Teaching Ideas
Investigation Prompts
Get your class started with experimentation and investigation by providing sentence starters. This chart is made up of three columns. The first column lists steps of the scientific process and the second provides sentence starters for...
Curated OER
Bringing The Greenhouse Effect Down To Earth (CO2 experiment)
Students compare 4 different form of carbon dioxide and discuss the role that carbon dioxide has in the Greenhouse Effect. They then understand that the Greenhouse Effect is a naturally occurring event.
Curated OER
Lab Safety
Teaching the importance of safety in the science laboratory is a necessary part of the curriculum.
Royal Society of Chemistry
Hazard Symbols
Starting in 2015, all chemicals must have a pictogram of the associated chemical hazards. A brain-building activity reviews four of the basic symbols found in a typical science laboratory. Through a fun puzzle, scholars apply their...
Curated OER
Student Safety Contract
With spaces for both your science pupils and their parents to sign, this laboratory safety contract is a must-have for your science classes. Twenty-one rules applying to protection and hazard prevention are listed. Discuss them with your...
Physics Classroom
As the Crow Flies Lab
A simple, yet memorable, way of practicing with displacement vectors is described here. Divide your class into groups and assign each a different landmark on campus. They measure smaller legs of the path from the classroom to their...
Curated OER
Safety
Young scholars identify safety practices in the lab. In this lab safety lesson, students create a poster showing young scholars working safely. They explain the importance of observing safety in the lab.
Curated OER
Jobs in the 21st Century
Students understand the tools that will be used in the lab in the 21st century. In this job preparation lesson, students experiment and understand how to use lab equipment. Students will write about the lab tools they've experimented...
Royal Society of Chemistry
Chemistry Masterclass—Chemistry Outreach
Immerse your chemistry class in the world of organic chemistry! Science scholars isolate acetaminophen from an over-the-counter sample during an intense and interesting lab. Groups use many different separation and analysis techniques to...
Beyond Benign
Chemical or Physical Reaction?
Ready to take your chemistry class on its first big lab adventure? Dive in to differentiation between chemical and physical changes with a thoughtfully designed set of experiments! Partners conduct a series of reactions, describe their...
Royal Society of Chemistry
A Giant Silver Mirror Experiment
Mirror, mirror, on the wall ... who's the best chemistry teacher of them all? You'll get the vote for certain after your class completes the Silver Mirror experiment! Partnered pupils use Tollen's reagent and glucose to silverplate a...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Synthesis of Nickel Nanowires
It's all about the scale—they're not just wires, they're nanowires! The second lesson plan of the series builds on the oxidation-reduction experiment in the first lesson plan. Scholars synthesize a sample of nanowires using electrolysis....
Towson University
Mystery Disease
How did scientists determine the cause of illness before technology? Science scholars play the role of medical researcher in an engaging guided inquiry activity. Using observations, technical reading, and Punnett squares, learners...
American Chemical Society
Energy Foundations
Only 10 percent of an incandescent bulb's energy is used to create light; the remaining 90 percent is heat. In the unit of activities, young chemists examine energy through hands-on activities, videos, discussions, and...
Physics Classroom
A Wiggle in Time Lab
Though an alternative method is suggested, the best way to carry out this investigation is with the use of a computer-interfaced motion detector. Physics fanatics hang a mass on the end of a spring and analyze its motion verbally,...
Beyond Benign
Essential Oil Extraction Using Liquid CO2
When life hands you lemons ... experiment on them! Green chemistry gurus compare extraction methods for essential oils through a lab activity. Lab groups use traditional distillation and liquid carbon dioxide extraction...
Curated OER
The Coriolis Effect
Students will determine the direction of Earth's rotation as viewed from the north and south if they were suspended out in space. They will model how the rotation of the Earth causes currents to be deflected in different directions for...
Beyond Benign
Product Test
It's the moment of truth. Previous lessons in the 24-part series had scholars design and develop shampoo formulas using chemical concepts. The 18th activity asks them to test the function of their shampoos. To do this, they calculate the...
Chymist
The Extraction and Identification of Artificial Food Colors
Did you know some food dyes are considered safe while others are considered carcinogenic? During the experiment, young chemists extract artificial food colors from prepared foods. Then, they use chromatography paper to identify...
Royal Society of Chemistry
A Microscale Acid-Base Titration
Watch as acids and bases put smiles on their faces. Young chemists learn the concept of acid-base titration firsthand in a microscale experiment. Working groups collaborate, titrate, then use their data to determine the concentration of...
Curated OER
A Visit to the Vet
Students discover the important role veterinarians play in the lives of animals. In this animal safety instructional activity, students identify parts of veterinarian's job by completing a KWL chart and an online tutorial....
Curated OER
Fossil Fuels (Part I), The Geology of Oil
Junior geologists work through three mini-lessons that familiarize them with the formation and location of fossil fuels. Part one involves reading about petroleum and where it comes from via a thorough set of handouts. A lab activity...
Curated OER
Fossil Fuels (Part III), The Geology of Coal
Do not overlook this set of lessons just because your school does not have a data analysis system. There is plenty of material here to administer a complete mini unit on the formation, distribution, and properties of coal. Since it...
Curated OER
Testing Leaves for Starch: the Technique
Like good scientists, kids often want to see first-hand why things are as they are; they can do just that in the starch-testing photosynthesis activity found here. Depending on the age of your pupils, you may wish to do the investigation...