Curated OER
Climate and Change: Fitting the Facts Together and Acting on Them
Students examine climate change. For this current events lesson, students read the provided articles "Key Facts + Key Conclusions=0?" "Oil Companies Fund Climate Change Deniers," and "Acting on Climate Change Facts." Students respond to...
GoSoftWorks
GoSkyWatch Planetarium for iPad - The Astronomy Star Guide
Digital compass alignment enables navigation of the skies with true orientation at any time. Just point to the sky or "aim for the stars!" This application acts as a virtual telescope, allowing you to zoom in on any object that is...
Curated OER
National Marine Sanctuaries Shipwrecks
Junior oceanographers access the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Shipwreck Database and plot the locations of several shipwrecks. Shipwrecks are always an enthralling subject and this activity allows your learners to act as...
Curated OER
Balancing Act: Olympics, Winter Sports, Ice Skating, Gravity, Physics, Science
Students, by way of the Olympic Games event of ice skating, are introduced to the concepts of gravity. They try some hands-on gravity experiments and explore the concept of gravity through art.
Curated OER
Thirsty for Drought Relief
Students research a variety of drought-related concerns, acting as part of a 'drought preparedness taskforce.' They propose next steps for the government to take in case of drought and assess the viability of these proposals.
Curated OER
Weathering the Odds
Students explore the limitations of weather forecasting and how consumer-driven weather forecasting companies attempt to meet the demand for accurate, long-term weather forecasting. They act as meteorologists, researching the weather.
Curated OER
You Can Dig It!
Students act as archeologists to examine, describe and hypothesize about 'artifacts' they have been given for their archeological interpretation. They rely on the descriptions and hypotheses of other students to identify the 'artifacts'...
Curated OER
Gorillas In The Midst
Students consider the idea of the eco-tour, and examine different aspects of the Mountain Gorilla Project eco-tour in Rwanda. They synthesize their understanding by acting as expert panelists on a morning news show that focuses on the...
Curated OER
Beating the Odds
Students act as medical researchers and investigate the development of artificial heart, heart assist devices and other advancements in cardiology. They report their findings, both orally and visually, to their 'colleagues' at a conference.
Curated OER
Dust in the Wind
Students investigate causes and effects of droughts by participating in a simulation 'town hall meeting.' Acting as community members, students make informed decisions to help a town and its surrounding areas suffering effects of a...
Curated OER
No Bones About It
Students act as paleontologists, examining pictures of dinosaur skeletons and applying their knowledge of the relationship between skeletal features and survival, to create 'Paleontology Reports' about their perceptions of the lives of...
Curated OER
Rain Forest Reporters
Students research and write articles for an imaginary scientific magazine about rain forests. In this rain forest instructional activity, students research both ecosystems and magazine writing styles. They act as reporters and editors of...
American Museum of Natural History
The Legend of the Flying Frog
Young conservation biologists have an opportunity to get involved in the effort to save endangered species. After reading and illustrating the tale of the Flying Frog, they craft a tale about another fictional endangered species.
Curated OER
Natural Phenomena That Change the Earth's Surface
Students explore a natural phenomenon. In this science instructional activity, students research a natural phenomenon and create a script about that phenomenon. Students act out their scripts for the class.
Curated OER
Weathering the Weather
Young scholars investigate global warming through initial discussion of recent findings regarding weather patterns. They act as city planning 'committees' concerned with how the trends in global warming affect the agriculture and...
Curated OER
Replicating Controversy
Student act as a research scientists and investigate the development of animal and human cloning. They then report their findings, both orally and visually, to their "colleagues" at a symposium on cloning research. Learners explore the...
Curated OER
Building a Circulation City
Pupils examine how the workings of the human circulatory system were discovered. In this circulation lesson students view a video, divide into groups and act out their given system.
Curated OER
It's About Time
Middle schoolers investigate how Global Positioning Systems work and how and why GPS receivers make errors. They graph data points and apply estimation and prediction to real-life GPS situations, discuss time delay, and complete a...
Curated OER
Magnetic Insulators
In this magnetic insulators instructional activity, learners use magnets, a compass, paper and more to observe magnetic force. Students then answer 3 questions.
Curated OER
Save the Planet!
Third graders explore the Recycle City Web site. They examine ways to save the environment. They write a short interview between a news reporter and an environmental expert. They practice acting out their news report.
Curated OER
Fighting for Control
Engage your class in a class discussion examining and defend different sides of an argument about whether the Environmental Protection Agency should have the legal authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. They will have to...
Curated OER
The Price of Power
Explore the current political debate over regulating power plant emissions. Critical thinkers research, formulate, and present arguments regarding selective catalytic reduction systems for coal-burning plants.
Curated OER
A Duck's Bill on Capitol Hill?
Use a list of environmentally related words to engage learners in a discussion about ecosystem conservation legislation. As a class, read "Aware of Political Ecosystem, Property Rights Advocate Embraces Conservation Plan." Then, present...
Curated OER
Nutria And The Disappearing Marsh
Young analysts examine changes in the nutria population, vegetation density, and marsh area over time in the wetlands of Louisiana. They import data and use the TI-73 Explorer to graph and analyze the effects of nutria on marsh loss.