Curated OER
Lots of Squares
Students work in pairs, to make a square on the geoboards with a rubber band (or draw one on the dot paper). It can be any size and in any location and share their answers with the class.
Curated OER
Polymer Rockets
Students examine polymer rockets and complete an activity. In this rockets lesson plan students design, create and test a polymer rocket and have a blast off competition.
Curated OER
Who Has Hair?
Students explore similarities and differences. In this Teaching Tolerance lesson, students read literature and participate in activities that features mammals and their hair. Students learn that they share things in common while we are...
DiscoverE
Build an Earthquake-Resistant Structure
Future engineers design and build structures out of toothpicks and marshmallows. They then make sure the structures can withstand an earthquake simulator!
NASA
Foam Rocket
When going for distance, does it make a difference at what angle you launch the rocket? Teams of three launch foam rockets, varying the launch angle and determining how far they flew. After conducting the series of flights three times,...
Cornell University
Diffraction Demystified
Study diffraction patterns using CDs and DVDs! Scholars measure the diffraction patterns of a light wave as it hits a CD or DVD. Using the information, they can measure the distance between the tracks.
Cornell University
Sound Waves
How does sound travel through different mediums? Scholars explore this question by creating and observing sound waves as they learn the difference between transverse and longitudinal wave motion. Using their new knowledge, class members...
DiscoverE
Sorting Solutions
It's okay to play with your food—just this once! Scholars design and create meshes and chutes to sort pasta by size and shape. They test their designs and make improvements as necessary.
DiscoverE
Build a Pinball Game
Watch your classroom turn into an arcade. Pupils work in groups to build pinball machines from boxes and other found objects. Gamers must incorporate a variety of obstacles and launchers into the machine to see their designs in motion.
DiscoverE
Harmless Holder
Here's a lesson that's not for the birds! Scholars design and build packaging for soda cans that is environmentally friendly. These packages must be durable, easy to carry, and have no environmental impact.
Curated OER
Simple Harmonic Motion
Back and forth, and back again. A presentation on harmonic motion would make a great backdrop for a directed instruction lesson in Honors Physics. It includes diagrams, formulas, graphs, and a few sample problems.
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
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...
DiscoverE
An Egg-Citing Ride
Wheeeee! Young thrill seekers build a bungee jump—not for themselves, though, but for an egg. The egg must fall from a height of five feet and rebound within two inches of the ground or floor.
DiscoverE
Action Figure Diver
Will your next buoyancy lab rise to the occasion? Make a splash with action figure divers! Teams of young physicists explore the relationship between mass and buoyancy by adding weights or balloons to achieve a diver that neither sinks...
Cornell University
Airboats
Don't let the resource blow you away. Scholars build airboats from basic materials and collect data on how far the boats move. They refine their designs taking Newton's laws into consideration.
DiscoverE
Touch Down
Protect the marshmallows! Groups create contraptions that will keep marshmallows in a cup, even after dropping them from a certain height. This is a fun way to model the shock-absorbing capabilities of spacecraft.
August House
The Drum
Take a journey to India with a read aloud of The Drum: A Folktale from India by Rob Cleveland. Make connections to the story's theme by building and practicing drums, role playing story characters, and practicing skills in phonics, math,...
National Security Agency
Classifying Triangles
Building on young mathematicians' prior knowledge of three-sided shapes, this lesson series explores the defining characteristics of different types of triangles. Starting with a shared reading of the children's book The Greedy...
Science Matters
Energy Transfer and Transformation
When you take a simple task and create an exceptionally difficult way to complete it, it is known as a Rube Goldberg machine. These machines are filled with many types of energy transfers and energy transformations. Here, pupils...
DiscoverE
Design a Flotation Device
Save the soup! Scholars devise a flotation device using straws, balloons, foam, corks, and other objects. A can of soup must stay afloat for at least a minute with this device—your dinner might depend on it!
National Research Center for Career and Technical Education
Lou-Vee-Air Car
Who said teaching a STEM lesson had to be challenging? Incorporate a career and technology-centered car build into your upcoming force lesson plan, and your class will be moving down the road in no time! Pupils practice...
Curated OER
Heat: Mini Unit
Young scholars experiment with heat. In this physical science lesson plan, students engage in hands-on activities to develop concepts related to heat. Young scholars offer explanations for their observations using given vocabulary.
Curated OER
Weather Tools
Students explore Earth science by participating in a weather identification activity. In this scientific instrument lesson, students identify several weather related tools such as the weather vane, thermometer and rain gauge. Students...