Middle schoolers explore the concepts that enable them to design and conduct sound scientific experiments. They critique a faulty experiment and become familiar with some of the criteria of a good experiment. They conduct their own...

Few Americans have heard of the burgeoning scientific community known as the America Philosophical society, started by none other than Benjamin Franklin. With inquiry, research, and discussion, high schoolers come to understand their...

How does your garden grow? An inquiry-based, organic gardening unit asks young scientists to research a vegetable or flower, create an environment for it, and then plant and tend to the seedling. Gardeners develop their own research...

Fourth graders provide a habitat for live mealworms and observe their life cycle. In this animal life cycle and scientific inquiry lesson plan, 4th graders create a habitat for a live mealworm and observe and record related data as it...

Students form hypotheses and carry out an investigation in order to answer a central question: Does soap float? The focus of this lesson is on scientific inquiry, but it incorporates scientific topics such as sinking and floating.

In this lesson, Animal Investigation, 2nd graders will develop investigative and inquiry skills. Students choose one animal as a class to observe. Students ask questions about the animal and record observations, or answers to the...

Learners read an article and describe the scientific method.  In this scientific process activity, students compare basic science and applied science. Learners discuss ideas such as team work, application of an idea, how scientists...

Learners discover the property of density while participating in a lab exercise. In this scientific measuring lesson, pupils utilize a scale to measure the density of different metal materials. They document their work and present their...

First graders get out and explore two different habitats to examine how each one meets the needs of the plants and animals that dwell there. They discuss what they've learned about animal habitats as they explore the outdoor environment....

Students explore questions in a scientific context. They consider what makes questions testable. After reading short scenarios, students come up with their own testable questions about the reading.

Students practice analyzing skeletal remains for clues by using the Internet.  In this scientific investigation lesson, students research the La Belle shipwreck using the Internet and written materials, later completing a Skeletal...

What is science? Sitting in a whole group discussion, scholars first share their ideas on science and how to conduct investigations. They learn about the steps for scientific inquiry and experimentation. Once finished, individuals then...

High schoolers investigate the current environmental movement by cleaning up their own campus.  In this environmental care lesson, students practice cleaning their "environment" by picking up trash on their campus and decrease...

Students discover new ways to preserve the ecosystem by completing graphic organizers.  In this environmental lesson, students read an article from the Natural Inquirer in small groups and fill out a graphic organizer based on the...

Students explore characteristics of mass. In this scientific inquiry about mass lesson, students drop rocks of different weights from various heights and record the depth of the "crater" created.  Students record their findings on a...

Take your class of youngsters on a prehistoric adventure with this four-lesson series on dinosaurs. Accompanying the Meet the Dinosaurs books by Don Lessem, these lessons engage children in writing their own dinosaur books,...

Middle schoolers create a flowchart on the root cause method. In this inquiry instructional activity, students compare RCA and the DMAIC model with the scientific method of problem solving. They investigate a problem in school and...

Students explore Earth science by conducting an energy experiment in class. In this windmill lesson, students identify how wind has been used to pump water throughout history and the latest developments wind energy has produced. Students...

Learners create a dichotomous key. In this categorizing lesson, students create a dichotomous key for different types of cereal. Learners classify the cereal into groups such as flakes and cereal with holes. Students discuss their...

Little ones will absolutely love this instructional activity. It's all about the beach and what they can find while sifting through the sand. A large bucket of sand filled with hidden items is brought into the classroom. Learners will...

Students observe changes in water. In this lesson about water and its forms, students perform an experiment to determine how water changes. Students analyze what causes water to be solid, liquid, or gas. Students record their...

Students investigate the dangers of radiation by exploring recent nuclear tragedies.  In this scientific debate lesson, students define the idea of radiation "half life" and determine if low doses of radiation are truly damaging to...

Middle schoolers share their own stereotypes when they talk about scientists. In groups, they draw a picture of a scientist where they are working and the tools they most commonly used. Using the internet, they discover how archeolgists...

Students write a report about infectious diseases where they demonstrate their understanding of new terminology. In this writing lesson, students analyze the effect of disease in their lives and and make scientific inquiry about the...