Curated OER
Classroom Archaeology
Students, in groups, receive a box of artifacts. They record their findings and discuss what the items would have been used for. They come together at the end of the instructional activity to share their findings.
University of Colorado
Great Red Spot Pinwheel
The great red spot on Jupiter is 12,400 miles long and 7,500 miles wide. In this sixth part of a 22-part series, individuals model the rotation of the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. To round out the activity, they discuss their findings as a...
Curated OER
Quick Freeze (Demonstration)
Students witness an demonstration in which a bottle of club soda will go from a liquid to a solid when it is opened and the carbon dioxide is allowed to escape. This will help them understand that the freezing point of a solution will...
Curated OER
See the State
Fourth graders are given a map of Indiana and have to plan a road trip including at least two major points of interest with 100% accuracy. The students estimate the distance between their two chosen locations with 100% accuracy.
Curated OER
Spider "How To" Make a Spider
Young chefs follow the set-by-step instructions of a recipe and use their prior knowledge of the body parts of a spider to make edible spider cookies. After completing a pre-writing graphic organizer they then write a "how to"...
Curated OER
Challenges of the new SAT
Students write a news feature about the changes of the SAT and how students can best cope with them. Students respond to several questions addressing the new SAT. Students research about the changes in the test, and students interview...
Curated OER
Diet Evaluation Project
Middle schoolers record two consecutive days of food intake. They identify which nutrients are below 70%. They compare diet composition between protein, fats, and carbohydrates. They evaluate fat in the diet to fall below the American...
Curated OER
Animal Tracks Program
Entice your learners with this lesson plan on animal footprints. After reading the story Footprints in the Snow by Cynthia Benjamin, they use photos to identify animals and their footprints. Then they participate in an activity to...
Curated OER
The Dirty Water Project
Students investigate different methods (aeration and filtering) for removing pollutants from water. They design and build their own water filters. Students identify the pollutants in a water sample using sight and smell, explore what...
Curated OER
Physics -- 24
Students record all of the instances of physics and science they are involved with in a full day. As a class, they complete a KWL chart on physics and read a story about Murphy's Law and the character's experiences. Individually, they...
Curated OER
Seaside Science
Learners research sea life using laptop computers. In this sea life lesson plan, students participate in a field trip to the beach and enter observations into their laptop computers. Learners classify shells and sea life.
Curated OER
Teaching Radioactive Decay: Radioactive Half-life And Dating Techniques
Young scholars generate a radioactive decay table for an imaginary element using a box filled with pinto beans and M&M's. They use their data to plot a decay graph, develop the concept of half-life, and use the graph to "age" several...
Curated OER
Explore Elizabeth I
Students explore the events of a coronation and how people dress for a special event. In this key events lesson, students view pictures of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth I. Students discuss special occasion and dress up....
Curated OER
Measuring Techniques - Level I
Demonstrate food preparation techniques of salads, soups, casseroles, breads, meats, poultry and pastries.
Curated OER
Iditarod
Fourth graders, after reading "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen, explore/research what an Iditarod is and then create a speech about their selected musher and present their new found information to their classmates. In addition, they...
Curated OER
"N.A.S.A." Tower Structures Lesson Plan
Students, who are talented and gifted, create tower structure according to the given specifications that is able to support a tennis ball for 75 seconds but costs the least to build. They each design a tower in their journal but work in...
Curated OER
Falling Into Leaves
Students investigate why leaves change color. For this chlorophyll lesson, students examine how chlorophyll effects the color changes in leaves. Students take pictures of changing leaves, and create a class quilt showing the changes of...
Curated OER
Problems and Their Solutions in Stories and Everyday Life
Students identify story elements. In this stories lesson, students read a story and identify the chracter, character traits, plot, setting and theme. Groups of students match problem and solution cards.
Curated OER
Mapping Plate Boundaries
Students discover plate boundaries based on the uneven geographic occurrence of geologic hazards. After discussing geologic hazards, students plot different sets of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions on maps.
Curated OER
Ant Farm
Students explore the value of insects in the natural world. In this insect lesson, students examine species of insects, collect and record data, and analyze the data.
Curated OER
Simple Machines, Odd Machines
Students recognize and identify common objects that can be used as a lever. In this simple machines instructional activity, students experiment with materials to design and construct a machine that uses a lever. Students also design and...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Effects of Friction on a Moving Block
Learners investigate how friction affects the movement of a block across surface areas. They test five different kinds of surfaces—smooth surface, wax paper, a paper towel, course, and fine sandpaper. They predict and record the results...
Curated OER
Tree I.D.
Learners explore various tree species. In this tree species instructional activity, students collect leaves on nature walks and use Internet sources to identify the trees that the leaves belong to. Learners graph their data as well.
Curated OER
Exploring the Beach
Young scholars explore the beach. In this marine habitat lesson, students inspect sand grains, design beach profiles, classify marine life, and examine natural beach habitats. Young scholars use spreadsheets to record data from their...