Curated OER
Reptiles and Amphibians
Introduce your class to various reptiles and amphibians. They will meet and identify a representative from each of the four major reptile families, then learn about and discuss reptile characteristics. Next, they will identify and...
Curated OER
Hazards of Defrosted Food
Peas spoilage hot, peas spoilage cold: examine the bacterial growth on newly defrosted peas versus peas that have been defrosted for 24 hours. Using the session one questions in the "Microbes and Food Spoilage" PDF, learners will make...
Exploratorium
Bubble Suspension
Create a cushion of carbon dioxide gas to float some soap bubbles on. Many concepts can be demonstrated through this activity:
Carbon dioxide gas is more dense than air
Bubbles are semipermeable, allowing only carbon dioxide to diffuse...
Curated OER
Volcanoes: Second Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Young geologists explore volcanoes with a series of engaging geology activities. First, they learn the difference between magma and lava before coloring and labeling the parts of a volcano. During the lab, individuals watch a...
Chymist
Earth Science
Explore the consistency of the earth's layers and soil through modeling. By conducting an engaging experiment, learners develop a model for the earth's layers and a soil profile using edible materials. Each material is chosen based on...
American Chemical Society
Soda Can Steam Engine
Steam engines have been around since the late 1600s, yet most pupils don't know how they work. Using an soda can, the instructor builds a simple steam engine for scholars to observe. Through a discussion, young scientists learn about the...
American Chemical Society
Entropy and Enthalpy Changes
My room isn't messy — it's a scientific experiment in entropy! Scholars investigate entropy, enthalpy, and spontaneity through a guided procedure and set of questions. The lesson connects the Second Law of Thermodynamics, energy transfer...
Cornell University
Unknown Powders
Create a little scientific magic within your classroom! Learners mix powders and liquids and identify chemical reactions. Based on the reactions, individuals determine the identity of various powders.
Cornell University
Light Waves: Grades 6-8
Explore the behavior of light with different materials. Collaborative groups determine whether certain materials absorb, reflect, diffract, or transmit light waves. They then measure the angle of incidence and angle of reflection.
Cornell University
Who’s Got The Flu?
Become an immunologist for the day. Scholars elicit the use of the enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) to diagnose an infectious disease. Through the process, they learn about the immune system response to infectious diseases.
Nuffield Foundation
How Much Energy Is There in Food?
People associate calories with food, but what is a calorie? Young scientists measure the number of calories in samples of food to better understand the concept. They test a variety of samples, take measurements, and compare their results...
Nuffield Foundation
Measuring Rate of Water Uptake by a Plant Shoot Using a Potometer
How quickly does a plant transpire? Learners explore this question through measuring water uptake with a potometer. They time the movement of a bubble a set distance to understand the motion and rate of speed.
Nuffield Foundation
Effect of Size on Uptake by Diffusion
Cell size is limited by the surface area to volume ratio, but why is this true? Scholars measure the surface area and volume of cubes before placing them into liquid. After a set amount of time, they measure the uptake by diffusion for...
Nuffield Foundation
Extracting DNA from Living Things
Help! Someone's trying to take my DNA! An interesting lab experiment has scholars use basic materials to extract DNA. By applying ethanol, cold water, and a protease enzyme, like pineapple juice, they pull strands of DNA from peas,...
Curated OER
Introducing Ideas about Inheritance
Is it nature or nurture? In an easily adaptable kinesthetic activity to introduce genetics, learners group themselves based on a variety of categories. They will quickly find that some characteristics are easy to put in order, while...
Curated OER
Cloning a Living Organism
It's the attack of the clones! Not to worry; these are just plant clones. Teen horticulturalists will enjoy growing their own clone into a plant in an activity designed to be revisited after a few weeks. It is one experiment that kids...
Curated OER
Indicator Sponge A Discrepant Event Demonstration
Students explore the use of acid and base pH indicators. The teacher saturates an indicator sponge with congo red solution. Afterwards, the sponge is placed in a blue base solution. Students observe that the blue sponge actually turns...
Reach Out!
Paper Clip Sailing
Students explore water, molecules, and surface tension. In this floatation lesson, students discover why some objects are able to float on water as they follow the procedures included in this activity.
Curated OER
Chemical and Physical Changes Lab
For this chemical and physical change worksheet, students conduct a variety of experiments with unknown solutions and make observations. Students determine if the properties of the solutions have changed and if there is a chemical or...
Curated OER
Ionic vs. Covalent Compounds Lab
In this ionic and covalent compound worksheet, students investigate the properties of three unknown substances in order to determine if they are ionic or covalent compounds. They write conclusions about their results.
Curated OER
An Inside Look at Apples
First graders examine and identify parts of an apple. For this biology lesson, 1st graders cut an apple in half and locate all the parts, use the apple halves as stamps, and create a bar graph displaying which apple types the students...
Curated OER
Experiment on Measuring Reaction Rates
Learners investigate the rate of a chemical reaction. In this rate of reactions lesson plan, students use an electronic balance to measure the change in mass of a chemical reaction between hydrochloric acid and calcium carbonate. They...
Curated OER
Frog Dissection Lesson Plans
Check out these lesson plans for both actual and virtual frog dissections.
Curated OER
Experiments in Nanotechnology: Ferrofluids
Students explore the world of nanotechnology by synthesizing ferrofluids in a series of chemical reactions. In small groups, they follow the procedure to create the ferrofluids using precise measuring techniques. They test the resulting...