Curated OER
The Chemistry of Hair Care
Students do hands-on activities and read information online in order to answer the central question of this lesson: How does understanding the chemistry of hair care, including the role of pH, help in the development of better hair-care...
Curated OER
Extensions - Astronomy Review Unit
Students participate in a review unit in Astronomy using the Layered Curriculum. This allows them to take charge of the type of assessment that is given. The method also allows better differentiation of instruction to occur.
Curated OER
Medical Scene Investigators
Young scholars investigate physical, psychological and societal implications of various medical problems. Using internet technology and videos, students gather information on a medical problem. They compare/contrast viewpoints that may...
Curated OER
Gravity
Students perform inquiry in response to the question "Do objects fall at the same rate?", teacher candidates discuss a model experiment for secondary students to discover the answer, including recording and analyzing data.
Curated OER
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Students define electromagnetic radiation, list major categories and uses of electromagnetic waves, identify potential health risks with electromagnetic waves, and demonstrate understanding of Plank's constant by solving quantitative...
Curated OER
Physical Habitat of a Stream
Students measure in metric units and use a stopwatch, calculator. They collect data with minimal instructions after the initial pre-activity briefing, then record data in the data sheets provided.
Curated OER
The Relationship Between Science and Technology
Students explore the problem that scientists face when attempting to manipulate a satellite's attitude control. They participate in a demonstration using a swivel chair and a bicyle wheel with handles and then discuss their observations.
Curated OER
Technology and Change
Students write a paragraph explaining how a technological innovation from a particular country has affected the world. Using a variety of resources, students identify a technological innovation, giving accurate historical and...
Curated OER
What a Bohr!
Students define, identify and illustrate the parts of an atom, and investigate the Bohr atomic model. Students watch a multimedia presentation to understand an atom's parts and their functions. In groups, they create a model of an atom...
Curated OER
Polymer Physics on the Playground
Students investigate what materials allow them to slide down a slide the fastest. They set up test procedures and carry out an experiment.
Teach Engineering
Tell Me Doc—Will I Get Cancer?
Can you beat the odds of cancer? In the first installment of a seven-part series, future biomedical engineers consider how to detect and diagnose cancer. An article on biosensors provides useful information toward this goal.
Tech Museum of Innovation
Tree House Escape
Use simple machines to escape from a tree house. Pupils learn about simple machines and how they are useful in everyday life in a STEM lesson. Groups then design a device to rescue a friend stuck in a tree house.
Cornell University
Catapults
Ready, aim, fire! Launch to a new level of understanding as scholars build and test their own catapults. Learners explore lever design and how adjusting the fulcrum changes the outcome.
University of Colorado
Astro-Chronology
Class members play a version of the game Chronology to determine when certain scientific events occurred in history. Teams play until someone has 5-10 events in the correct order.
Tech Museum of Innovation
Energy at Play
Get the ball rolling and challenge your class to figure out how to make a ball move. The instruction segment is between two STEM activities devoted to doing just that. The first is simple and involves making a ball move from some...
Teach Engineering
Viscous Fluids
Elasticity and viscosity. Help your class understand the similarities and differences with an introduction to viscous fluids. After describing four types of fluid behaviors: shear thinning, shear thickening, Bringham plastic,...
Curated OER
Sizing Up The Solar System
Middle schoolers investigate and design various models of size and distance related to the solar system. They work together to build a solar system model. The models should focus on distance and scale. They don't include moons or...
Cornell University
Beam Focusing Using Lenses
Explore optics using an inquiry-based experimental approach! Young scholars use a set of materials to design and build a unit capable of focusing a beam of light. They experiment with different lenses to determine the best approach to...
Curated OER
Bacterial Transformation: Laboratory Experiment
Students participate in a group lab in which they complete the process of bacterial transformation. If lab procedures are followed correctly, Students see their results in a few days...bacteria glowing green.
Curated OER
Food Web in the Bay
Sixth graders study the food web in a bay. In this food web lesson, 6th graders investigate the SAV- submerged aquatic vegetation of a bay including their predators, and how the organisms eat, have proper living space and water. They...
Teach Engineering
Properties of Mixtures vs. Solutions: Mix It Up!
Now it becomes crystal clear why the unit is called Mixtures and Solutions. The fifth installment of a six-part unit explores mixtures and solutions. After viewing a demonstration on mixing pebbles with water, salt with water, and...
Teach Engineering
Circuits
Don't know how to make the initial connection on electric circuits? This lesson provides the background to present the introductory vocabulary to learning about electric circuits. It is organized in a meaningful progression with an...
NASA
Launch Altitude Tracker
Using PVC pipe and aquarium tubing, build an altitude tracker. Pupils then use the altitude tracker, along with a tangent table, to calculate the altitude of a launched rocket using the included data collection sheet.
University of Colorado
Strange New Planet
The first remote sensors were people in hot air balloons taking photographs of Earth to make maps. Expose middle school learners to space exploration with the use of remote sensing. Groups explore and make observations of a new...