Curated OER
Lab 2: Drag Racing
In this lesson, students, Analyze the relationship between velocity and acceleration * Calculate an object's average acceleration * Collect data and interpret it* Create and analyze a graph showing acceleration.Students also work in...
Science 4 Inquiry
Edible Plate Tectonics
Many people think they can't observe plate tectonics, but thanks to GPS, we know that Australia moves at a rate of 2.7 inches per year, North America at 1 inches per year, and the Pacific plate at more than 3 inches per year! Scholars...
Creative Chemistry
Displacement Reactions of Metals
Chemistry stars experiment with metals to observe reactivity with salt solutions. They test magnesium, zinc, iron, and copper by immersing them into different solutions and observing for changes. A separate set of data tables is...
Curated OER
Producing a Strain of E. coli that Glows in the Dark
Students observe the experimental process called bacterial transformation and demonstrate phenotype changes in bacteria that have been transformed with an antibiotic-resistance gene and a metabolic marker. They create a luminescent...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Chiaroscuro Apple
I absolutely love this idea. Kids explore the chiaroscuro technique as they draw, then bite, then write about an apple. They discuss chiaroscuro, depth, shade, perspective, and texture. Then they draw their apples, write a descriptive...
California Academy of Science
Human Evolution
As the great and hilarious Tim Minchin once said, "Science is simply the word we use to describe a method of organizing our curiosity." Science is more than just a guess; it is based on questions, observations, and evidence. High...
Virginia Department of Education
Properties of Compounds and Chemical Formulas
Young chemists have unknown compounds they need to sort. Performing three different tests on each, the chemical behaviors they observe become the basis for data analysis.
Science 4 Inquiry
Deforestation
Young scientists observe deforestation from satellite photos and discuss the importance of forests to the global environment. They then simulate a plot of forest when farmers move into the area over the course of seven years. Finally,...
Curated OER
The Hydrologic (Water) Cycle
Learners construct a model of the hydrologic cycle, and observe that water is an element of a cycle in the natural environment. They explain how the hydrologic cycle works and why it is important, and compare the hydrologic cycle to...
Curated OER
The Transfer of Energy 2: Electrochemistry
Students study about electrochemistry by increasing their understanding of electron transfer and its role in chemical changes. They explain that energy appears in different forms. Heat energy is in the disorderly motion of molecules.
Curated OER
How Big Is That Star?
Aspiring astronomers study stars. They compare stars and explain the relationship between radius, mass, and diameter. By creating a star simulation, they discover how a binary star system's orbit can cause changes in the observed...
Curated OER
Seeing and Feeling Sound Vibrations
Groups rotate through a series of stations and work with a partner to observe sound waves. Children describe sound in terms of pitch, volume, and frequency. To apply their new knowledge, the class considers how these observations can...
Curated OER
Air Quality
Students observe air quality and monoxide data. In this air quality lesson, students draw conclusions and manipulate data from a one year period on changes in air quality.
Curated OER
Create Hydrogen Energy
Young scholars complete an experiment to understand changes to the environment over time. In this hydrogen lesson plan, students discuss electrolysis and conduct an electrolysis experiment. Young scholars observe and record...
Field Museum
The Case of Darwin's Finches
One of the most striking pieces of evidence for Darwin's Evolution of Species was his observations of finches and how their beaks differed from island to island, depending on their primary food sources. So what would happen to the theory...
American Chemical Society
Using the Combining Test to Identify Unknown Liquids
Once investigators have learned how their mystery liquids interact with water during the preceding activity, they now use their observations to identify them. This is an ideal conclusion to the mini unit on the properties of water.
Science 4 Inquiry
Enzymes in Action
Enzymes play a role in almost every function in the human body. Scholars explore three variables related to the use of enzymes. They observe a catalase reaction, experiment with substrates, and examine reactions rates.
Curated OER
Check Out Your Change!
Students examine a coin and write down details about the coin. They use appropriate tools and techniques to gather information. They employ logic to determine differences between the coins.
Creative Chemistry
Displacement Reactions of the Halogens
During this lab activity, chemists discover the reactivities of chlorine, bromine, and iodine as examples of the halogens. They use a displacement reaction as a test by adding other compounds and observing for a color change. The lab...
Mixing In Math
Mixing in Math: Growing Plants
Whether you have your class plant seeds or begin when sprouts are visible, math skills are used here to predict and track growth over time. Straw bar graphs show plant height on a given day while the graph as a whole shows changes over...
Curated OER
The Effect of Natural Selection on Genes, Traits and Individuals
Rotating through five stations, evolutionary biologists explore the question of how changes in DNA facilitate the changes in a population over time. High-quality, colorful cards of animals, skeletons, skulls, and DNA sequences can all be...
Curated OER
Wild and Wetlands
Upper graders identify the major characteristics of a wetland. They explore the human factors that change a wetland and write a descriptive paragraph about wetlands. This comprehensive lesson also has an interactive "Watershed Game"...
Curated OER
Eggs'ceptional Experiments
Students see evidence of chemical reaction and follow the scientific method to hypothesize, observe, and reach conclusions. They conduct a series of egg based experiments such as forming crystals and complete journal activities as a...
NASA
The Cycle of Matter
An educational lesson focuses on the idea of conservation of matter through a demonstration of the water cycle, a discussion of digesting food, and the path of carbon and oxygen atoms as they change form.