Find an answer to the age-old debate of whether life exists on Mars. Groups determine criteria to help look for signs of life on Mars. The activity has the class simulate testing Martian soil samples for signs of life before drawing...

Dirt babies are an excellent way to show young botanists the plant life cycle. They explore the functions and industry behind grasses before growing some of their own. Use the informational text here and consider implementing some...

Often, science fiction makes a lot of connections to real life. An educator's guide for the novel Charisma by Jeanne Ryan, has readers discuss many of the real-life issues that come in the text. A brief summary helps garner interest...

3D printers, selfie sticks, smart watches. GPS, self-driving cars, YouTube. Imagine life without inventions. Believe it or not, these items were all invented in the last 10 years. Inventions, and the inventors responsible for them,...

What would the world be like if everyone expressed gratitude? Pupils explore the concept by watching a motivating time-lapse video. Scholars express appreciation by handing out tokens of gratitude, and then write about their...

Whether at home or in the classroom, each member of a community has certain responsibilities they must tend to. With the help of the children's story Piggybook by Anthony Browne, kids learn how to assign jobs in a fair and safe...

Both aerobic and anerobic respiration are introduced in this succinct PowerPoint. The chemical equations for both are included. The last slides give instructions for a lab activity in which pupils use a gas sensor to measure the...

Change is not always easy. That becomes evident in the story Fourteenth Goldfish. Ellie, the main character, does not like change and struggles with new things in her life.  Scholars learn how Ellie deals with change as they...

The balance of nature can be a wondrous thing! With the 19th lesson of the 21-part series on systems, learners explore the cycle of photosynthesis and cellular respiration using a lab-based activity. Groups set up different test tubes...

Students germinate pea seeds and plant the seeds. They experiment with different amounts of light and darkness on the plant growth.

Ninth graders conduct an experiment which demonstrates the absorption and reflection of sunlight by measuring the heat flow through various window coverings. They predict the relative amount of the sun's heat. Students draw conclusions...

Fifth graders investigate the how water becomes polluted and how it effects the environment, animals, and humans. They watch a video and conduct experiments.

Examine a slug? Of course, what else would a 2nd grader do with it? Pupils use clues and go on a slug hunt, read a slug story, or make a cooperative group mural of a slug's habitat. While older learners catalog slugs, go on a slug hunt,...

Using a hands-on approach, learners explore the effect of friction on objects. Learners use toy cars, shoes, wood, metal, and more to experiment with the causes and effects of friction. Afterwards, they conduct experiments in which they...

Young scholars review information they have gathered from previous lessons. They create their own experiments and carry them out. They reflect on the project as a whole.

Written for an exploration of shoreline ecosystems on Sheffield Island, this gives ecology or marine biology buffs a hands-on experience. Using GPS or visual triangulation techniques, they lay transect lines on a high and a low energy...

Make your lesson on radioactive decay pop with this lab exercise. Using popcorn kernels spread over a tabletop, participants pick up all of those that point toward the back of the room, that is, those that represent decayed atoms. As the...

Sixth graders examine how the sun's energy arrives as light with a range of wavelengths. They discuss the characteristics of light, examine the color of light using a spectroscope, and conduct an experiment using water and thermometers....

Students observe a demonstration of how a thermometer functions. They apply the scientific method while determining which of three cups hold the coldest water. They write a hypothesis before conducting the experiment and gather data.

How do various plants survive in different environments? They adapt! Kids determine which plant traits make them perfect for their specific environment. They consider three plants and can even complete a plant experiment. Note: Intended...

Students using the scientific method, study bacteria as a covering surface of the earth in many forms. They discover that not all bacteria is bad and introduce the topic of antibiotic resistance. Science Fair expectations are addressed.

Students are introduced to the relationship between light and vision. In groups, they participate in experiments to discover how different wavelengths are divided in the visible spectrum. They record their answers and discuss their...

Students discuss how the Hudson River is an ecosystem made up of both biotic and abiotic factors. They view the PowerPoint the Journal Down the Hudson River. Students become aware of where the Hudson River begins and ends, the plant and...

Students follow a bookmaking format to create a book and use it as a garden journal. In this science journal lesson, students follow book making directions to create a garden and science journal.