Curated OER
Layers of Rock
Juvenile geologists drill clear plastic straws down into a playdough sedimentary rock model, pulling out sample rock cores. As they analyze their cores, they apply the law of superposition and discover that originally horizontal layers...
Curated OER
Marine Habitats of Galveston Island
Four lessons introduce elementary ecologists to salt marsh and sandy beach habitats. In the first instructional activity, they place shells and other materials in vinegar to determine if they contain calcium carbonate. In the second...
Curated OER
Making Rocks
Students use their imaginations in order to journey to the center of the earth to find different types of minerals. They create minerals using playdough and create scientific drawings of them. Finally, students create a map to locate the...
Curated OER
Building for the Big One
Learners build and test structures that can best withstand earthquakes. They create their structures from playdough, cornstarch, grape-nuts and popsicle sticks and place their structures on a "shake table."
University of Colorado
Happy Landings: A Splash or a Splat?
Huygens spacecraft landed on Saturn's moon Titan in 2005, making it the farthest landing from Earth ever made by a spacecraft. In this hands-on activity, the 12th installment of 22, groups explore how density affects speed. To do this,...
Curated OER
Dino-Friends
Students learn about dinosaurs. In this dinosaur lesson plan, students participate in an interactive read aloud of The Giant Book of Dinosaurs. They make play dough dinosaurs and write a dinosaur story about their sculpture. They dance...
Science Matters
Seed Adaptations for Dispersal
After a grand conversation about seeds, adaptation, and dispersal, scholars work collaboratively to examine seeds and record their findings on a four-column chart. Small groups share their observations and further discuss seed...
Curated OER
Pollution and Lung Health
Students investigate how pollution affects lung health. In this pollution and lung health instructional activity, students build lung models from a soda bottle and balloons, and then discuss how the emissions from fossil fuels can...
Curated OER
The Good Microbes
Some microbes are beneficial for humans. This resource asks learners to identify beverages that contain healthy microbes. There are six beverages shown, and pupils must place a check mark next to the ones they think contain healthy...
Curated OER
Magnets---Polarity
Students identify and describe the poles of a magnet. They demonstrate how the poles interact with one another.
Curated OER
Upstream And Downstream
Students gain an understanding of how elevation affects the flow of water. They discuss issues that can arise when residents and industries upstream pollute or irrigate a river, in opposition to those downstream. They role play opposing...
Curated OER
Properties of Matter
In this properties of matter instructional activity, students answer 11 questions about the various properties of matter such as density, elasticity, malleability, and how hard or brittle a substance is.
Curated OER
Probes, Exploration and Application
Students examine the benefits of the space program to our life on earth. In this space exploration lesson students participate in a lab, answer questions and study radar mapping.
Curated OER
Create a Planet
Students craft planets from clay. For this geography skills lesson, students create model planets that mimic the geographic features found on Earth as well as the other planets. Students conduct research about characteristics of the...
Curated OER
Lava Layering
Students observe the layering process of lava flow with hands-on activities.
Curated OER
A Model of a Strato Volcano
Young scholars build a volcano model on tag board. They add lava and ash layers simulating the process that builds a real strato volcano cone.
Curated OER
Probes, Exploration & Application
Students explore how a surface can be described without seeing it.