Learning Games Lab
Testing and Adjusting pH
Pupils learn how to control food spoilage by adjusting the food's pH. They see that one of the most dangerous bacteria can grow in food if people don't handle and store food properly. Using knowledge of the bacteria's preferred pH,...
Curated OER
The Importance of Tropisms
Middle schoolers investigate plant tropisms using the scientific method. In this life science lesson plan, students learn about tropisms and test the response of corn seedlings to gravity. Response questions, extensions, and an...
Curated OER
Wild, Wild Wetland Wildlife
Students investigate biology by participating in a science experiment. In this dissection lesson, students conduct a nature field trip around their school grounds and identify animals, plants, tracks and waste. Students dissect an owl...
Curated OER
Biotechnology Laboratory Research
Students participate in an extended laboratory research to experience how scientific information is obtained, upon which we build scientific knowledge and understanding.
Curated OER
Forest Life- Wood Bug Study
Examine wood bugs and their habitat. Learners gather wood bugs and examine their bodies. Then discuss their body parts and how they help them survive. They also predict where they think wood bugs live to then graph the class results.
GP Strategies Corporation
Frog Dissection
One of the most common questions in a science classroom is, "Do we get to dissect anything?" With a fun and interactive experience, your eager biologists can perform a virtual dissection on a frog, as well as learn about different kinds...
Exploratorium
Your Sense of Taste
A simple and sweet activity shows students how important smell is in interpreting flavor. Pairs of pupils hold their noses and eat Life Savers®, only to find that they can't identify the flavors until they let go. You will appreciate...
Florida International University
Design Your Own
Apply scientific principles to designing an experiment to study organisms living on the coral reef in our oceans. Through reading, individuals learn about the coral reef ecosystem and important factors that affect its function....
Curated OER
Backyard Bacteria
Students demonstrate safe ways to handle bacteria, prepare agar plates, and grow bacterial cultures. They identify different kinds of bacterial colonies, and devise a controlled experiment.
Curated OER
Skin Cancer Investigation: A Multi-Component Project
Students compare the perceived and actual risks of getting skin cancer, while looking at ways to minimize these risks. They may have very little grasp of the severity of the threat of skin cancer or be unaware of the increase in the...
Teach Engineering
Sugar Spill!
Sugar isn't good for you, but it's great for yeast! Scholars design an experiment to investigate how variables affect the rate of sugar consumption in yeast. The last installment of a nine-part Life Science unit considers how scientists...
Curated OER
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Here is a good lesson on butterflies and caterpillars. After listening to The Very Hungry Caterpillar, young learners put cards that depict the life cycle of a butterfly in the correct order. There are some good ideas for center...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Scientific Method Mania
Horrible science puns only happen periodically, but the scientific method is forever. Young scientists observe two presentations on the scientific method, complete independent practice worksheets, and integrate their knowledge through a...
Florida International University
Are You Concentrating?
Explore the importance of a concentration gradient in the rates of dissolution. Using the ocean ecosystem, learners study rates of dissolution around coral reefs. A hands-on experiment helps individuals discover the effects of changing a...
Candace Fleming
Ben Franklin’s Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman’s Life
Candace Fleming's award winning Ben Franklin's Almanac is the anchor text for a classroom guide that provides teachers with a cache of pre, during, and post-reading activities.
McGraw Hill
Arthropods
Are spiders related to crabs? Study the order of arthropods with a reading selection about animal diversity. It provides details about each class within the order, as well as vivid pictures and explanatory charts.
Resources for Educators
Fractions of Fun
Reinforce concepts and encourage learner engagement with a collection of math games, science experiments, and cross curricular activities. In one fun resource, learners sort objects, keep a diary of everyday fractions, play a game using...
Chicago Botanic Garden
The Carbon Cycle
There is 30 percent more carbon in the atmosphere today than there was 150 years ago. The first instructional activity in the four-part series teaches classes about the carbon cycle. Over two to three days, classes make a model...
Space Awareness
The Thermal Layers of Oceans
How much does the sun heat up a lake or ocean? Scholars use a cup and a strong lamp to investigate the heat transfer and thermal layers in the ocean to come up with the answer. They collect data and graph it in order to better understand...
Kenan Fellows
Terrarium in a Bottle: Modeling the Atmosphere, Greenhouse Effect, and Water Cycle
You've heard of farm to table ... but what about farm in classroom? Junior agriculturalists embark upon a two-week journey into the science of growing things. Based upon the classic terrarium in a two-liter experiment, the lesson goes...
Curated OER
Survival in Antarctica
Explore the harsh climate of Antarctica and its wildlife. Participate in experiments to determine how humans survive in the continent's climate, and address the difficulties faced by scientists.
California Academy of Science
Carbon Cycle Role Play
Anytime you make concepts clear with role playing or hands-on experience, it's a win for the whole class. Ping-Pong balls are used to represent carbon in a carbon cycle role-play activity. In small groups, children first discuss what...
Florida International University
Pipeline to the Coral Reefs
Discover firsthand the effects of internal waves on coral reefs. Through a series of experiments, learners simulate internal waves and upwelling events as they make observations on the movement of water and other debris. They then...
Curated OER
Cut-off Genes
Investigate the relationships between different deep-sea organisms by DNA sequencing. A worksheet provides instructions for DNA sequencing and space to work. They simulate gel electrophoresis by cutting out paper "DNA strands."...