Activity
San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District

Classroom or Large Space Activities

For Teachers K - 2nd
The 24 activities detailed in this packet are designed to get kids up and moving with a minimum of chaos. A great resource to have on hand for drama classes and content courses.
Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Which Way is North?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Who needs a compass to find cardinal directions? Just place a stick in the ground and record the movement of its shadow over the course of a day. Then, measure the shadow lengths in order to determine a north-south line. A simple...
Lesson Plan
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network

What’s the Smallest Thing You Know?

For Teachers K - 5th Standards
Elementary learners listen to a story, then sort objects from largest to smallest at six different stations around the classroom. Adaptable for a large range of age and ability groups. 
Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Lesson Four: The Earth, Layers of Earth

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Get your hands dirty with a set of earth science activities! Class members delve into a hard-boiled egg to find the similarities to the earth's layers, create a papier-mâché model of the earth, craft a simulation of the earth's...
Activity
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NOAA

The Great, Glowing Orb What You Will Do: Make a Solar Heat Engine

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
How is solar energy able to move wind and water to control the climate? Scholars explore the concept of solar energy in the first of 10 activities in the Discover Your Changing World series. They follow instructions to build homemade...
Activity
Colorado State University

Why Do Hurricanes Go Counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Test your class' coordination as they model the Coriolis Effect. Forming a large circle, learners move to the right as they try to toss a ball to the person across from them. The movement of the circle represents the rotation of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Art History Kites"

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Here is a great art activity that can be connected to several different subjects. Kids get creative as they create kites that are inspired by a famous artist or period in art history. They begin the process by choosing their inspiration,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"The Soil Around Us" Project

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Young geographers collect samples of different kinds of soil to match to the soil terms in Barry Rudner's rhyming book Filet of Soil: dirt, mud, dust, soot, etc. They start a glossary for the project on index cards or large sheets...
Lesson Plan
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California Academy of Science

Kinesthetic Astronomy: Earth's Rotation

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
After completing the activity, "Kinesthetic Astronomy: The Meaning of a Year," zoom in on Earth's rotation using the same simulation setup and this outline. Each class member dons a map of the Western Hemisphere and plays the part of...
Activity
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NOAA

The Climate Team: Make a Solar Heat Engine

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Learners investigate how solar energy is converted into heat in part two of the 10-part Discover Your Changing World series. They build and test homemade solar cookers to boil water and cook rice. Pupils consider the impact of heat...
Activity
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NOAA

The Incredible Carbon Journey: Play the Carbon Journey Game

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Class members explore the carbon cycle in the final installment of the 10-part Discover Your Changing World series. They play a simulation game where they walk through the steps carbon takes as it cycles through the different layers...
Activity
Perkins School for the Blind

Name That Frequency

For Teachers 5th - 8th
How cool! This plan uses old cassette tapes to show frequency from traveling vibrations. To prepare for the lesson, tactile frequency diagrams are made and then placed near the video tapes or dominoes that are already set up. When they...
Activity
PBS

Robot Body Language

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Don't be so emotional! Scholars take part in an activity where they consider how future robots will be able to show emotions. They place paper bags over their heads, act out emotions through body movements, and have others guess the...
Activity
US Institute of Peace

Effectiveness of Nonviolent Civic Action Simulation on Colombia

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
With new leadership comes new hope! After years of violence, the people of Colombia elect a new president ... could this mean an end to conflict? Civics scholars take part in a large group role-playing exercise designed to illustrate the...
Activity
Discovery Education

Weathering Cubes

For Teachers K - 8th
Weathering is not necessarily a result of the weather. Scholars conduct an experiment to explore the effect of surface area and volume on the weathering process. They create their own sugar cube rocks using the same number of cubes—but...
Activity
PBS

Code Creators

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
The lesson is real—even if the computer code isn't. Scholars learn about pseudocode, which simulates computer code using everyday language. They write pseudocode for simple actions, then have classmates guess the action from the written...
Activity
Amani Project

Harmony Break! Mood Meter Floor Board

For Parents 3rd - 8th
The big idea in the fourth lesson from the Amani Project is that people can experience different emotions in precisely the same event. One participant uses their body to express an emotion. Then other participants move to the area of the...
Activity
Exploratorium

Far Out Corners

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Construct a three-dimensional optical illusion when your class is exploring vision and how the eye and brain work together. Three concave corners are mounted inside of a black box, but as a light is shined upon them, they appear to be...
Activity
It's About Time

Volcanic Hazards: Airborne Debris

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Pupils interpret maps and graph data related to volcanic ash. Then they analyze the importance of wind speed and the dangers of the ash to both life, air temperature, and technology. 
Activity
Education Place

Houghton Mifflin: Eduplace: Science Library Adventures: Wheel Away!

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Learn more about the motion of objects through this resource. This site features a teacher's guide and activity sheet.
Activity
Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments: Numb3 Rs: The Chase

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Based off of the hit television show NUMB3RS, this lesson has students develop the concept of pursuit curves, in which one object moves according to the movements of another object. This lesson is framed in the context of an officer...