American Chemical Society
Natural Resources and Synthetic Materials
All synthetic materials began as natural materials. An engaging lesson begins with a hands-on activity and an example of the type of research that scholars perform independently. Then pupils receive a topic and begin researching the...
Teach Engineering
The Keepers of the Gate Challenge
Help your class make a connection between salt water and nanoscience. In the introductory lesson of a seven-part unit, the class explores why salt water helps a sore throat feel better. Pupils conduct preliminary research about the...
Kenan Fellows
Letter Writing to Politicians on Environmental Issues
Let your voices be heard! Pupils research local and national environmental concerns using the Internet. Class members determine an issue they deem important and draft a letter to a local politician expressing their...
Teach Engineering
See the Genes
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough" - Albert Einstein. The sixth installment of a seven-part series teaches young scientists about the importance of being able to communicate scientific research and...
Channel Islands Film
Magic Isle: Lesson Plan 3
Middle schoolers complete a writing assessment task to demonstrate their ability to craft a narrative based on a variety of informational texts. They view West of the West's documentary Magic Isle, read three print resources about...
NASA
Einstein and His Times
Scholars research and present on the historical happenings of 1919. After sharing their findings, pupils debate about how Congress dealt with the moral issues of the time. The evaluation asks learners to write a persuasive...
Energy for Keeps
The Energy Times
Extra! Extra! Read all about past and present energy use in a classroom-made historical newspaper. Useful as a cross-curricular assignment between science, history, and language arts, the project is sure to get young journalists...
Curated OER
Global Environmental Issues: Air and Water Pollution
Thinking about designing a project for your social studies or environmental science classes? Use an overview of a project that prompts class groups to research an environmental issue.
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.
Teach Engineering
Exploring Bone Mineral Density
Bone up on bone density. The second installment of the seven-part series has pupils read articles on two different websites to learn about bone density and its measurement, as well as X-rays and other imaging tools. A quiz assesses their...
Curated OER
Third Grade Ecuadorian Rainforest
Third graders explore the Ecuadorian Rainforest. In this writing and research lesson students utilize several information sources to learn about the Ecuadorian Rainforest. Students also summarize and paraphrase information learned...
Curated OER
Reading And Summarizing in Science
Students read articles about various scientific topics from a variety of science disciplines and a variety of sources including newspapers, the internet, scientific journals and magazines for students. They review the articles...
NASA
Discovering Some of Your “Yardsticks” Are Actually “Meter-sticks”
The Milky Way gets great reviews on Trip Advisor — 100 million stars. The activity allows scholars to rethink their assumptions and prior knowledge. Pupils observe a set of two lights at equal distance and brightness, but they believe...
Curated OER
Coco Locomotion
Technology tutees read a description about coconuts and how they are used to make biodiesel fuel. Note that the link to the article does not work, and the article does not appear to be available online. There are, if you look for one,...
Curated OER
Wildlife Study Comparison
Environmental science classes read articles about two different scientific studies. One is about the effects of contraceptive chemicals on fertility, and the other is about how a pesticide may be reducing bone density in exposed...
Teach Engineering
Quantum Dots and the Harkess Method
The Fantastic Voyage is becoming close to reality. The class reads an article on the use of nanotechnology in the medical field and participate in a discussion about what they read. The discussion method helps class members become more...
Teach Engineering
Get the Word Out at McDonald's!
To get the word out that the Great Pacific garbage patch (GPGP) contains millions of pounds of non-biodegrading plastics, individuals research the GPGP and write an article for a newsletter. Researchers present their facts in a...
NASA
Cosmic Times 2019
NASA is planning a journey to Mars, and current scholars could very well be a part of a future mission. During the unit, pupils research the advances in space exploration and knowledge about the universe. Then they work in groups to...
Teach Engineering
Adapatations for Bird Flight - Inspiration for Aeronautical Engineering
It's a bird, it's a ... device made to mimic birds. The eighth installment of a nine-part module has pupils read various articles to learn about bird flight. They consider the implications for aeronautical engineering.
Curated OER
Adolescent Sleep
Students discuss, summarize, and express alternative positions regarding a study on adolescent sleep. They examine arguments for and against changing the school start time for high-school students, based upon the findings of a scientific...
Curated OER
Problem-Based Research Lesson: Wilderness Issues
Learners read and discuss articles relating to the theme "How should we deal with the growth of towns and human populations into wilderness areas?" Based on the class brainstorm, each student generates a research topic. They are grouped...
Curated OER
Ecuadorian Rainforest
Have your class talk about the importance of the rainforest and the products that come from it. Learners watch a video showing the path of chocolate from the rainforest to the supermarket. They discuss how the rainforest and...
Curated OER
Three is a Toxic Number
Future public health advocates read a case study of a combination of water pollutants that may be linked to autism. The class is split into three groups, one to research each of the suspected chemicals. The look at how each one affects...
Curated OER
What's the Plan?
Is there a higher risk of dying on an intensely hot or incredibly cold day? Explore the effects of extreme weather on human health by reading a short article about a study done to address this question. Since the links in the lesson are...