Curated OER
Weather in a Bottle
Fifth graders examine air flow, pressure, condensation and examine how to read a weather map. In this informative lesson students learn vocabulary then see how these terms can be applied by viewing a few demonstrations pertaining...
Curated OER
Micro-Climate
Atmosphere aces investigate the microclimates that exist within a larger area. They use a thermometer to record the varying temperatures and identify the microclimates on a map that they have drawn. This exercise helps them to understand...
Learning to Give
Start Cleaning the Air
Advocate for the environment! With the short story included, learners are prompted to think about radon (the odorless and colorless gas) and possible ways to get donations or raise money to purchase detection equipment. The plan spans...
Curated OER
Pressure Effects
Students, in groups, create experiments to predict and prove what a change in pressure can do to objects exposed to the change. They use AppleWorks to write their hypotheses and the steps they need to conduct the experiment.
Curated OER
Everest The Death Zone
Learners watch a video about climbers on Mount Everest. In groups, they complete experiments in which they determine the concentration of oxygen in the air. They make predictions before beginning the experiment and complete a worksheet...
American Chemical Society
Exploring Moisture on the Outside of a Cold Cup
As a stand-alone or as part of the intended unit, this is a valid investigation of what causes condensation to occur. By limiting the amount of air around a cold cup of water and comparing it to one out in the open, they find that...
NASA
The X-1 Paper Glider Kit
After reading an interesting account of how the X-1 aircraft was designed, built, and utilized, young engineers try their hand at constructing a paper glider version of the airplane. They cut out the plane out of a nicely designed...
Curated OER
Terminal Velocity
Students calculate acceleration due to gravity with the measurements of the period of a pendulum or measurements of the time for an object to fall from different heights. They observe and measure the effect of air resistance on the...
Curated OER
Floating Fishes: How do Fishes Control Buoyancy?
Playing with balloons, water, oil, and bottles help put this lesson plan over the top! Participants use air-filled balloons in water tanks to experience gas compression. They also use oil-filled bottles to experiment with buoyancy....
Curated OER
Bubble and Boyle
Even middle schoolers still enjoy experimenting with bubbles! They execute a series of experiments enabling them to distinguish between convex and concave surfaces, explore the properties of buoyancy, surface tension, and density,...
Curated OER
Hot and Humid, That's Manu
Elementary and middle schoolers participate in a demonstration of the heat and humidity of the Manu rainforest environment. They watch and discuss a video, calculate the humidity and temperature in the humidified tent, and write a...
Curated OER
Water Cycle Lesson Plan
After conducting experiments with a sponge, ice water, and a soda bottle your young scientists become familiar with the water cycle through experiment, song, hand motions and drawing. Students sing about the water cycle and discuss...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan #3 ~ Ocean Currents
Sixth graders experiment to understand the ocean's currents. For this ocean current lesson, 6th graders complete an experiment with two bottles of water and an index card to discover information about the ocean current. ...
NASA
Decomposers Get Energy From Dead Things
When life gives you mold, make penicillin. Scholars design an inquiry experiment to determine what causes rotting and mold growth. It also covers decomposers and the important role they play for other living things.
Curated OER
2008 U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad Part III
In this chemistry olympiad lab learning exercise, chemists are required to design two experiments. In one, they design an experiment to identify seven solutions given to them in pipettes. In the other, they design an experiment to...
NASA
Producers Make Their Own Food
During an inquiry-based lesson, scholars decide which variable to test and then design an experiment to determine the needs of producers. After two weeks, they complete a full analysis and research paper.
Curated OER
Impulse, Momentum, and the Conservation of Momentum
What happens when two worlds collide? In the first of several activities, future physicists experiment with colliding ball bearings or Newton's cradle. Another activity requires the use of an air track with cars to examine collision....
Rochester Institute of Technology
Solar Energy
Warm up to the idea of solar energy. A lesson plan includes three activities that challenge scholars to apply knowledge in new ways. First, they learn to run an alarm clock without a battery by using solar energy. Next, they complete an...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Make a Difference!
We are very dependent upon other life forms around us to survive. Here, scholars explore relationships in the ecosystem with the help of Auntie Litter and the pollution patrol. They imagine a world without grass, making connections to...
American Chemical Society
Matter on the Move
Start this mini unit on matter out by demonstrating how food coloring behaves when placed in cold and in hot water. Then have the class experiment with warm water and soap film. Pupils will learn that an increase in thermal energy also...
Weather Wiz Kids
Cloud in a Bottle
This resource provides a short experiment for students to explore how clouds are formed.
National Christmas Tree Association
Merry Christmas, Geraldine
If you're reading the story "Merry Christmas, Geraldine" by Holly Keller, this is a fantastic cross-curricular resource to use. Complete with activities for language arts, science, social studies, art, and math, you'll get the most out...
Chymist
Landfills and Recycling
Examine the nature of landfills through experimentation. Scholars build miniature landfills and monitor changes over a six-week period. Observations allow individuals to draw conclusions about the different types of trash and their...
CK-12 Foundation
Natural Selection: Peppered Moths
Can human activity influence the colors of moths? The simulation explains how pollution changed the color of tree bark, which led to the survival of a different variation of moths. It also discusses the shift back as air quality improves.