ARKive
Biodiversity and Evolution
Why is diversity in biology so important for an ecosystem? Explore biodiversity, evolution, and natural selection with a presentation for your biology class. It features clear information, activities for further understanding, and...
Virginia Department of Education
The Germ Theory and Koch’s Postulates
Explore the history of cholera and its effect on society with your biology class. Young biologists will then proceed to grow their own germs, prepared from live cultures, and follow the steps of the scientific method to generate data....
Mascil Project
Parachute Food Drop
Drop a perfect project into your lesson plans. Groups use different building materials to create models of parachutes for food drops. After testing out their prototypes, they make improvements to their designs.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resoures
Getting to Know Trees
Celebrate the beauty of trees with a packet full of activities designed to help kindergarteners get to know about their leafy nature friends. Covering a variety of subjects, scholars go on a nature hike, read Shel Silverstein's The...
Moanalua Gardens Foundation
The Mystery of Rapa Nui
What caused the collapse of the environment on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)? Who constructed the Moai? What was their purpose? Class members assume the role of investigators and use evidence drawn from field studies, ships' logs, and...
Curated OER
More on Conduction and Convection
Why do some items feel colder when they are the same temperature? How should you keep your soda cold? What makes the wind blow? These are just some of the things middle schoolers discover when completing a lesson on...
It's About Time
Chemical Names and Formulas
Abracadabra! Provide your class with the tools to perform a chemical "magic show" as they predict the charges of various ions, determine ionic compound formulas, and make observations to determine when a chemical reaction between...
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Life In A Nest: Exploring Life Cycles With Bird Cams
Why read about it when you can watch it happen? Bird cams make it possible for learners to experience the life cycle of a bird in real time! An engaging set of lessons provides activities to connect their learning to bird cam...
Berkshire Museum
Adopt a Schoolyard Tree
Help young scientists connect with nature and learn about trees with a fun life science lesson. Heading out into the school yard, children choose a tree to adopt, taking measurements, writing descriptions, and drawing sketches of it in...
Virginia Department of Education
Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a activity highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
Virginia Department of Education
Work and Power
Assist your class with correctly calculating the values for force, work, and power as they determine the amount various activities require. They gather data and participate in a group discussion to compare results upon conclusion of the...
Virginia Department of Education
Osmosis, Diffusion, and Active Transport
No, it really is okay to play with your food! Emerging scientists manipulate popcorn, eggs, and other household objects as they demonstrate multiple cellular processes. The activity, capable of modifications, is designed to reflect...
Carnegie Mellon University
Renewables Workshop
Youngsters examine resource maps to find out which states are using solar and wind power and discuss as a class various other renewable energy sources. They use a provided data table to record pros and cons to each technology, build and...
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Water Pollution Demonstration
Water pollution is everywhere, and pollutants range from oil to fertilizers. Bring the concept to life by demonstrating the difficulties in getting particular pollutants out of water.
Odell Education
Plant and Animal Cells
Incorporate multiple facets of the cell into your next high school lab! Through an introduction to cell organelles, class members observe each cell type and draw visuals to further demonstrate understanding of cellular processes in both...
Serendip
Vitamins and Health – Why Experts Disagree
Should people take vitamins or get the needed minerals through diet? Experts disagree based on many different factors. Scholars compare study findings and discuss the differences. They learn the importance of comparing results across...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Zebrafish and Skin Color
You may not know if that zebrafish in your fish tank is a model citizen—but it is definitely a model organism! What can we learn about ourselves from a tiny zebrafish? Discover more about the polygenic trait of skin color through a...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Zombie Ants
One of the creepiest and coolest natural occurrences is a great forum for data analysis and discussion! Explore the phenomenon of zombie ants, or ants infected with the Cordyceps fungus, with a series of activities and experiments....
Serendip
Introduction to Osmosis
A chicken egg is a very large cell—perfect for investigating osmosis! Scholars conduct an experiment with vinegar and eggs that helps them understand the process of osmosis. They follow the activity with an in-depth look at osmosis...
Illustrative Mathematics
Sammy's Chipmunk and Squirrel Observations
Here is a fun project. Sammy observes a chipmunk and a squirrel to see how many holes each needs in order to stash the same number of acorns. Scholars could find the answer algebraically or create a table to analyze the...
Indian Land Tenure Foundation
A Sense of Belonging
In order to understand how the land changes over time because of the people who live there, learners interview an elderly person about the past. Children ask an older family member to describe what the local area was like when they were...
It's About Time
The Nitrogen and Phosphorous Cycles
How do we affect the ecosystem, and what can we do to preserve it? Pupils explore chemicals that promote and inhibit plant growth, then discuss the importance of nitrogen and phosphorus to the survival of organisms and describe how...
Glynn County School System
Earth's Magnetic Field and the Moon
The surface of the moon has an amazing tale to tell. Learn about the moon's story with a PowerPoint presentation that describes the unique features of the moon's surface as well as explains its movement in relation to Earth.
Curated OER
Settlement Exploration: Then and Now
NASA has crafted an imaginative and memorable series of lessons, "NASA and Jamestown Education Module." This lesson is one of the five components. In it, middle schoolers connect history and science by comparing the settlement of...