National Institute of Open Schooling
Compounds of Carbon Containing Nitrogen
Amines are vital to humans because they help form amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. The 30th lesson in a series of 36 specifically focuses on the organic compounds that contain nitrogen. Learners classify amines and nitro...
Space Awareness
Making A Sundial
Can people really measure time just by using the sun? Scholars venture outside on a nice, sunny day to build sundials and learn how people measured time 600 years ago. The class builds two different sundials while gaining practice with...
Teach Engineering
Ramp and Review (for High School)
Rolling for momentum. As part of a study of mechanical energy, momentum, and friction, class members experiment rolling a ball down an incline and having it collide with a cup. Groups take multiple measurements and perform...
Space Awareness
History of the Universe
Your pupils may believe that you and their parents are the oldest things in the universe, but surprise! There are elements of the universe that are even older. Elementary scientists create a class timeline to demonstrate the...
Curated OER
Crazy for Cubes: Art and Science
Learners discuss Sol LeWitt and conceptual art, then analyze the differences in expressing a concept through model-based inquiry and aesthetic art criticism. They develop a geometric, scientific, or mathematical concept, then create an...
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Planetary Distances on the Playground
There's no need to stay inside; get out of the classroom and create a scaled map of the solar system on your playground field! In collaborative groups, scholars identify the distance between the sun and other planets, place planet...
Cornell University
The Galvanic Cell Game
Play a little game with your classes! Young scholars expand on their understanding of oxidation/reduction reactions in a game-based activity. They build a Galvanic cell with game pieces while learning about each component and their...
Core Knowledge Foundation
A Time for All Seasons - Spring
Celebrate the arrival of spring with this fun primary grade science unit. Engaging young scientists with a variety of hands-on activities and inquiry-based investigations, these lessons are a great way to teach children about...
National Institute of Open Schooling
Air Pollution
Seventy percent of the air pollution in China is due to car exhaust. Under the umbrella of environmental chemistry, learners extensively explore air pollution. From the makeup of our atmosphere to sources of major air pollutants, classes...
Beyond Benign
SLS Today
Lather is not necessary for an effective shampoo. After learning of the industry created consumer misinformation, individuals investigate the toxicity of the most popular additive in shampoos to create lather. They use their results to...
Foundation for Water & Energy Education
How Can Work Be Done with Water Power? Activity C
Third in a set of lessons regarding reservoirs, dams, and hydropower, this involves a two-day hydropower plant simulation. Collaborative groups build, maintain, and finance the plant. The transparency of the reservoir setup can be...
Film Foundation
The Day The Earth Stood Still: Film Language And Elements Of Style
In this, the third in a series of four resources that use Robert Wise's 1951 version of The Day The Earth Stood Still as the core text, young film makers examine the language of film including shot composition, camera angle, lighting,...
It's About Time
Reflected Light
The lesson allows young scientists to use lasers and mirrors to study reflected light. A reading passage and homework question assess learning, while additional material introduces extension activities.
Rainforest Alliance
Investments in Forest Carbon
One hundred metric tons of CO2 can accumulate in one acre of forest over time—that's a lot of carbon! In the activity, groups of middle school learners determine what makes forests important. They then solidify the concept by using a...
National Institute of Open Schooling
Radioactive Pollution
Radioactive pollutants can enter the body through ingestion, inhalation, absorption, or injection. The last lesson in a series of 36 introduces pupils to radioactive pollution. They study its sources, both natural and man-made, its...
National Institute of Open Schooling
Chemical Thermodynamics
All chemical reactions require energy. To explore thermodynamics, classes read and discuss its laws, exothermic and endothermic reactions, enthalpy in many forms, calculate enthalpy problems, and use Hess' Law to calculate enthalpy of a...
Star Wars in the Classroom
Star Wars Geography Unit
What kind of animals live on an ice planet like Hoth? How would the habitat on Tatooine allow different organisms to thrive? Connect social studies, science, and Star Wars in one engaging activity that focuses on the ecosystems...
Curated OER
Bering Sea Buffet - A Foodweb Activity
Life in the Bering Sea, food webs, and the ocean ecosystem are introduced with a map activity. The lesson starts as kids explore maps and images of the Bering Sea, then it kicks into high gear as they start to discuss the types of...
Baylor College
Needs of Plants
What better way to learn about plant life than by creating a class garden? Young botanists start with a brief discussion about radishes before planting seeds and watching them grow. To determine the importance of water,...
Batesville Community School Corporation
Electrostatics Presentation
Energize young scientists with this introductory presentation on the electromagnetic force. From learning about basic topics like protons and electrons, to more in-depth concepts like Coulomb's law and electric dipoles, physics...
Cornell University
Let’s Raise Lacewings
Young entomologists explored beneficial insects and how they help control pests in the first lesson of the series. Now class members take a close look at the lacewing, which is a beneficial insect.
University of Washington
The Carbon Cycle
When it comes to the carbon cycle, the sky really is the limit. The instructional activity begins with observing a closed ecosystem in a bottle. Then, scholars discuss and answer questions on the carbon dioxide and oxygen cycles.
Polar Trec
Polar Detectives: Using Ice Core Data to Decode Past Climate Mysteries
How does examining an ice core tell us about weather? Learners set up and explore fake ice cores made of sugar, salt, and ash to represent historical snowfall and volcanic eruptions. From their setups, scholars determine what caused the...
National Institute of Open Schooling
p-Block Elements and Their Compounds – I
Lesson 21 in a series of 36 specifically focuses on elements and their compounds from groups 13, 14, and 15 on the periodic table — including boron, carbon, aluminum, silicon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Classes learn how some of these...