Curated OER
Picking Pythagoras
Students discover that side measurement is used in determining angle classification of a triangle. By squaring sides, they predict whether triangles be right, obtuse, or acute. They prove the Pythagorean Theorem and use it to solve...
Curated OER
Beatrix Potter's Naughty Animal Tales
Students gain insight into the unusual, solitary world of Beatrix Potter's Victorian childhood and can compare/contrast it with their own world to explain why Potter wrote such simple stories and why she wrote about animals rather than...
Curated OER
Abrupt Climate Change
Students explore how scientific knowledge changes in the context of abrupt climate change. They are introduced to some recent ideas about abrupt climate change. This gives them a glimpse into how scientific theories are formed and...
Curated OER
The Water Cycle
Fifth graders investigate evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. They observe a water cycle kit and record their observations, and examine how water condenses on the outside of a cup. Next, they observe an evaporation...
Curated OER
Planning for and Surviving Earthquakes
Students work in small groups to explore the FEMA for Kids site. They take the role of FEMA officials. Student list three items they may need to survive an earthquake. They complete a worksheet and discuss their results with the rest of...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Faulkner's As I Lay Dying: Images of Faulkner and the South
Learners research one aspect of the life of Faulkner and the culture of the South. For this As I Lay Dying instructional activity, learners explore a webpage on Faulkner and write a summary. Learners analyze the images...
Curated OER
Data, Data, Everywhere... and What Am I To Think?
Students demonstrate good random sampling techniques for data collection, select and develop graphic presentations of data and analyze the data to solve a problem presented.
Curated OER
Magnets---Polarity
Students identify and describe the poles of a magnet. They demonstrate how the poles interact with one another.
Curated OER
Significant What?
Learners define accuracy and precision, and differentiate between the two terms, apply the concepts of accuracy and precision to a given situation and correctly apply the concept of significant figures to measurement and mathematical...
Curated OER
Browning's "My Last Duchess" and Dramatic Monologue
Students read and analyze the poem, "My Last Duchess," by Robert Browning. They examine the use of dramatic monologue as a poetic device, and write a character profile of the Duke.
Curated OER
Cooler in the Shadows
Students explore how the amount of sunlight and heat change in areas that are shaded.
Curated OER
The Effects Of Earthquakes
Students investigate the concept of how earthquakes occur and the after effects of how they effect landforms. They conduct research it using a variety of resources and measure the varying intensities of how earthquakes effect the...
Curated OER
STRAINING FOR SOUND
Sixth graders use a laser along with computer microphone probeware and the appropriate software, 6th graders determine the speed of rotating objects.An audio amplifier is connected to a solar cell to change the laser light signal into a...
Curated OER
Decidedly Different
Fifth graders inquire as to why scientists use observable characteristics, how they sort the characteristics, and why they do so. They write journal entries to be used throughout this unit.
Curated OER
Only the Shadow Knows
Students become familiar with the causes for formation of shadows. They create shadows, compare the size and shape of the shadow with the actual object, engage in shadow play theatre, and discover what happens to shadows when there is...
Curated OER
Relative Ratios
Learners discover that proportions are made up of equal ratios each containing the same building blocks. They, using the Internet, apply their knowledge of direct relationships and proportions to problems in planetary science.
Curated OER
Roll With the Punches: Oprah's On!
Sixth graders prepare questions for an Oprah Winfrey talk show featuring the characters from Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, the amazing novel by Mildred D. Taylor. Selected students role-play the characters and answer questions Oprah...
Curated OER
SUNSPOTS SPOTTED
Students study sunspots and their motion, from data gathered, they determine the significance of the sunspot data. The data be used to calculate the rotational period of the sun. They draw conclusions as to the sunspot's impact on the...
Curated OER
Where is it?
Students use a coordinate grid. They investigate and discuss what caused certain objects to be in specific places. They choose a room in their home to map and place objects in specific locations.
Curated OER
Battery Power
Sixth graders examine how much energy they use in the form of battery power. They examine the cost of using regular vs. rechargeable batteries and examine the effect on the environment of the two types of batteries. They discover that...
Curated OER
What's That Tree?
Fifth graders identify trees along a nature trail. Using a dichotomous key, 5th graders answer questions to aid in their identification of trees along a specified nature trail. Observations are recorded in their science journals. Sample...
Virginia Department of Education
Balancing Act
How many different interpretations of the mean are there? Scholars place numbers on a number line and determine the mean. They interpret the mean as the average value and as the balance point.
Curated OER
Listening/Reading Transfer - Guided Reading
Students are read "Danny the Dinosaur" and explore alternate endings. They answer questions about the story to answer as they go.
Curated OER
ReQuest and Motor Imaging with My Side of the Mountain
Fifth graders read "My Side of the Mountain." They create a pantomime using vocabulary words from the story. Students create three questions about the reading. They discuss the passage they read and act out words to help them better...