Curated OER
Natural Indicators: How Do They Work?
Young scholars describe characteristics and common uses of acids and bases. They describe the role of natural indicators in the chemistry of acids and bases after testing and making observations on a variety of plant extracts. Students...
Earth Day Network
Filtering Water
See the water filtration system up close with a fun science experiment. Young scientists work for several class periods to design a water filter using household objects, and then decide which filter material would be most effective in...
Curated OER
The Birds of a Feather Flock Together
Fifth graders identify all parts of an egg, and explore their importance to the life cycle of a chicken. Learners compare all sorts of birds and place them in categories based on what they look like. This five-day lesson effectively...
Curated OER
Changes in Nature
The goal of this science lesson is to have youngsters be able to identify the physical and chemical changes in the carbon cycle, and water cycle due to weathering. The in-class inquiry/experiment is quite interesting and easy to...
National Science Teachers Association
Paper Car Crash Design
High school physical scientists collide with motion. They work in pairs to design a paper car that will protect a raw egg during a head-on collision. Measurements of distance traveled, time of run, vehicle specs, and photo gate flags are...
Kenan Fellows
What Is Heat?
If objects have no heat, how do they can gain and lose it? Scholars experiment with heat, temperature, and specific heat of various substances. They create definitions for these terms based on their own conclusions to complete the fourth...
Curated OER
Where are Koalas on the Food Chain?
Take a field trip to observe Koalas, absolutely! Budding scientists become familiar with the Koala's position in the food chain. They answer questions based on what they see and draw a food chain explaining the Koalas position. Tip: A...
Cornell University
Mechanical Properties of Gummy Worms
Learners won't have to squirm when asked the facts after completing an intriguing lab investigation! Hook young scholars on science by challenging them to verify Hooke's Law using a gummy worm. Measuring the length of the worm as they...
Curated OER
Sediment Sleuths
Are you looking for a good, solid activity on sedimentary rocks? This one, produced by the Illinois State Museum, is just such a activity. Middle schoolers identify common rocks and minerals by analyzing sediments from local water...
Science 4 Inquiry
Maintaining Mass
Can you disprove the law of conservation of mass? Pupils observe the teacher weigh each part of a reaction. Then, the teacher weighs the result of the reaction and everyone sees that the products do not equal the reactants. Then they...
Science 4 Inquiry
Musical Vibes with Palm Pipes
Ancient people used musical pipes as early as the third millennium BCE. Young scientists explore the workings of musical pipes to better understand the relationship with frequency, length of pipe, and sound waves. They determine the...
Curated OER
Science Lesson: Home-made Generator
Students are able to design and conduct an experiment related to electrical generation. They are able to list the factors that affect the amount of current that can be generated by a simple generator, such as the number of turns of...
Curated OER
Discovering Chemical Changes
Fourth graders predict what happens in a teacher demonstration of a chemical change, before watching it. They observe the demonstration and list what the see on the board before determining which represent chemical change. Working at...
American Chemical Society
Joseph Priestley, Discoverer of Oxygen
Do you want to hear a joke about nitrogen and oxygen? NO. We all know there is oxygen in the air and that plants produce oxygen, but how was it discovered? Scholars read a handout, answer questions, and analyze material in the...
Curated OER
Introduction to the Scientific Method
Students participate in an experiment and learn to record it using the scientific method. For this biodegradable plastics lesson, students follow the scientific method to complete an inquiry. Students complete an experiment with a fish...
Curated OER
Introduction to the Scientific Method
Students recognize and follow the steps of the scientific method to complete an experiment. In this scientific method activity, students use inquiry tools to measure objects. Students record their data.
Curated OER
Bouncing Light
Young scholars design an experiment to investigate how light reflects. In this physics lesson plan, students apply the scientific method in conducting the experiment. They collect data and formulate a conclusion.
Curated OER
Galileo's Thermometer: Measuring the Density of Various Unknown Liquids
Sprouting scientists explore the concept of density by making mass and volume measurements for five different liquids. From these measurements, they calculate densities. They apply their learning to explain Galileo's thermometer works...
Curated OER
Sometimes, solid + liquid = gas
Third graders experiment with common household liquids and solids. In this chemical reaction lesson, 3rd graders discuss phase changes and experiment to find other ways to create gases. They use water, vinegar, lemon juice, flour, baking...
Curated OER
Wavelengths of Light
Explore physical science by participating in a visual spectrum experiments. Budding scientists identify the colors in the color spectrum and view the colors in class by utilizing cellophane, flash lights, and other arts and crafts...
Curated OER
Gravity
Students perform inquiry in response to the question "Do objects fall at the same rate?", teacher candidates discuss a model experiment for secondary students to discover the answer, including recording and analyzing data.
Curated OER
Luz: Poetry and the Physics of Light
Students explore color, light, refraction and reflection. In this light lesson students measure solar position and compare it to time.
Curated OER
Science: Solids
Second graders investigate the properties of solids and discover how to classify them. Using rulers, they measure various solids on display. In groups, they play an identification game where one students names a location, such as the...
Curated OER
Science- Unit on Matter- Solids
Second graders identify and describe properties of matter.
They identify three forms of matter- solids, liquids, and gases with 100% accuracy. The student describes the properties of solid objects.