American Psychological Association
Facebook Activity
Imagine if Sigmund Freud or Charles Darwin had a Facebook page. As part of a study of major historical figures in the field of psychology, class members are assigned a psychologist and design a mock Facebook page that includes...
Curated OER
Wildflower Beautification Project
Students, in cooperative groups, design and create a wildflower garden for the community. They write letters to property owners requesting use of their land and then write invitations to their parents and to local, state, and federal...
EduGAINs
Understanding Viscosity through Investigation and Comparison of Fluids
Not all liquids are the same. Investigate the viscosity of different fluids with a series of activities designed for eighth grade science. As learners move through learning centers with different experiment setups, they determine...
Foundation for Water & Energy Education
How Can Work Be Done with Water Power? Activity A
Environmentally friendly engineering teams construct a water wheel and experiment with its speed and the resulting amount of weight it can lift. Consider following this activity with two more of the same title by the same publisher when...
Curated OER
Designing Babies
High schoolers analyze current and emerging techniques used to select specific characteristics in offspring. They examine specific case studies and make ethical decisions based upon the Ethical Decision-Making Model.
Curated OER
Coffee Cooling
Students explore the factors that affect how long coffee stays hot. They develop a question and a testable hypothesis for one factor such as initial temperature or size of opening of the container. Then they design and conduct an...
Curated OER
The effectiveness of Antacids
High schoolers design and conduct a scientific experiment to test which of four antacids would be most effective for neutralizing acids. They rank the antacids in order from most effective to least effective and explain how they...
Curated OER
Unknown Liquids
Students must design and conduct an experiment to determine which unknown liquid has a greater density based on basic information about the liquids and containers. Students are given specific materials to work with.
Curated OER
The Wheels on the Bot Go Round and Round, Part I
Students determine how speed is measured. In this physics instructional activity, students design an experiment to find out if the robot's drive wheel size affects its speed. They collect data and discuss results.
Curated OER
Current Thinking About Magnets
Students construct their own magnet and wire device. In this inquiry instructional activity, students investigate the factors affecting the strength of magnetic forces. They manipulate different variable to determine their effect.
Curated OER
Toddler's Delight
Students are challenged to design a toy or something that can attach to a toddler's car seat to help distract them during long car trips. Students research toddler toys prior to beginning the design process in order to determine the...
Curated OER
Preservation and the Power of Light
Students identify the effect of light on objects. In this scientific inquiry lesson, students use a chart to write a hypothesis about what will happen when colored construction paper is left in sunlight. Students observe and discuss the...
Curated OER
Examining Infiltration Rates of Various Soil Types
Students formulate their own hypothesis, determine which variables are important to test their hypothesis, design an experiment in which they collect data. They utilize instruments and tools to measure, calculate, and organize data.
Curated OER
Fun with Balloons
Fifth graders design their own hot air balloon. In this science lesson, 5th graders investigate how factors like weight and sizes affect a balloon's lifting power. They also write math problems based on facts written in the...
Curated OER
Keep Cool
Students design an experiment to determine which type of container would be best to use to keep drinks cool on a hot day. Students test paper cups, styrofoam cups, and metal cans by filling them with ice water and they use a thermometer...
Curated OER
As a Matter of Fact
Elementary-aged scientists discover that all matter has mass. They are shown the difference between mass and weight, and learn how to calculate mass using the appropriate tools and methods. The scientific method is used while estimating...
NASA
Developing an Investigation
Watch as your class makes the transition from pupils to researchers! A well-designed lesson has scholars pick a solar wind characteristic to research. They then collect and analyze official data from the LANL website. This is the...
Monroe City Schools
Clouds! Clouds! Clouds!
Here is a beautiful lesson on clouds designed for your 1st graders. Learners study three different types of clouds. They construct drawings of cumulus, cirrus, and stratus clouds. The Cloud Book, by Tommie dePaola is used to...
Curated OER
Crazy for Cubes: Art and Science
Learners discuss Sol LeWitt and conceptual art, then analyze the differences in expressing a concept through model-based inquiry and aesthetic art criticism. They develop a geometric, scientific, or mathematical concept, then create an...
Science 4 Inquiry
Snakes in the Everglades
The Burmese python is on the loose ... and he's hungry! Illustrate the differences between causative and correlative relationships through an inquiry instructional activity. Pupils examine several sources of information to determine if...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Silver and Bandages: Assessment of Inhibition of Bacteria by Silver Colloid-Impregnated Bandages
Silver: more than jewelry, it's also a natural antimicrobial agent. An inquiry-based lesson asks collaborative groups to design and implement an experiment to test this property. Using samples of silver nanoparticles and a strain of...
ARKive
Galapagos Conservation
The Galapagos Islands inspired Darwin to develop his theory of evolution. These wonderful islands will also be the topic of a lesson on habitat and conservation. In small groups, learners will collect and synthesize information regarding...
Centers for Ocean Sciences
Ocean and Great Lakes Literacy: Principle 7
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take your class on an underwater adventure. The final installment in a seven-part series involving salt and freshwater bodies takes junior oceanographers below the surface in...
Curated OER
Design your own Water Temperature Experiment
Young scholars use Robolab sensors and software to design an experiment that incorporates the use of temperature probes. They conduct the experiment, complete a lab sheet, evaluate the results and then consider if their hypothesis...