National Geographic
Battery Lesson Plan
Not really just a lesson plan, but a series of activities, reading handouts, and teacher's guidelines for conducting a class mini unit on the battery. Physical scientists focus on the history of the cell battery, experiment with...
Scholastic
Lesson Four: The Earth, Layers of Earth
Get your hands dirty with a set of earth science activities! Class members delve into a hard-boiled egg to find the similarities to the earth's layers, create a papier-mâché model of the earth, craft a simulation of the earth's...
University of Wisconsin
Infiltration Test: Exploring the Flow of Water Through Soils
Soil scientists gain experience with an infiltrometer can to determine the infiltration rates at different locations on campus. If you are using the entire unit, the class has already analyzed water flow and soil types, so they should...
Science Matters
Electromagnets
Classes are sure to get all wrapped up in an attractive instructional activity! Young scientists learn how to combine electricity and magnetism as they create electromagnets. They create their own electromagnets and collect data on...
Gears Educational System
Battery Basics
In a series of activities, high schoolers research and compare batteries of different chemistries (such as nickel-cadmium), measure current and voltage, and use multimeters and math to compute their capacities. In the end, they try to...
Curated OER
Sciences Working Together
Students research articles about science technology and society. In this science and technology lesson, students answer questions about an article they chose. They share what they learned with their peers.
Curated OER
Science Fiction
Students complete compare and contrast activities for two stories about racism and tolerance in the science fiction genre. For this literary analysis lesson, students read a Ray Bradbury short story and Walter Mosley poem, watch a...
Curated OER
Seed Germination
Young scholars germinate a Mung Bean seed. In this seed lesson students conduct an experiment germinating a Mung Bean. They apply three different treatments to the seeds: dry, moist, and underwater incubation.
Curated OER
The Immigrant Experience in America
Students explore immigration in the United States. In this immigration lesson, students read about Ellis Island and tenement houses as they conduct research regarding the topic in order to write an essay.
Foundation for Water & Energy Education
How Can Work Be Done with Water Power? Activity A
Environmentally friendly engineering teams construct a water wheel and experiment with its speed and the resulting amount of weight it can lift. Consider following this activity with two more of the same title by the same publisher when...
Curated OER
Exploring the Hudson in 1609
While this instructional activity focuses on a study of the Hudson River, it could be used as a template for a discussion of map skills, converting measurements, and plotting a route. The instructional activity includes vocabulary and...
Baylor College
There's Something in the Air
Clever! In order to compare indoor and outdoor dispersal rates for the movement of gases and particles through air, collaborators will participate in a classroom experiment. Set up a circular grid and set students on lines that are...
Baylor College
How Can We Find Out What Is in Water?
Using paper chromatography, water watchers discover that several substances might be dissolved even though they aren't visible. For this case, you will prepare a mixture of three different food colorings for them to experiment with. A...
Baylor College
What Dissolves in Water?
One of water's claims to fame is as the universal solvent. Young physical scientists experiment to discover which materials dissolve in this special compound. You could never be more prepared for teaching this lesson than by using this...
Curated OER
Hawaii's Sandy Shores
Investigate Hawaii's sandy shore ecosystem! Start by creating a vocabulary list and having your class complete a KWL chart. Next, pass out the "I think of" sheet. Each learner will then choose a word from a beach bucket and add it to...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Sea Level: On the Rise
With the global temperature on the rise, the effects of climate change are starting to be seen. However, many people have a difficult time conceptualizing the long-term effects, such as sea levels rising. Given an easy and effective...
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Getting Ready for the All American Eclipse!
Give your pupils a front row seat at the biggest light show in the sky this year! In addition to admiring the total solar eclipse, young astronomers can explain the phenomenon with a little help from an inquiry-based instructional...
Center Science Education
Plugged In To CO2
Watt is going on here? Middle schoolers are learning about energy use and carbon dioxide emissions! In the first part of this lesson, learners measure how much energy different appliances consume and calculate the amount per day. In...
Curated OER
Evidence Revealing the Composition of the Atom
Investigators use indirect evidence to guess what is occupying a sealed box. You could also use a set of plastic Easter eggs to encase the unknown items. Another terrific activity involves having learners drop a pencil on a sheet of...
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Conservation: Water
Here is a fantastic experiment-based instructional activity on water conservation, waste, and filtration. The lesson plan is well-developed and provides background information, discussion leads, and six scripted lab activities anyone can...
Curated OER
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Wow! Here is a most-impressive series of lessons and activities that revolve around the classic story, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The purpose of the lessons are to provide an agricultural theme in the reading, writing, and science...
McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center
Global Warming in a Jar
This well-organized lab activity introduces earth science pupils to the greenhouse effect. They will set up two experiments to monitor temperatures in an open jar, a closed jar, and a closed jar containing water. Ideally, you would have...
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...
Curated OER
Evolution and the Fossil Record
Engage young biologists with four laboratory activities that explore the fossil record. Learners examine fossil images, a fossil kit, the rock record, and geologic time scale. They even experiment with the oxygen production of an Elodea...