Curated OER
Keeping Warm?
Fifth graders explore conductors and heat loss in different materials. In this Physical Science lesson plan, 5th graders will be measuring the temperature drop of water in four containers. The class will then discuss what an...
Curated OER
What Does Motion Have to do with Sound?
Second graders investigate and explore sound energy. They investigate how the vibrational motion moves through matter in waves. Students describe sounds and vibrations. They observe that vibrational motion creates sounds. Students record...
Curated OER
Vibrant Volcanoes
Students explore volcanoes. In this science instructional activity, students discuss the characteristics of volcanoes and view a video segment about a volcano. Students examine plate tectonics.
Curated OER
Charge and Current
High schoolers explore how all matter is made up of atoms and how they have different charges. In this current lesson students complete several word problems and see how the rate of flow of electric charges works.
Curated OER
What Do Heating and Cooling Do?
In this changes of matter worksheet, students write in what happens when water is heated and when water gets very cold. This worksheet is a graphic organizer.
Curated OER
Separating Solids Experiment
In this separating solids experiment worksheet, students follow the procedures to find what physical properties could be used to separate a mixture of pepper, salt, sand and iron filings.
Curated OER
Emulsion_ Compulsion
Middle schoolers experiment with common household products to determine the properties of emulsions and how they fit into the classifications of matter through this series of lessons.
Curated OER
Sugar Bush Sap Production - Human Environmental Impact on Sap Sand
Eleventh graders compare the amount of sugar sand present in tree sap. In this environmental science lesson, 11th graders measure different tree circumference. They prepare a report and share findings in class.
Curated OER
The Big Meltdown
Young scholars work together to develop a container to keep an ice cube in a solid state. They identify the three stages of matter and test different materials for this experiment. They share their results with the class.
Curated OER
Up, Up, and Away
Second graders observe the changes that water has when there is a change in a state of matter. In this lesson they observe the results of applying heat to water with the end result of conversion to a gas.
Curated OER
Breaking it Down
High schoolers will identify the factors that contribute to erosion and weathering. They will start by differentiating between chemical and mechanical weathering. They then apply what they learned by playing the online jeopardy game. Key...
Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)
Arctic Smorgasbord
Though the walrus spends roughly one third of its time on land, it eats organisms that live on the bottom of the ocean. The first in a series of five, the lesson uses a variety of plant and animal cards to have scholars build an arctic...
Serendip
Using Models to Understand Photosynthesis
Is your class in the dark about photosynthesis? Shed some sunlight on an important biological process with a thoughtful activity. After answering questions to help determine their level of knowledge, learners work with chemical equations...
Georgia Department of Education
Living Things/ Nonliving Things
How can you tell if something is living or nonliving? Introduce a set of criteria which can be used to determine which things are alive and which are not. The class discusses the basic needs of all living organisms, checks out an...
Curated OER
Chemical Equations and Reactions
Graphic organizers, photos, diagrams, and text bring the world of chemical reactions to life. By viewing this presentation, young chemists learn how to recognize when a chemical reaction has occurred, and how to balance chemical...
Curated OER
Sorting Plastics For Recycling
First, young chemists practice polymer identification by density and flame tests. With the data collected, they propose a method of separating polyethylene from other plastics and determine what property makes it desirable for recycling....
Curated OER
Deep Blue Sea
Elementary schoolers identify the ocean floor in a geological sense. They create a presentation that highlights the key features of the ocean floor. This terrific lesson plan has excellent streaming video segments embedded in it, and the...
Curated OER
Determining the Density of a Liquid
Students find the density of diet soda and regular soda. In this density lesson plan, students measure the mass of a graduated cylinder with 10 different volumes of each soda. They find the mass of the liquid alone and use the volume to...
University of Colorado
The Moons of Jupiter
Middle schoolers analyze given data on density and diameter of objects in space by graphing the data and then discussing their findings. This ninth installment of a 22-part series emphasizes the Galilean moons as compared to other...
NASA
Analyzing Tiny Samples Using a Search for the Beginning Mass Spectrometry
Teach the basics of mass spectrometry with a hands-on lesson. The fourth in a series of six lessons explores how mass spectrometry measures the ionic composition of an element. Learners then compare and contrast relative abundance and...
University of Colorado
Can Photosynthesis Occur at Saturn?
In the 19th activity of 22, learners determine if distance from a light source affects photosynthesis. Participants capture oxygen in straws and find that the amount of water the gas displaces is proportional to the rate of photosynthesis.
University of Colorado
Terra Bagga
Earth's magnetic poles switch positions about every 200,000—300,000 years. In the activity, groups create a planet with a magnetic field. Once made, they use a magnetometer to determine the orientation of the planet's magnetic field....
Curated OER
Wipe Out
Learners examine the flow of water. They observe and test the properties of water by using sticks in flowing water. The lesson has streaming video, resource links to access, and a good hands-on activity that is clearly described in the...
Curated OER
Free Up the Ketchup!
Students, in teams, use given materials and their knowledge of Newton's First Law to create a device that will remove a sticky ping pong ball from a 16-oz. cup (which represents ketchup stuck in a bottle.)