Teach Engineering
Pushing it Off a Cliff
Focus on the conservation of energy, specifically looking at gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy, with a lecture that involves having friends throw light objects at each other to determine which has more kinetic energy and...
Curated OER
Motions and Forces
Pupils explore motions, forces and magnetism. They investigate magnetism as a force and examine the construction of a magnet. Students examine the force that magnetism produces.
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Newton's Laws of Motion
Sixth graders explore Newton's laws of motion with their own bodies. In this relative motion lesson students will use a wide range of materials bringing them from the concrete to the abstract on video. Students will draw inferences about...
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Simple Harmonic Motion
Learners explore the theory of simple harmonic motion (SHM) by performing hands-on, practical application experiments. In this harmonic motion lesson plan, students use strings of various lengths and bobs of different weights to create a...
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Newton's Third Law of Motion
Students move through five stations demonstrating Newton's Third Law of Motion. In this Newtonian physics lesson, students watch as the instructor uses a firecracker to demonstrate action and reaction. The students travel to five...
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Momentum and Conservation of Momentum
In this momentum activity, students review the equation to solve for momentum and the Law of Conservation of Momentum. Students complete 8 matching, 6 fill in the blank, and 8 problems to solve.
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Energy: Light -- Spinning Color Wheel
Second graders make spinning color wheels to determine how energy effects what colors look like. They paint or color a color wheel with the seven colors of the spectrum. Next, the spin the wheel to determine what happens. In order to...
California Academy of Science
Energy: A Day in My Life
If only we could harness the energy of fifth graders, our energy problems would be over! The class discusses where different forms of energy come from and how we use them. They complete a chart of the activities that they do daily...
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Harnessing Solar Energy
Young scholars discover the properties of light (radiant) energy from the sun by experimenting with solar collectors, cookers, and calculators. After a lecture/demo, students create their own solar collectors and test their efficiency.
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Science
Third graders study light and shadow, participate in mirror activities, and build a periscope.
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What things let Light Pass Through?
Second graders classify objects according to how well light can pass through them and predict how well objects will transmit light. They experiment with objects to verify predictions while collecting, recording, and interpreting data...
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How Do The Colors of Light Mix?
Students investigate the mixing of light. They form a hypotheses to reason why color changes occur and they write conclusions and ask new questions arising from the investigation. Students identify the primary and complementary colors of...
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Polarized Light
Pupils study polarized light and explain how they know it is polarized. In this polarized light lesson students complete a lab that shows them how light can be polarized.
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Energy At Play
If you can find Tinker Toys™, then this may be a fun assignment for your physical science class. Using the construction set and a few other toys, they examine the forces involved when it they are being played with. For each, they...
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Melting the Ice: Energy Transfer
Students study thermal energy and energy transfer to sea ice processes. In this energy transfer lesson, students make their own ice cream and discuss energy transfer and thermal energy. Students view a radiation overhead and its role in...
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Unraveling the Mysteries of Objects in Space
Students study emitted and absorbed light, and label each type of spectrum. They identify elements by their spectral signatures and use a spectroscope.
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Demonstrating Moon Phases
Third graders participate in a demonstration of the moon's phases. In this moon phase lesson, 3rd graders watch as the teacher demonstrates moon phases with a bright light and a Styrofoam ball. They answer questions associated with the...
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Forces in Action
Second graders experiment to understand how force is effected by friction. In this forces in action lesson plan, 2nd graders view a website to simulate what happens when the height of a ramp is changed. Students participate in an...
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Help Wanted: A Lighting Engineer For Popular Rock Group
Students are assigned to groups, and determine each member's role in the group. They will design an experiment to determine a way to produce the three primary and five secondary colors. Students discuss color and mood. They listen to a...
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Keep It Hot
Young scholars design and conduct an experiment to explore the insulating abilities of different materials for keeping a liquid in a paper cup warm. A small group of lab partners test four different materials: black paper, white paper,...
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Who Turned on the Lights?
Seventh graders discuss how energy is transformed from one form to another. In this physics lesson, 7th graders design and build their own hydro generator. They identify the factors that affect its energy production.
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Sky and Cloud Windows
Young scholars monitor the weather, clouds, and sky. In this weather lesson, students create a sky and cloud window to focus their sky observations. They write observations in a notebook and include the date, time, cloud cover, types of...
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The Wonderful World of Waves (Wave Basics)
Students define amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and period, calculate period given frequency, and calculate frequency given period, define crest and trough and locate both on diagram of wave, differentiate between latitudinal and...
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The History and Nature of Science
Use children's literature, coupled with hands on lessons, to teach the history and nature of science.