Curated OER
Color Mixing
Students experiment with primary colored water to mix new colors. They record new colors on a simple data sheet and share opinions on their work.
Curated OER
How Do Cells Reproduce?
Beginning biologists prepare a sugar solution for yeast cells to live in, and divide it into two different jars. Samples from each jar are viewed with a microscope, and then one jar is placed in a warm environment and the other a cold...
Acoustical Society of America
Anatomy of a Wave
Pair physical science learners up, and have one describe a transverse wave while the other blindly attempts to draw it. Then reveal an actual diagram and explain the different parts of the wave: crest, trough, wavelength. Though most of...
Curated OER
Your Own Greenhouse
Young science learners construct a greenhouse out of a plastic bottle. They use a nail to punch a hole through which a thermometer will be inserted to monitor the temperature. This simple experiment easily demonstrates the greenhouse...
Curated OER
Do You See What I See?
Students engage in a instructional activity that differentiates between right and wrong types of observations. In order to conduct the experiment they are provided with leaves and nameless objects with different designs. The two are...
Curated OER
Making Field Journals
Students follow a bookmaking format to create a book and use it as a garden journal. In this science journal instructional activity, students follow book making directions to create a garden and science journal.
Curated OER
Make a Windmill
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...
Curated OER
Cooler In The Shadows
Students investigate the concepts of shadows and how they are projected with objects different positions in relation to the sun. They conduct an experiment by observing objects in different positions. Then students record the observations.
Curated OER
The World's Simplest Cartesian Diver
Have your class learn about buoyancy using this simple lesson. First, they bring in condiment packets and see what happens when they place it in a glass of water. Then, they use one of the packets to illustrate the concept of a Cartesian...
Curated OER
Sink or Float
Third graders sort objects into those they think will float and those that will sink and test their predictions. They experiment with clay molding it into shapes that float. They place pennies in them until they sink. They test other...
Curated OER
Physical Changes and States of Matter
Fourth graders identify a physical change as one that results in a change in size, shape, or state of matter. After an initial teacher-led discussion and demonstration, groups of students get together to perform an experiment which...
Curated OER
The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
With The Great Kapok Tree, by Lynne Cherry as the hook learners discuss the rainforest, the animals that live there, and conservation efforts. Then, students write a letter to the man in the story asking him not to cut down the Kapok...
Curated OER
What is a Seed?
Students share experiences they have had with different types of seeds. After being read a story, they are given a lima bean in which they split apart and examine the inside. To end the lesson, they share their own ideas on how they...
Curated OER
Agriculture Defined
Open your Agriculture 101 course with a lesson on defining agriculture. Guide your class with thought-provoking questions and discussion. Give them time to play the card game, "Pit" in order to experience commodity exchange. This is a...
Curated OER
Everybody Needs a Little Sunshine
Three activities introduce upper elementary ecologists to photosynthesis and food webs. In the first, an experiment is set up to determine how plants respond to different types of light. In the second, they connect organism cards with...
Curated OER
Soil Nutrients - Phosphorus Lab Lesson Plan
Students list sources of phosphorus in soil. They explain how phosphorus is removed from the soil and used by plants. Students list the symptoms of insufficient or excess phosphorus. Students perform experiments to examine the effect of...
Curated OER
Bycatch
Bycatch is the unwanted and discarded marine life caught during commercial fishing. Young marine scientists review bycatch litigation and analyze graphs of bycatch data and answer questions about it. This raises awareness while...
Curated OER
Investigating the Response of Worms to Soil Improvers
The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, but do they care what soil is all about? Find out in an easy and fun controlled experiment. Have your young biologists hypothesize, test, and draw conclusions about which type of soil worms...
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI)
DNA Extraction
What does your DNA actually look like? Use simple materials with this experiment to find out! Geneticists of all ages can follow these instructions to extract their own DNA. For learners who are hoping to extend the activity, there are...
Curated OER
Simplified Vertical Rebound Testing
Students participate in a lab activity in which they examine a simple energy transformation system. Students test the rebound of elastomers, produce rebound data, and determine the kinetic energy transformed by the impact of a free...
Curated OER
Seashore Explorers
There are three separate lessons within this resource that can be used together, or that can each stand alone. In the first, five simple activities allow junior scientists to examine the amazing properties of water. In the second, they...
Curated OER
Earthquake Science Project
Learners simulate the Earth's plates moving like an earthquake by using newspaper and soil. For this earthquake lesson plan, students push and pull the newspaper together that has soil on top and observe what happens.
Curated OER
Casual Pattersn in Air Pressure Phenomena
Students experiment with a jar, plastic bag and a rubber band to perform a science experiment. Students study the photocopy of Thinking About Relational Causality. Students explore the concept of a pressure-related phenomenon that...
Curated OER
DNA Extraction
Students explore biology by participating in a fun science experiment. In this DNA lesson, students discuss what DNA is and where it comes from. Students utilize two bananas, a blender and a microscope to view the DNA of a banana in class.