How do we know if the wind turbine at our school is impacting birds? Here, small groups work together and conduct field work in order to determine the impact of a human-made structure on birds. The groups also determine their searcher...

Get things cooking with the first lesson in this series on the science of food. Working in small groups, young scientists make and record observations about different mystery foods. These descriptions are then shared with the class and...

Create models of the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Working in small groups, your class can investigate metric conversions calculations. They will find the length of the waves in nanometers,...

Students learn the advantages of working in small groups and how it is a lifetime skill. They learn that each member has responsibility to contribute to the plan of the group. They then learn group cooperation rules.

In collaborative groups, emerging engineers or environmental scientists plan and construct a water wheel or watermill that rotates for a total of three minutes. Everything you need to carry out this lesson plan is included: objectives,...

Explore the center of gravity with your science class as they create a deadfall trap with common materials. They research the concepts of energy conservation and gravitational force before dividing into small groups to create a model of...

What do physicists and musicians have in common? A lot more than you might think. After first viewing a slide show presentation and completing a series of skills practice worksheets on the physics of light, sound, and...

Two lessons explore the connection between energy transformation and a given job. In lesson one, small groups role-play a scenario that showcases the energy transformations that may take place during a job-specific task. The second...

After reading about how wind turbines work to collect clean energy, groups brainstorm and design their own windmill. Within the provided financial and physical constraints, groups must build a working windmill using only the materials...

Many innovators are working on solutions to address environmental problems like energy-inefficient housing. Scholars have an opportunity to develop their own strategies using the fourth of five lessons from the WE Are...

How have birds evolved from prehistoric animals? With the three-part lesson, small groups first research different prehistoric animals and determine whether they are birds. Then, scholars explore different bird adaptations using the Flap...

Is it really that big of a deal if the global climate undergoes a little change? Young environmentalists consider this very question as they discuss in small groups the impact of different climate change scenarios on their lives,...

Where would society be without the innovations of Thomas Edison or Steve Jobs? Scholars explore what it means to have an innovative mindset. Working in small groups, pupils design a product or service to help solve a social,...

One important skill in analyzing scientific evidence is identifying facts versus opinions. Scholars identify pieces of evidence from the film The Day the Mesozoic Died and then discuss this evidence in small groups at the end of each act...

Ready to have an "unforgettable" time in science class? Try a fun and insightful activity, suitable for a wide age group of learners. Explore how human memory works when pupils try to remember objects they've seen before comparing the...

Take your class on an out-of-this-world adventure with this fun engineering design lesson. Working in small groups, young scientists design, build, and test crew exploration vehicles using some creativity, teamwork, and...

What a fun way to review the year's learning! Working in small groups, learners select a major concept covered in class then create a game about it. The type of game is up to each group, but the expectations of what should be included...

Not all technology is digital. Teach learners about the low-tech maker movement with a photo essay about six artisans from California and two articles about the local creator movement. After tackling the photo essay in small...

Give small groups of physical scientists tokens that represent electrons in a photovoltaic cell. They play a dice game in which they move the tokens around, representing the flow of electrons through the p-n junction of a semiconductor...

In this second of three lessons on power plants, future engineers find out how we generate electricity and how coal-powered plants operate. They work in small groups to make electromagnet generators to light LED bulbs. A set of...

Hydrologists create a concept map about how water is used and a sentence strip defining water and describing its unique properties. Small groups work together to fill a small milk carton and compute the mass of water inside. The next...

Sound, vibrations, resonance, and frequency are explored as learners use music to foster scientific inquiry. They engage in three different sound experiments and follow up discussions to foster a better understanding of how musical...

Teach young engineers that all machines, no matter how complicated or complex, are made up of just six simple devices with this hands-on physical science lesson. Using the included templates, students first create paper models of...

Food storage matters! Scholars learn how the amount of water in corn can affect its rate of spoilage. They create a control group, then test three corn samples stored in three different locations for water activity. As a result of the...