels and construct a possible food web for...
Curated OER
What If There's No Light?
students discuss the importance of light and the consequences of living without it. Using a plant as a demonstration, students predict and observe what happens to a plant when it does not receive enough light. In groups, they experiment...
Curated OER
Runoff: Intro to Watersheds
Students are taught that a watershed is, what types of basic land cover are impermeable and permeable to water. They trace the flow of water around their school and around their home. Students determine what watershed their school is a...
Curated OER
Invasives and Marsh Birds
Students are taught that invasive plant removal can have a variety of impacts. They are shown this by using graphs. Students view maps of vegetation change on Iona Island. They discuss implications of changes on marsh birds using data...
Curated OER
Water Chestnut Graphing Activity
Students are taught how to format and enter data into an Excel spreadsheet. They make a graph and interpret graphed data. Students discuss possible impacts of water chestnut invasion. They graph data on water chestnut. Students report...
Curated OER
Land Use Change Introduction
Students discuss the major changes that have taken place in the Hudson Valley over the past 400 years. They use aerial photos to describe major trends in Dutchess County. Students view a PowerPoint presentation. They work in small groups...