Curated OER
Animals of the Lost City
Begin with a demonstration of exothermic reactions and discussion of chemosynthesis. Your aspiring oceanographers research vent communities and then craft a mural of a vent community. This is a terrific method of introducing learners to...
Curated OER
Design a Reef!
Using a miniature coral reef aquarium kit, young ecologists model this unique ecosystem. They research various coral reef organisms and their niches, and they culminate the project by working together to write a report. Use this activity...
Curated OER
The History of Life on Earth
Using meters as years, your class works together to map out the geologic time scale on a football field. Plenty of background information is included in this lesson plan as well as several resource links and a student worksheet. Your...
Teach Engineering
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
The capstone lesson in a 14-part series focuses on the basics of magnetic resonance imaging and the hardware of the machines. Pupils use this information and the material learned throughout the unit to develop a presentation on...
Center Science Education
The Nitrogen Cycle Game
Earth science experts learn about the roles of nitrogen by taking a virtual journey through the nitrogen cycle. Completing a passport worksheet along the way, they move from place to place around the classroom by the toss of dice. Each...
Discovery Education
Jets in Flight
This Discovery Education activity provides the information needed to understand the basics of flight. Before taking off, young pilots learn the eight stages of the engineering design process. Small groups then design and build...
NOAA
A Quest for Anomalies
Sometimes scientists learn more from unexpected findings than from routine analysis! Junior oceanographers dive deep to explore hydrothermal vent communities in the fourth lesson plan in a series of five. Scholars examine data and look...
NOAA
Through Robot Eyes
How do robots assist ocean explorers in collecting data and images? The final installment in a five-part series has science scholars examine underwater images collected by robots and identify the organisms shown. Groups then calculate...
Space Awareness
Meet Our Neighbors: Sun
The sun isn't just a ball of yellow! Young scientists learn about the features of the sun using a hands-on modeling activity. They build models of the sun using common household items to represent sunspots, solar prominence, and the...
Curated OER
Water Quality and Environmental Pollution
Learners use litmus paper to begin to discover the qualities of acids and bases. They learn about pH by testing clear liquids for acidity with purple cabbage juice as an indicator. The video Streamkeeper, with Bill Nye, and other video...
Teach Engineering
Food Chains and Food Webs - Balance within Natural Systems
Feast on an informative resource. Scholars learn about food chains and food webs and how these interactions give information about the natural community. A PowerPoint presentation provides information about this concept.
Curated OER
Call to Arms: Robotic Analogues for Human Structures
Investigate deep sea discovery through the emerging technology being built. In this physical science instructional activity, students analyze the different types of motion available in the human arm. Students research...
Space Awareness
A View From Above
Analyzing and interpreting satellite data takes knowledge and patience. Through a detailed lab investigation, young scholars learn the process of analyzing this data. They use technology to create color images and maps from real...
NOAA
The Methane Circus
Step right up! An engaging research-centered lesson, the third in a series of six, has young archaeologists study the amazing animals of the Cambrian explosion. Working in groups, they profile a breathtaking and odd creature and learn...
NOAA
Where Have All the Glaciers Gone?
What happens when ice melts? Well ... water happens. When that melting ice is a glacier, the amount of water that results produces change throughout the world. Middle school science sleuths uncover the truth about global...
Florida International University
Design Your Own
Apply scientific principles to designing an experiment to study organisms living on the coral reef in our oceans. Through reading, individuals learn about the coral reef ecosystem and important factors that affect its function....
University of Minnesota
Beautiful Brain: Brain Inspiration
"Neuroscientists consider Cajal as important to their discipline as Einstein is to physics." The first of four lessons has scholars view Santiago Ramon y Cajal's drawings of neurons. They reflect and respond to the art through writing...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Ebola: Disease Detectives
How did the Ebola virus first infect humans? Young virologists examine genetic sequences from the 2014 Sierra Leone outbreak to find similarities during a riveting activity. Following similar methods used by MIT and Harvard, partners...
Curated OER
Student Cancer Journals -- Personal Reflections and Research on Life and Death Issues
Concepts learned in the study of mitosisand biochemistry help when making life or death decisions. Compile a notebook or portfolio of work related to the project can make the research more organized and relevant.
Curated OER
Bubble and Boyle
Middle-schoolers still enjoy playing with bubbles! In this series of eight laboratory activities, science learners explore convex and concave surfaces, angles, gas laws, buoyancy, density and more!
Teach Engineering
Kidney Stone Crystallization
No one likes kidney stones, but they are very interesting to learn about. The last installment of a three-part unit has learners experiment with different chemicals to see which one inhibits the growth of calcium oxalate crystals (which...
NOAA
Invent a Robot!
Wait til your class gets their hands on this! Aspiring engineers design a working robotic arm in the fifth and final installment in a series of ocean exploration lessons. Pupils learn about the use of underwater robots in ocean...
Curated OER
Faking It
Middle school earth scientists describe the behavior of the Coriolis force. They compare and contrast conditions under which the Coriolis force has a significant impact with conditions under which it has very little. They model the...
Curated OER
Let's go to the Video Tape!
Using actual data from a deep-sea video survey, high school marine biologists consider the biodiversity, compare species richness between two communities, and learn to calculate the diversity index. The lesson plan is all-inclusive,...