Learners investigate the Wright Brothers. They complete an online Webquest, explore various websites, use a flight simulator, answer discussion questions, and locate newspaper articles on the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers'...

Students become familiar with teh selection, evaluation, and use of instructional software for 4-8 classroom. They download software demos from the web and discuss critiquing software. Students browse software evaluations on web sites.

Can your class predict the weather? Show them how they can come close with a instructional activity about creating weather instruments, including weather vanes, barometers, wind socks, anemometers, and thermometers. Kids research weather...

Students research volcano hazards in VolcanoWorld, make a paper volcano, produce and watch the effects of ashfall, produce and watch the effects of a mudflow and create a hazard map by plotting historical ashfall/mudflow data from Mount...

Here is a fine lesson plan on geology designed for high schoolers. Learners use rocks, fossils, and other geological clues to determine the geology of an area. Then, they make recommendations to a fictitious city council about the...

Young mathematicians study probability. In this math lesson, learners calculate odds, and convert those into percentages of probability. Fractions are also used, making this lesson quite rich in some of the more difficult conversions...

Just how confident can we be with statistics calculated from a sample? Learners take this into account as they look at data from a sample of petroleum engineer salaries. They analyze the effect sample size has on a margin of error and...

Odd or even—fifty-fifty chance? Pupils first conduct an experiment rolling a pair of dice to generate data in a probability lesson. It goes on to introduce mutually exclusive and non-mutually exclusive events, and how to use the...

Hard boiled or raw? Which egg will you get? A hands-on activity has scholars explore the impact of conditional probability. Based on a skit from the Tonight Show, pupils model the selection of the two types of eggs using beads. They...

Lift—it is about the wing's attack. Using a virtual wind tunnel, pupils investigate wing shape and angle of attack. Learners use worksheets to record their observations and to convert verbal relationships into mathematical equations in...

Reaction rates vary between your dominant and nondominant hand ... or do they? Young scholars conduct an experiment collecting data to answer just that. After collecting data, they calculate the p-value to determine if the difference is...

What makes human interaction different from interaction with computers? Learners consider the question as they build Turing tests to determine whether a computer thinks like a human. They begin by looking at current versions of Turing...

Young readers work on evaluating claims in a piece of informational text with the article "In New York, It's Open Bag or Find Exits" from the New York Times. They analyze current search procedures implemented to fight terrorism...

Students study techniques for conducting a local environmental assessment in an ecologically sensitive area. Identification of native plants and methodologies for sampling is taught in the classroom and then reinforced in the field. The...

This is the culminating activity for a unit on energy balance for 3rd-5th graders created by Together Counts. Young learners make a plan to balance their energy in and their energy out for one month. They use the SMART steps in creating...

Learners apply their understanding of luck to a probability experiment. They play a game of Pass the Pigs to determine the probability of a specific outcome. Using analysis for their data, pupils declare the measures of center, dot...

Bring together a study of two major scientific topics with a instructional activity on the relationship between pollution and evolution. With the help of a PowerPoint presentation, hands-on activity. and class demonstration young...

Mid-ocean ridges, rift valleys, island arcs, mountain ranges, earthquakes, volcanoes ... there are so many features associated with plate tectonics. The 14th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography...

One of the key questions in statistics is whether the results are good enough. Use an activity to help pupils understand the importance of sample size and the effect it has on variability. Groups collect their own sample data and compare...

How did scientists discover what lies beneath the earth's surface? Dig a hole? X-ray vision? Guide your class through the types of seismic waves and how these waves helped shed light on Earth's many layers. The included resources provide...

Students explore space science by completing a solar system identification worksheet. In this planets lesson plan, students discuss the different planets in our star system and identify their traits. Students complete an orbital system...

Students examine how parachutes work, and research and discuss the first man to envision and sketch the first parachute. They analyze air resistance, drag force, drop time, and terminal velocity.

Students identify the internal and external components of computers, robots and fan. In this physics lesson, students draw a circuit diagram of their electronic components. They create a battery tester in the lab.