Curated OER
Temperature School
Students observ the cooling and warming of room temperature, hot, and ice cold cans of water by measuring the change in temperature over time. They then attempt to develop explanations for the observations made and apply their findings...
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Making A Compass
This interesting science lesson is about the compass. Students make a compass out of a magnet, sewing needle, cork, and a glass dish. The lesson includes both a pre and post-test for the students to take, and some very good links to...
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Ice Cream Chemical and Physical Changes
Fourth graders identify characteristics of a simple physical and chemical change. They describe objects by the properties of the materials from which they are made and that these properties can be used separate. Students describe the...
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Dendrology Scavenger Hunt
Students examine leaves that are assigned to them. In this earth science activity students work in groups and find examples of leaves that the instructor asks for.
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We All Need Trees
Students complete a guessing game. In this tree products instructional activity, students view various household items and try to determine if they were made from trees. They discuss their findings and then read books about trees.
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Rising Waters
Fourth graders rank balls by size from smallest to largest and from lightest to heaviest and then by how much they made the water rise. They then discuss why certain balls make the water rise higher than do other balls.
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Making Marbles
Students perform a simulation in which they work for a toy company and have to figure out how many marbles of different sizes can be made with the provided material. They must design their own experiment to figure this out.
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Balls and Ramp
Students role several balls of different weights down a ramp and into a paper cup and record how far each ball made the paper cup move. They then answer questions that help them analyze their results and reinforce the idea that energy...
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Strong as Newspaper
Students explore architecture. In this science lesson, students build a structure from newspaper. Students place weight on the structure to measure how strong the structure is.
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Energy Conversion
Sixth graders study energy conversions. They watch a demonstration of a working engine and make a chart explaining the energy conversions taking place. They build a simple electric motor and research other types of electric generators.
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Wheels, Gears, and Compound Machines
Fifth graders read selected pages from their science text and explain forces affected by wheels and axles. They read and discover that gears transfer forces and that gear combinations relate to compound machines.
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Introduction To Fractals: an Inquiry
Students evaluate a playful case study about a dog searching for fetching sticks to identify the steps in the science inquiry method. They read the case study and fill in a worksheet with the examples of questions, observations and...
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Model Construction
In this lesson plan, students explore shapes and forms in architecture. Students understand that the function of architecture influences its form as well as construst a simple architectural model. As an assessment, have students with a...
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What's In The Forest?
Students examine forest food chains and create a forest habitat in the classroom. They are introduced to the concept of interdependence in Nature. They define a simple forest food chain and develop inquiry process skills.
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Basic Circuits
Middle schoolers explain the difference between a closed circuit and an open circuit. They construct simple to more complicated series and parallel circuits. They explain the difference between a series and parallel circuit.
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The Amazing Starfish
Students study starfish. In this biology lesson plan, students learn the simple but complex characteristics of an echinoderm.
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Electrical Circuits
In this electrical circuits worksheet, students read a text and examine a diagram to learn the parts of a simple electric circuit. Students then answer 6 questions about electrical circuits. This is an online interactive worksheet.
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Agriculture in Motion
Youngsters learn about simple machines that could be used on a farm. They learn about agricluture, listen to a farmer speak, compare and contrast different farm machines, and then design their own. Note that although the publisher...
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Guess What I Came From
First graders examine items made from plants. In this plant instructional activity, 1st graders read Plants Feed on Sunlight and view a PowerPoint presentation regarding plant growth. Students examine products that are made from plants...
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So Many Inventions!
Students listen to a teacher read aloud of two books about Chinese inventions. They examine some items that were invented by Chinese inventors such as dominoes, an abacus, a silk scarf, or kite. Next, they determine how a compass works...
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Vitamin C Testing
Students determine which of three beverage samples contains the most vitamin C. They then apply their knowledge to an additional situation. Students use beverages that have a large, definite difference of vitamin C content to...
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Enzyme Grabbers
Students perform simple experiments to show properties of enzymes through studying how apple sauce can turn into apple juice and experimenting with papaya seeds. Students witness how enzymes speed up reactions through witnessing the...
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Habitat Preservation Project
Students demonstrate what happens when nature takes back land after humans have managed it. They find an area in the schoolyard, and mark it off with a boundary. Students build a simple fence with string and stakes. They put up a sign...
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Radio Astronomy and Radio Telescope
Students construct a simple radio telescope. In this astronomy lesson, students explain how this telescope works and what information it collects.