Captain Planet Foundation
Solar Cooking Race
Study heat transfer with activities that focus on how heat energy works. Using a solar cooker, ice cubes, and heat transfer bracelets, kids experiment and record what they find by keeping ice cubes cold and vegetables hot.
Norwich Institute for Language Education
Simple Machines
Planning a unit on simple machines? Save some time and energy with this collection of lessons and activities that explores how these devices are used in the real world to make life a little easier.
Community Resources for Science
A Whole New World of DNA and Proteins
Lead your young scientists into an exciting world as they participate in a role play and experiment focused on proteins and DNA. After researching the Central Dogma of Biology, individuals or groups participate in a classroom...
Columbus City Schools
Get Your Organisms Organized
From large to small, show your class how to organize them all! Included within the guide is everything you need to take their knowledge of classification from the cellular to the species level. The worksheets focus on...
American Chemical Society
Energy Foundations
Only 10 percent of an incandescent bulb's energy is used to create light; the remaining 90 percent is heat. In the unit of activities, young chemists examine energy through hands-on activities, videos, discussions, and...
Intel
Forensics: Get a Clue
Although the methods are all scientific, forensic science was started by police officers rather than scientists, who relied on observation and common sense. Young detectives use many tools to solve crimes around the school in a...
NASA
Food For Thought
Science can be quite tasty. A delectable unit from NASA shows learners why it's important to consider food, nutrition, and health in space. Four lessons explore the idea in great depth, including testing cookie recipes. Along the way,...
Curated OER
Ladybugs, Ladybugs, Ladybugs
Those lovely ladybugs are so cute, and so very useful! Use a short unit to explore insect anatomy, the ladybug life cycle, and the help ladybugs provide organic farmers. The unit is comprised of four short thirty-minute lesson plans that...
Center for Literacy and Disability Studies
Activities to Support Teaching the Alphabet
Whether or not your class includes kids with significant disabilities, teaching the alphabet to emergent readers and writers can be a challenge. Here's an activity packet designed for all learners.
American Chemical Society
Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons
Atomic bombs harness the power in the nucleus of an atom, creating devastating power and damage. Classes review parts of an atom by charging a piece of plastic and holding it near their fingers, discussing what is happening and why....
American Chemical Society
Surface Tension
A drop of dew holds a sphere shape even when sitting on a seat thanks to the surface tension of water. Learners observe the phenomena of surface tension in water. Through demonstrations, hands-on activities, and discussions they explore...
Curated OER
Maine Black Bear Research and Field Study Activity
Students participate in a field study of Maine Black Bears. They first do academic research on the Maine Black Bear. Following extensive research and discussion, students go out into the field with Maine State Biologist to observe bears...
Pingry School
Comparing Activities of Selected Metals
Don't overreact! A simple experiment demonstrates chemical reactions as scholars mix chemical solutions and metals in a large well plate. They note all changes to the metals, solutions, precipitate, colors, and more. A full data table...
Science Education Resource Center
Compare and Contrast deciduous and evergreen tree leaves to aid in tree identification
Boost observational skills and get to know the difference between deciduous, coniferous, and evergreen trees with a lesson that challenges scholars to compare, contrast, identify, sort, and draw their findings.
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Utah Open Textbook: 4th Grade Science
How does weather affect Earth? Learners understand the characteristics of water and make predictions about weather patterns. They recognize how water and weather affect rocks and minerals through erosion. They also learn about fossils...
DocsTeach
Environmental Case Study: Hetch Hetchy Valley
What is more important: building a new school or preserving a nature reserve? Keeping a natural area clean or providing clean drinking water to a city of millions? Young scholars weigh these questions—almost literally—using an...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Is Measuring an Art or a Science?
Not only do future engineers learn the difference between accuracy and precision, they also get some hands-on experience using different measuring tools.
Project WET Foundation
The Blue Planet
What a neat interactive that interacts with the amount of water on Earth's surface. It begins with a brief audio introduction of the Blue Planet and how it got its name. Then, users click on the activity to play a game...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Utah Open Textbook: 5th Grade Science
How do Earth's changes affect humans? Pupils learn about physical and chemical changes on Earth and how they lead to erosion, earthquakes, and volcanoes. Using the text, they also explore the concepts of electricity and magnetism by...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Utah Open Textbook: 3rd Grade Science
How do we interact with Earth? Scholars learn about the sun, Earth, moon, forces, gravity, and heat sources by reading a text and performing hands-on demonstrations. They also differentiate between living and non-living things using...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Meta-Study: Political Brains
Are there differences in the brains of liberals and conservatives? That is the question young political scientists are challenged to answer. Class members examine studies, consider how the results are presented, and how the studies were...
Curated OER
Creating a Science Fiction Story
As the culminating activity in a unit study of science fiction, young writers demonstrate their understanding of the genre by producing their own graphic novel. After deciding on the main elements of their story, individuals use a comic...
Curated OER
Is That Legal? A Case of Acid Rain
Develop an environmental case study! Elementary learners discover how a case study is used as an analysis tool. The goal of this activity is to show pupils how techniques of persuasion (including background, supporting evidence,...
Virginia Department of Education
The Rate of a Chemical Reaction
If your pupils think a catalyst is a list of their cats, then this might be the lesson for you! Young chemists study the effect of temperature, catalysts, concentration, and particle size on reaction rates during four different...