ReadWriteThink
Webcams in the Classroom: Animal Inquiry and Observation
Boost observational skills with an inquiry-based lesson that takes scholars on a virtual field trip. With help from webcams, learners observe animals in a zoo or aquarium. Observations go into a journal and a discussion is held to review...
Historical Thinking Matters
Spanish-American War: 5 Day Lesson
Nine historical documents, an interactive online notebook, and a fantastic opportunity for historical inquiry await your pupils in this 5-day lesson plan. Class members identify and discuss various causes for the Spanish-American War...
Curated OER
Bend It! Stretch It! Squash It!
Some items keep their shape no matter what happens! Have your kindergarten class choose which items would stay the same if they were bent, stretched, or squashed. The last activity prompts kids to see what happens when they stretch a...
Science 4 Inquiry
The Classification of Living Things
It's a classification sensation! Demystify why we classify using an inquiry activity that helps your class sort things out. Groups begin by classifying a variety of shoes before they research organisms and design their own dichotomous...
Curated OER
Materials We Use
How can you tell if something is made out of wood, metal, or plastic? Kids use noise and visual cues to determine what various household items are made from. They then examine their toys at home and record the materials used to make...
Curated OER
Exercise and the Human Heart
Interpret data and learn about the human heart in one activity! After learning about the way blood flows in the body, fifth graders answer two questions about a graph displaying pulse rate. They then take their own pulses to find the...
Curated OER
Flower Power
Determine which plants are flowering plants with a helpful lab sheet. Kids first observe illustrations of different plants, such as a carnation and a fern, then decide which plants produce flowers, spores, or cones. Use magazine pictures...
It's About Time
Oil and Gas Production
Would you consider a power failure a current event? This lesson uses multiple experiments, guided inquiry activities, and group discussions to cover the topics of oil and gas production. This is the seventh lesson in a series of eight.
K20 LEARN
Civil Rights for All: Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Movement was only the beginning. Using images and a series of queries, learners consider current fights for equality. After viewing video clips profiling the women's rights movement, the American Indian Movement, and...
Foundation for Water & Energy Education
How Can Work Be Done with Water Power? Activity A
Environmentally friendly engineering teams construct a water wheel and experiment with its speed and the resulting amount of weight it can lift. Consider following this activity with two more of the same title by the same publisher when...
University of Pennsylvania
Canaan and Ancient Israel
Planning for your next activity on ancient Israel, but not sure where to start? Check out this assortment of activities to help get the ball rolling. It includes a range of ideas on topics, such as Greek and Egyptian mythology,...
Curated OER
How to Use Classroom Animals to Spark Life Science Inquiry
Use low maintenance classroom pets to get your students engaged in life science inquiry investigations.
Curated OER
Activity: Float a Clay Boat
Written to introduce pupils to buoyancy, this activity has collaborative groups work to design a floatable clay boat. They first observe that a stick of clay sinks in water and then are given their own stick to reshape into a floating...
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Getting Ready for the All American Eclipse!
Give your pupils a front row seat at the biggest light show in the sky this year! In addition to admiring the total solar eclipse, young astronomers can explain the phenomenon with a little help from an inquiry-based instructional...
Concordia College Archives
Introduction and Student Inquiry
Introduce young musicians to the history of and different styles of music with an inquiry-based learning activity that asks them to play detectives to determine the similarities and differences among the sheet music found at a series of...
Curated OER
Inquiry into Consumer Products
Students recognize different consumer products, found in and around the home, that have reactive or denaturing properties when used together. They explore chemical and physical properties of each product by identifying chemical formulas...
C3 Teachers
Economics of Slavery: How Did Cotton Sow the Seeds of Panic?
An inquiry-based lesson challenges high schoolers to research and identify the economic forces and inventions that impacted the cotton industry. Researchers consider how the use of slavery impacted the economic growth of the United States.
C3 Teachers
African American Voices and Reconstruction: What Does It Take To Secure Equality?
High schoolers research the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, as well as other primary source documents, to determine Reconstruction's impact on the North and South. The 34-page inquiry-based lesson includes a staging question and...
Space Awareness
Investigating the Atmosphere - Air Takes Up Space
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...
Space Awareness
Fizzy Balloons - C02 in School
Carbon dioxide is a very important gas; it is present in the air, used in cooking, and supports plant and animal life. Scholars investigate the properties of carbon dioxide with three different activities. They experience a color change,...
Towson University
Mystery Disease
How did scientists determine the cause of illness before technology? Science scholars play the role of medical researcher in an engaging guided inquiry activity. Using observations, technical reading, and Punnett squares, learners...
NOAA
Biological Oceanographic Investigations – Call to Arms
How many simple machines does it take to make a robotic arm? An inquiry-based activity explores that topic and challenges pupils to build a robotic arm that can stretch, turn, and more. A few questions help guide them in the right...
Curated OER
The Absorption of Solar Energy
Two sequential parts to this lesson introduce your class to the electromagnetic spectrum, the ability to absorb radiant energy, and the pigments in leaves that are responsible for collecting sunlight to be used in the photosynthetic...
Curated OER
Fractals, An Inquiry: Day 4
Students put their growing understanding of the scientific inquiry process to work. They use paint to implement their plans to experiment with how changing one aspect of the fractal making process influences their appearance.