Agriculture in the Classroom
"Steer" Toward STEM: Careers in Animal Agriculture
Think like an engineer and an agricultural scientist over the course of 12 lessons in a STEM based unit. Young scientists take on the roles of animal physiologists, animal geneticists, agricultural engineers, animal nutritionists,...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Biomimicry in Engineering
Take a look with your class at how nature supplies inspiration to engineers. In cooperative groups, youngsters research biomimicry and then develop a system that would help support people living on the moon. Each team also considers...
Messenger Education
Exploring Exploring
The reason people first began trading was because of their desires for objects other societies possessed. In the activity, classes discuss why exploration has been a common thread in all societies and where these desires have taken...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Can You Canoe?
A neat handout immerses learners in the history of canoe making. After reading, small groups of mini engineers work to craft a canoe that will not be immersed! This is an ideal exercise in engineering design for your STEM curriculum or...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
How Novel Icefish Genes Can Improve Human Health
Designed to accompany the 13-minute video The Making of the Fittest: The Birth and Death of Genes, this handout serves as both a viewing guide during the video and an analysis of how the adaptations of the icefish might help treat...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Making of the Fittest: The Birth and Death of Genes
Adaptations must be made as environments change. This fabulous presentation features Icelandic icefish, a transparent, scaleless specimen that even has colorless blood. Genetics and adaptations concepts are explored as scientists study...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Got Lactase? The Co-Evolution of Genes and Culture
Does the human body evolve as quickly as human culture? With a stellar 15-minute video, explore the trait of lactose intolerance. Only about 1/3 of human adults seem to still have the enzyme lactase and therefore, the ability to digest...
Curated OER
Let's Heat Things Up!
Students build and evaluate simple models to understand the greenhouse effect. They explore the role of increased greenhouse gas concentration in global warming, and the implications of global warming theory for engineers, themselves...
Curated OER
What's Air Got to Do with It?
Students use M&M's to create a pie graph that expresses their understanding of the composition of air. They watch and conduct several simple experiments to develop an understanding of the properties of air (it has mass, it takes up...
Curated OER
Reading Check List: How many things can you read?
Diversify your young readers' at-home reading habits with this activity. This handout consists of a list of 24 different types of reading materials from newspapers and how-to books to science fiction and poetry. The goal is for learners...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Patterns in the Distribution of Lactase Persistence
We all drink milk as babies, so why can't we all drink it as adults? Examine the trend in lactase production on the world-wide scale as science scholars analyze and interpret data. Groups create pie charts from the data, place them on a...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Lactose Intolerance: Fact or Fiction
Around the world, about 2/3 of adult humans are lactose intolerant. Scholars work in small groups to discuss a few statements about lactose intolerance. Then, they watch a video on the topic and readdress each statement. Whole-class...
Curated OER
Poetry Through Digital Storytelling
Bring digital storytelling to your language arts class! To begin, learners select their own topic, such as a poem that reflects a life experience they had or a historical figure who interests them. Then they work to create a storyboard...
Discovery Education
Fuss About Dust
Dust is everywhere around us; it's unavoidable. But what exactly is dust and are certain locations dustier than others? These are the questions students try to answer in an interesting scientific investigation. Working independently or...
Curriculum Corner
Coniferous and Deciduous Trees
What are the differences between coniferous and deciduous trees? Supplement your tree lessons with a set of activities that has learners describing, naming, comparing, and reading about deciduous and coniferous trees. The activities are...
Curated OER
Creating Classroom Rules
Perfect for establishing classroom protocols, this activity gets even the youngest learners thinking about rules and their consequences. The instructional activity begins with a discussion and a reading of the poem Humpty...
Curated OER
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Students explore the 5 themes of geography. For this cross curriculum literacy and geography lesson, students listen to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett, and make a list of the needs of the people in Chewandswallow....
Concordia University Chicago
Paris Street; Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte
Discuss the balance, color, emotion, and context of the painting Paris Street; Rainy Day by Caillebotte. After a deep discussion, let creativity run free in your class as learners create a dimensional piece that reflects a...
Curated OER
Christopher Columbus: The Man, the Myth, the Legend
Learn more about maps by examining Christopher Columbus's voyage to the New World. Kindergartners will learn about basic map skills and how to identify the compass rose, oceans, and land masses. They will also discover the purpose of...
Film Foundation
The Day The Earth Stood Still: The Filmmaking Process
How are films made? As part of their study of film, middle schoolers investigate the pre-production, production, and post-production process and consider the role of the director, the screenwriter, production designer, cinematographer,...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Can You Copperplate?
Introduce emerging engineers to the process of metal plating. This resource provides background reading on chemical engineering, plating, and corrosion. It concludes with a copper plating activity. The standards alignment list includes...
Concordia University Chicago
Tahitian Landscape by Paul Gauguin
Get ready to explore the piece Tahitian Landscape with your seventh graders. They discuss the primitive style, bright colors, and impressionism found in the work, as well as biographical information regarding Gauguin's life. There are...
Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Investigation: Splitting Atoms
In a simple activity, physical scientists model nuclear fission using a droplet of oil. This can be used alone in a unit on different types of energy, or as part of the energy conservation unit produced by the Texas State Energy...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Pendulum Time
Take your time with this lesson. Junior engineers read about different types of clocks and then work together to build a pendulum time-keeper. There are no hints as to how they might go about accomplishing this complex task, so you may...