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Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Catapults

For Students 4th - 8th Standards
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. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Universal Studios' Roller Coasters

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read an article and review a type of graph or other graphic representation. They write a response to a ""Task"" that may be a letter, a report, or a speech to an interested group. In the written response they must refer to both...
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Lesson Plan
DiscoverE

Kicking Machine

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Don't kick the resource to the curb; you'll definitely regret it. Future engineers devise a kicking machine that launches a ping-pong ball toward a target. They can use a pendulum, a rubber band, or both, depending on whether they want...
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Lesson Plan
Tech Museum of Innovation

Energy at Play

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
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 force...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ultimate Ride Coaster Deluxe

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders describe the energy transformations as cars travel over a roller coaster. They explain the principle of conservation of energy as it relates to a roller coaster ride. The integration of technology is done using educational...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aaaaaaa! Let's Ride the Roller Coaster

For Teachers K - 1st
Students complete a variety of activities related to the short /a/ sound. As a class they recite a tongue twister, then trace and write the letter A. Students then listen to word pairs and identify which word in each word pair contains...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

May The Force Be With You

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders investigate Newton's Laws of Motion. They use the example of a roller coaster for illustration purposes. A force associated with a roller coaster is tested, data graphed, and a conclusion is drawn. They use excel in order...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Up and Down We Go

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students explore physics concepts such as velocity, acceleration and speed to create a model of a safe roller coaster. They design and conduct a lab to demonstrate the properties of an object fired horizontally and at an angle.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Joseph Stella: Movement and Unity

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students explore line,shape,color and repetition,to create unity and movement. They discuss Joseph Stella's Battle of Lights, Coney Island and visuals of roller coasters. They use colored pencil techniques and create an artwork.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's Outrage the Bull

For Teachers K - 8th
Students study kinetic and potential energy. In this energy lesson, students in grades K-2 understand the differences between kinetic and potential energy. Students in grades 3-5 demonstrate that kinetic and potential energy. Students in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Falling Water

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students drop water from different heights to demonstrate the conversion of water's potential energy to kinetic energy. They see how varying the height from which water is dropped affects the splash size. In seeing how falling water can...
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Lesson Plan
Polytechnic Institute of NYU

Potential vs. Kinetic Energy

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
Legos in science class? Watch your pupils fall in love with this activity. After learning to measure potential and kinetic energy, young scientists create their own ramps using Lego Mindstorm sensors and software.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Feel The Need For Speed

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers are introduced to the concepts of speed, velocity, acceleration and inertia. In groups, they use the internet to research rollercoasters found in the United States and calculate their acceleration rates. They use the...
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Lesson Plan
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Teach Engineering

Pushing it Off a Cliff

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Focus on the conservation of energy, specifically looking at gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy, with a lecture that involves having friends throw light objects at each other to determine which has more kinetic energy and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Off the Grid

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students examine the advantages and disadvantages of renewable and non renewable energy sources.  In this engineering lesson students explain what it means for a house to be "off the grid".
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gravity, Forces, and Inertia

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students participate in assessments involving gravity, forces, and inertia. They select from a menu of options assessments they would like to complete including worksheets, drawing posters, watching videos, creating crossword puzzles,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Elements of Physics: Energy And Work

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the difference between potential and kinetic energy.  In this energy instructional activity students view a video and apply these energies to real world situations. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Newton Gets Me Moving

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students discuss Newton's laws of motion. The conduct motion experiments by building "Newton Rocket Cars" from assorted materials. They propel the cars with rubber bands and wooden blocks and record the distance traveled on data sheets.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

TE Lesson: Kinetic and Potential Energy of Motion

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate the difference between potential and kinetic energy. They examine the formulae associated with both types of energy. They complete how quickly a pendulum with swing by converting potential energy into kinetic energy.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Energy, Work and Power

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars examine the differences between potential and kinetic energy.  In this physics lesson students view a video and apply what they learn about energy to apply it to real world situations. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Principles of Physics: A Real Scream!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers apply their knowledge of the physics principles of force, energy and motion to researching the physics behind amusement park rides.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

It's All about Expression

For Teachers 1st
First graders practice rereading selected passages to improve their reading fluency. Working in pairs, 1st graders read and reread decodable, leveled passages. They create a tape recording of their reading to assess their fluency and use...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The History of Computers

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students study the people and inventions related to computers. They research famous people for each invention they created and create a timeline of the inventor and his inventions. They present an oral presentation about the person for...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Do You See What I See?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students participate in a reading skills lesson to improve reading comprehension. The skill of visualization is taught and practiced to help them better understand the plot of a story.