Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is a Nanometer?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students develop a concept of the relative size of objects in the nanoscale. They complete an internet assignment using the website,"Scaling the Universe to Your Desktop". Using analogies to common objects they get an appreciation for...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chemistry Unit on Compounds, Formulas, and Equations

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students perform a review assignment in 3 portions to review chemistry compounds, formulas, and equations. The assignment consists of several different portions that can be used as assessments. The majority of the lesson plan is composed...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pyrotechnics for Pyromaniacs

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students explore how chemistry is associated with the annual celebration of America's independence. They learn what gunpowder is made of, the anatomy of a firework, how noise is made in fireworks and the safety issues.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chemical Formulas and Naming

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students practice naming and writing formulas for simple chemicals. After a review of vocabulary, they create ion flash cards and discuss the rules for writing chemical compounds. They practice naming and writing the formulas based on...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cooling With Sunshades

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners conduct research in order to find the effects of properties exposed to heat and how they change temperature. They consider the effect of sunlight upon objects that are placed outside with the help of an experiment. They also...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Succession in the Classroom

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers investigate their environment by growing plants in class.  In this botany lesson plan, students discuss the lifespan of plants and animals and how they must be cared for continuously over time.  Middle...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stoichiometry

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students research chemical formulas and balance chemical equations.  In this chemical equations lesson students complete a class activity on chemical equations and answer questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Periodic Table

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Students identify the periodic table trends and predict material properties. They also design and conduct simple experiments and test material properties. Finally, students compare and contrast material properties and that chemical...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Is Chemistry, Anyway?

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students differentiate physical and chemical change. In this chemistry lesson, students list examples of those changes. They apply what they learned in a Jeopardy style team game.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning Lesson: Crunch Time

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students demonstrate the effect of heat on pressure. They use a 2-liter bottle and hot tap water to complete the experiments. They also discuss thunderstorm safety rules.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Causal Patterns in Density Phenomena

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Learners consider the causes of density at a microscopic level. They then discover that one cause of density has to do with how many protons and neutrons the material contains.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students calculate the values of electron binding energies. In this physics lesson, students solve for different wavelength characteristics of X-rays. They present their findings to the class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Grating Spectrometer

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students calculate the Balmer series. In this physics lesson, students observe hydrogen lamp spectra using spectrometers. They calculate wavelength and compare them with their theoretical calculations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coefficient of Kinetic Friction and Surface Area

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students investigate coefficient of friction with respect to surface area and applied force in contact with the sliding force.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Urban Impact on Chollas Creek (California): A Field Study

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students, in groups, take samples from a creek and keep a field journal on their samples. They also perform tests on their samples.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Extraction of DNA from White Onion

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers conduct lab test with minced onion to determine where chromosonal DNA is located within the cell, and whether or not it can be extracted.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Drifting Continents, Dynamic Results

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers plot earthquake and volcano data using a Compass Rose Plotting. They explain the relationship between plate movement and connection. They draw conclusions that earthquakes and volcanoes occur in predictable locations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Losing An Island

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students examine carbon dioxide and determine the impact of greenhouse gases on the earths spheres.  In this pollution lesson students complete a lab activity to see the impact of gases on the environment, 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where's the Evidence?

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders observe evidence of chemical reactions.  In this chemical reactions instructional activity students study chemical processes and complete a lab activity. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jupiter's "Monstrous" Magnetosphere

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore Jupiter's magnetosphere. In this Jupiter lesson, students examine a diagram of the magnetic field that surrounds Jupiter.
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: The Fundamental Building Blocks of Matter

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
This lesson plan explores the fundamentals of atoms and their structure. The building blocks of matter (protons, electrons, neutrons) are covered in detail. Students think about how atoms and molecules can influence new technologies...
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Plastic Polymers: Investigating Their Flexibility

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars will use their prior knowledge about changes of matter to develop a hypothesis to test the physical properties of materials such as plastic (polymers) and how its chemical properties allow it to have unique physical...
Lesson Plan
American Chemical Society

Middle School Chemistry: What Is Density?

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Calculate the density of cubes made of different materials to determine what type of material it contains. Using this information explain that the size, mass, and arrangement of the atoms or molecules of a substance determines its density.