Unit Plan
Texas Education Agency

Texas Gateway: Physics: The Scientific Methods

For Students 10th - 12th
By the end of this section, you will be able to explain how the methods of science are used to make scientific discoveries; define a scientific model and describe examples of physical and mathematical models used in physics; and compare...
Handout
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Eureka Alert: Fear of 'Foreigners' May Slow Scientific Progress

For Students 9th - 10th
Science is a very important part of social progress. But since 9/11, foreign students, many of whom study science and technology in the United States, have had more difficult times of obtaining and renewing visas. This could lead to a...
Activity
University of Oxford (UK)

The History of Scientific Instruments Used in Europe

For Students 9th - 10th
Medieval and Renaissance-era scientific instruments are catalogued and displayed. Find references to the makers of the instruments and the ways the tools were once used.
Primary
Harvard University

Open Collections Program: Expeditions and Discoveries: Modern Age

For Students 9th - 10th
An inclusive collection of maps, field notes, photos and letters of Harvard sponsored explorations and discoveries during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Lesson Plan
BioEd Online

Bio Ed Online: The Science of Microbes: Milestones in Microbiology

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners read about six important discoveries in microbiology and put them on a timeline. They develop an understanding of how these discoveries connect to the invention of new scientific tools and technology. The instructional activity...
Unit Plan
Vision Learning

Visionlearning: Culture of Science: Scientists and the Scientific Community

For Students 9th - 10th
A look at the human side of science. Take a look at how background and motivation can lead to different perspectives, discoveries, and progress in science.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Lewis & Clark: Journey of the Corps of Discovery

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Go directly to the classroom resources developed in conjunction with the four-part PBS documentary "Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery." Find 17 lesson plans and activities that comprise a multidisciplinary unit on...
Website
Other

Canal Kids: Grandes Ingenerates (Big Inventions)

For Students Pre-K - 1st
An exploration of four defining scientific inventions/discoveries of recent history: plastic, laser technology, electricity, and bar codes. The history and development of these technologies, along with examples of their application and...
Lesson Plan
Discovery Education

Discovery Education: Creatures of the Skies

For Teachers 6th - 8th
This lesson plan explores the scientific and common names of birds, how birds can be identified into a "type" by their size and shape, and how each type of bird has certain physical and behavioral characteristics.
Website
Discovery Education

Discovery Education: Science Fair Central: Choose a Project Type Investigation

For Students 3rd - 8th
Discover how to approach a scientific question, and learn eight steps students will perform in doing so. Offers suggestions on how to ask a testable question as well as several examples.
Activity
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: The Discovery of Neptune [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
The scientific history behind the discovery of the planet Neptune.
Unit Plan
NASA

Dawn Mission: Dawn Classrooms: The History and Discovery of Asteroids

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Student groups explore scientific breakthroughs and the development of technologies that eventually led to asteroid discovery aboard the Dawn space mission. Learning module components include jigsaw reading, model building, math...
Website
NASA

Nasa: Discovery Mission: Messenger

For Students 9th - 10th
The MESSENGER (MErcury: Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) mission is a scientific investigation of the planet Mercury. This site provides information about its mission objectives and management.
Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: Curiosity, Discovery and Gecko Feet

For Students 9th - 10th
Robert Full suggests the possibility of finding world-changing results with less formulaic approaches than the scientific method. In his TEDYouth Talk, Full describes the unlikely way he studied gecko's feet and how these beneficial...
Article
Other

Ancient History: 10 Ancient Greek Inventions and Discoveries Still Used Today

For Students 9th - 10th
Ten of the important inventions and innovations of the ancient Greeks are described. These include the water mill, the odometer, alarm clocks, cartography, the Olympics, geometry, Hippocratic medicine, philosophy, democracy, and...
Article
University of Michigan

University of Michigan: Proprietary Rights/norms of Science in Biotech Research

For Students 9th - 10th
This article examines how the commercialization of scientific discoveries leads to conflict between proprietary rights to intellectual property, trade secrecy, and the maintenance of scientific norms. The first two inhibit the...
Website
Nobel Media AB

The Nobel Prize: The Nobel Prize in Physics 1938

For Students 9th - 10th
At this site from The Nobel Foundation, read about the life and scientific discoveries of physicist Enrico Fermi (1901-1954), whose work with radiation and "discovery of nuclear reactions brought about by slow neutrons" earned him the...
Article
Seeker

Seeker: Week of 10 28 13: Scorpion Eating Mice Feel No Sting

For Students 6th - 8th
Article reports on the scientific discovery that the venom of a scorpion has an unusual reaction in grasshopper mice, actually blocking the mouse from feeling pain instead of inducing it.
Article
Seeker

Seeker: Week of 3 10 14: Fingerprinting Clouds

For Students 9th - 10th
Scientist have recently discovered that clouds possess far more unique traits than just their shapes. Read about the scientific discovery that at least some clouds contain biological particles that can be analyzed to show where the cloud...
Article
Scientific American

Scientific American: Oldest Member of the Human Family

For Students 9th - 10th
This article, published by Scientific American (July 11, 2002), highlights the discovery of a nearly complete skull of the oldest and most primitive member of the human family known yet. This fossil, found in central Africa, contains a...
Handout
CPALMS

Florida State University Cpalms: Florida Students: Scientific Knowledge Changes

For Students 9th - 10th
A slideshow tutorial will explain how scientific knowledge can change when new evidence is discovered or new ideas are developed. Take a step back in science history to see some great examples of how scientific knowledge has changed when...
Lesson Plan
Discovery Education

Discovery Education: Birds

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson plan explores the evidence that birds evolved from dinosaurs, as well as how we can make judgments about such issues based on scientific research.
Professional Doc
Discovery Education

Discovery Education: Science Fair Central: Choose a Project Type

For Students 9th - 10th
For your science fair project, you can try inventing something or you can investigate a scientific issue. Find out whether doing an invention or an investigation is right for you.
Website
Other

Linda Hall Library of Science: Napoleon: Scientific Expedition to Egypt: Rosetta

For Students 9th - 10th
Illustrated essay about the discovery and deciphering of the Rosetta stone.