Curated OER
Adaptation Investigation - Extreme Beaks
Find photos of bird beaks or show a prepared four slide PowerPoint, "Extreme Beaks" to introduce your class to this special animal adaptation. Provide them with a data table and supplies to try gathering food with tools that each...
Curated OER
Hamlet Research Paper: Find, Evaluate, and Select Appropriate Research Sources
Help young researchers find credible sources online. Modeling with a Google search for information about Shakespeare’s Macbeth, use a computer projector or Smart Board to show class members how weak the top three search results are....
Curated OER
Glacier Bay - The Kelp Forest
Few people get to visit Alaska's Glacier Bay, and fewer yet go underwater to explore its kelp forest. Through this presentation, viewers get to do just that! In the process, they learn about the simple structure of kelp and the diverse...
Purdue University
What a Waste of Food!
Follow the life of an apple from harvest to the consumer. A three-part lesson describes the different steps to get an apple from the farmer to your kitchen and the approximate waste that happens at each step. They discuss the process and...
Curated OER
Hydrothermal Vent Challenge
Give our ocean voyagers the "Hydrothermal Vent Challenge!" It is a worksheet that guides them through an exploration of hydrothermal vents and the chemical reactions that occur when lava meets seawater. Using a collection of websites,...
Curated OER
#21 Films, Fibers, and Solubility
Learners are introduced to how the differences in solubility of materials are used in the manufacture of fibers and films. They are also introduced to the various processes used to make films and fibers. Pupils prepare fibers using wet...
Curated OER
Coal Derivatives by Destructive Distillation
Chemists use the destructive distillation technique to produce three derivatives from a sample of bituminous coal. You will find background information, a materials list, procedures, and sample follow-up questions that you can use in...
Cornell University
Bridge Building
Bridge the gaps in your knowledge of bridges. Individuals learn about bridge types by building models. The activity introduces beam bridges, arch bridges, truss bridges, and suspension bridges.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
DNA Profiling Activity
Everyone loves a good mystery ... can your class actually solve one? Partnered pupils take on the role of forensic investigators during a three-part activity focusing on DNA evidence processing. Learners discover the methods used to...
Curated OER
The Nine Planets
A solid instructional activity on teaching the nine planets in our solar system is here for you. In it, young scientists learn the correct order of the planets, and they choose one of the planets to do a research report on. They must...
Curated OER
Save the Earth Day
First graders tellacollaborate with other students around the world sharing their ideas about what earth day means to them. They share ways in which they recycle, reduce and reuse.
Curated OER
Whose Point of View? The Journey of Three Generations
A reading of Whale Journey, a fact-filled picture book by Vivian French, launches a study of the life cycle and migration of three generations of gray whales. The interdisciplinary lesson plan offers opportunities extensions into all...
Curated OER
Map that Habitat
Students participate in an activity that replicates the creation of sea floor bathymetry by taking a simplified form of soundings in the classroom. They discuss sea floor mapping technologies, sonar, soundings, and remote sensing,...
Curated OER
Aerogel
Students identify how technology aids scientists in their research. Through discussion, they explain the various ways scientists use Aerogel to aid in their collection of high-speed particles. Through experimentation, students create...
Curated OER
It's Your Right: A Civil Rights Brochure
Learners examine the US Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Supreme Court cases in order to broaden their understanding of the US Judicial System. They research a variety of textual and Internet resources to create a tri-fold brochure,...
Curated OER
Ocean Impacts of an El Nino Event
Learners study sea surface height and temperature and other characteristics of an El Nino. In this ocean impacts lesson students examine the factors that influence an El Nino or La Nina.
Curated OER
Creating My Own Rube Goldberg Machine
Students dissect simple machines. In this simple machines lesson, students gather simple machines from their home to dissect in class. Students investigate the working parts of simple machines and construct a machine based on the designs...
Curated OER
Glaciers: Then and Now
A large data table is given to your elementary earth scientists in which they record observations that they make while viewing pictures of Alaskan glaciers. They compare and contrast recent photos with older photos. Hold a discussion...
Curated OER
Big Fleas Have Little Fleas
A benthic habitat hosts a vast collection of organisms and its structure influences the biodiversity. Middle-school marine biology explorers will discuss how corals impact structure, and therefore diversity, on the ocean floor. They draw...
Curated OER
Sustainable Forestry
High schoolers evaluate a forest for timber harvest and discuss potential impacts of logging. In this sustainable forestry lesson, they work in groups in a forested plot to choose trees to cut based on species and stem diameter and then...
Curated OER
Changing Seasons
Explore expository writing and using precise language in this descriptive paragraph writing lesson. Learners brainstorm prior knowledge about the changing seasons in Ohio. They describe seasonal items, view seasonal pictures from...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Introducing Ecosystem Services
Purifying air and water, providing soil in which to grow crops, and moving water through its natural cycle are all services an ecosystem provides that benefit humans. Lesson four in a series lets learners explore and discuss the value of...
Space Awareness
A View From Above
Analyzing and interpreting satellite data takes knowledge and patience. Through a detailed lab investigation, young scholars learn the process of analyzing this data. They use technology to create color images and maps from real...
Curated OER
Dilution and Concentration of Solutions
Future chemists practice laboratory techniques by creating a monochloramine solution. The objectives are to use of dilution, 9concentration, and measurement skills and to prepare a solution that will be used in a water treatment...