Center Science Education
Weather in the News
Tornadoes, blizzards, and hurricanes, oh my! In this lesson, meteorology majors compare stories of historical storms written by two or more different sources. As a result, they understand how the media portrays such catastrophes and...
Curated OER
Genetic Engineering
Students identify relationships between scientific concepts and their historical roots. They discuss and debate issues of ethics in science, specifically on the concept of genetic engineering and describe the processes of cloning and...
Center Science Education
Torrents, Droughts, and Twisters - Oh My!
What is causing the extreme weather happening around the planet? Middle and high schoolers read about climate change as a possible link to such phenomena. Then they form groups to discuss and research one of the types of weather events....
Curated OER
Life Cycle of a Butterfly: Kidspiration
Second graders view a video about butterflies and recall its life cycle. They will also complete a Kidspiration slide show to illustrate the life cycle of a butterfly and study a word list of butterfly vocabulary to include in their...
Science 4 Inquiry
Investigating How Heat Flows
It is impossible to cool down a glass of water by adding ice. Young scientists explore heat transfer through videos, experiments, and interactive games. They quickly catch on that the water melts the ice and things aren't always as they...
National Park Service
News Bearly Fit to Print
There are an average of three human fatalities by bears in North America every year, which is low when you compare it to the 26 killed by dogs and the 90 killed by lightning annually. The lesson encourages researching human-bear...
Science 4 Inquiry
Maintaining Mass
Can you disprove the law of conservation of mass? Pupils observe the teacher weigh each part of a reaction. Then, the teacher weighs the result of the reaction and everyone sees that the products do not equal the reactants. Then they...
Personal Genetics Education Project
Genetics, history and the American Eugenics Movement
A poignant 20-slide show introduces high schoolers to the amazing accomplishments of genomics and raises the question of eugenics. This lesson is only for mature audiences, as it deals with rape and other sensitive topics, but it is...
Teach Engineering
Solar Power
Elementary schoolers discover how engineers use solar energy to heat buildings. They take a close look at some of the materials used: sand, salt, water, and shredded paper and evaluate the efficiency of each material. An incredible...
Roald Dahl
The Twits - The Furniture Goes Up
Work gets done faster when people work as a team. The ninth installment of an 11-lesson unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl combines character education with research skills and creative writing activities. The lesson ends...
Curated OER
Spring Time Trees/Flowers
Plan ahead! Integrate science and language arts! Schedule your reading of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe to coincide with the arrival of spring. As pupils read Chapter 11 of the Lewis classic, they are assigned one of...
Curated OER
Enhancing Our Outdoor Classroom Studies through Technology
Combine science, math, and more using this resource. Learners use technology to share video and other information about their community with people throughout the state. They learn about the environment, identifying native plants, record...
National Geographic
Exploring Modern Human Migrations
Using maps, images, websites, and handouts, learners work to understand the nature of human migrations. They compare and contrast human migration from the past to the present, identify causes for migration, and trace migration routes on...
SeaWorld
Animal Migrations
Here is a fabulous set of activities for your young scientists. Each lesson contains map, hands-on, and game activities that will help the class understand why and how animals migrate from one place to another. First they'll examine the...
CCEA
Home Economics: Teen Building
Learners explore the emotional and nutritional needs of teenagers in a six-lesson unit, which covers such topics as food sources, cooking skills, emotional well-being, and the positive effect of food and family occasions.
Curated OER
School House Rock! Science Rock
Middle schoolers use common household and classroom objects to generate static electricity and study its effects. They discuss the video Science Rock CD called Electricity, Electricity. The video explains many things about electricity.
Curated OER
Properties of Air
Fourth graders participate in a demonstration lesson using bubbles in which they determine that air fills the bubbles. Next, they work in small groups as they they experiment with the properties of air at separate work stations. After...
Curated OER
Introduction to Maps
Students investigate different types of maps and their purposes. In this mapping lesson students complete a worksheet, participate in a class discussion and do a hands on activity.
National Academy of Sciences
Lights at Night Webquest
Help learners find ways to become more efficient energy consumers. To start, individuals research how different countries address energy efficiency and then analyze their own carbon footprint. They use their research to identify ways to...
Museum of Tolerance
Where Do Our Families Come From?
After a grand conversation about immigration to the United States, scholars interview a family member to learn about their journey to America. They then take their new-found knowledge and apply their findings to tracking their family...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Are Global CO2 Levels Changing?
According to the Mauna Loa observatory, carbon dioxide levels increased by 3 ppm in our atmosphere between 2015–2016. Individuals analyze carbon dioxide data from around the world and then share this with a home group in lesson...
NOAA
What Killed the Seeds?
Can a coral cure cancer? Take seventh and eighth grade science sleuths to the underwater drugstore for an investigation into emerging pharmaceutical research. The fifth installment in a series of six has classmates research the wealth of...
Agriculture in the Classroom
Seed Match
Using this resource, your team of green thumbs discuss why plants are a part of a healthy diet and the different ways they are used in daily life. They then observe the characteristics of different seed as they attempt to match...
Teach Engineering
Energy Choices Game
Here's a fun game on a very serious matter. Scholars play a board game to learn about personal energy use and consumption. They see how various choices affect their energy use and costs, and then apply this knowledge to brainstorm ways...