El Nino, La Nina ... and the Santa Maria? The 11th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program explains the mechanism of El Nino/Southern Oscillation. Pupils use previous data to determine...

Caterpillars have an amazing, yet tough job to perform in their short lives — eat much, avoid predators, and try not to let all those comments about being the unattractive stage of the life cycle get to them. How do they handle it all?...

Pupils record temperatures at different locations around campus. They examine the results and draw conclusions about how materials and colors affect the amount of heat produced. They also analyze Los Angeles' temperature records over a...

Can a small change in laboratory procedures save energy? Scholars test three different methods for heating water in a science lab. Then, they calculate the energy efficiency for each and compare them to determine which uses the least...

A well-designed instructional activity on the life cycle of the butterfly is here for you. In it, young scientists spend 45 minutes a day, for one school week, engaged in their study. They take nature walks, participate in activities in...

Bring this lesson on hubris to your short story unit. After reading Jack London's "To Build a Fire," young readers discuss the role of hubris in the protagonist's death. The lesson has connections to other short stories, such as "The...

Geology geniuses analyze sediment samples with a hand lens and sort according to physical characteristics. They also learn about the processes of cementation, compaction, and lithification within the rock cycle. The lesson plan is...

Students determine what plasma is and why the sun is made up of plasma. They recognize situations where plasmas are found in nature and made by man. They discuss why the sun is a huge ball of plasma and if there are different levels of...

Linear perspective, estuaries, and water ways converge in a science-inspired art project. The class uses what they've learned about eco-systems, estuaries, and the food chain to create scale models of a local marsh. While the...

Do you want a creative and fun way to teach about natural selection? Hop to it by turning your middle school princes and princesses into frogs trying to catch as many bugs as possible in a Hungry Hungry Hippos style game. For high...

If you want scholars to fall in love with bees, this is the unit for you! Celebrate bees with a full week of material—designed for the Next Generation Science Standards—that addresses the importance of pollination and fertilization....

Radioactive pollutants can enter the body through ingestion, inhalation, absorption, or injection. The last lesson in a series of 36 introduces pupils to radioactive pollution. They study its sources, both natural and man-made, its...

Future scientists are introduced to the chemical consequences of burning fossil fuels, learning that fossil fuel combustion leads to the formation of oxides of three nonmetals: carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur, all of which end up in the...

This lesson is preparation-intensive, but well worth the investment. You will construct five or six portable testing stations with which lab groups will gather data on the best position for collecting sunlight with a solar panel. This is...

Given specific materials, scholars follow a set of instructions to build and calibrate their very own spectroscopes. After construction, they test the scope for accuracy and make modifications where necessary.

Students are able to describe the principles of gravity. They name other places in the real world where we compensate for gravity. Students design a shock absorber with limited materials and explain how it works to protect an egg. They...

Consider our energy sources: wood, coal, oil, uranium. Learners compare the pollution to energy produced for each. They practice fractional distillation of an alcohol/water mixture to simulate the process of refining crude oil....

Fifteen terms pertaining to speciation, extinction, and gene flow are to be matched to their definitions. This simple, easy-to-read learning exercise can be used as a pop quiz for your biology learners when studying natural selection...

Juvenile geologists drill clear plastic straws down into a playdough sedimentary rock model, pulling out sample rock cores. As they analyze their cores, they apply the law of superposition and discover that originally horizontal layers...

Three activities allow young flight engineers to understand the 4 principles of flight (weight, lift, thrust, and drag), to construct a glider, and to create a propeller. Multicultural history and literature are integrated by reading...

This PowerPoint is a comprehensive review of all the facts related to an atom's basic structure and function. What makes this unique is that it is geared toward an audience of junior geologists. After introducing the periodic table of...

You don't have to travel far to learn about rocks, just step outside, pick up a stone, and begin investigating. After taking a class walk around the school grounds collecting rocks, young scientists practice their skills of observation...

Do you know the name for the biological study of interactions? A short presentation with accompanying worksheet introduces individuals to ecology. The materials offer a broad overview of the subject and the levels of organization to...

Take your class on a nature walk around the school and have children assume the role of "Plant Hunter" as they go. The goal is to explore the different parts of a plant. They return to the classroom to discuss the parts that they saw and...