Curated OER
Building Your Space Station
High schoolers discuss the benefits of the International Space Station. They evaluate the challenges the designers faced when trying to design the space station. Students discuss the use of scale models when designing large structures...
Curated OER
WebQuest Solar System Colonization Project 2000
Sixth graders investigate the livability of different planets in the universe by researching and organizing information from a number of sources in this unit project. They decide on a location for a space station which they support in an...
Curated OER
Text Structures in Science Writing
Students recognize that science writing is organized in identifiable patterns called text structures. Understanding and using these different text structures help refine students' abilities to read and write in science.
Curated OER
Science Safari: Energy Resources
Students discover how scientific methods are integral to the creation of energy. In this energy resources instructional activity, students follow the provided procedures to learn how science impacts energy production.
Sargent Art
Rainforest Mural
Whether you are an art teacher or a teacher looking for a great project to finish off a unit on the rainforest, this instructional activity is for you. Here are some great teaching tips and instructional practices that can help you and...
Teach Engineering
Copycat Engineers
It's often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Young engineers learn about biomimicry, which uses nature to generate engineering ideas, in the fifth lesson of nine in a Life Science unit. Working in groups, they select...
University of Minnesota
Connect the Neurons!
Create a neuron frenzy as your pupils play the part of the neurons. An engaging lesson creates a human chain of neurons that pass cotton balls posing as neurotransmitters. Scholars learn about pre- and post-synapses as they complete the...
Curated OER
Far Out!
Students research and compare/contrast how routine tasks on Earth would be without gravity. They read and discuss the article "The Life Galactic: A Lot of Work, a Little Play, Plenty of E-Mail." In groups they write a pitch for a TV...
Curated OER
Classifying Plants and Insects
Art and science come together in a lesson based on Flower Still Life by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder. Learners classify plants and insects in the painting by color, leaf shape, size, reproduction, and season of bloom.
Curated OER
Museums in the Classroom Pumpkin Project
Students identify the 5 stages in the life cycle of a pumpkin. They create a model showing the correct order of pumpkin life stages. They explain a pumpkin's life cycle to a partner, using their model.
Michigan Sea Grant
Environmental Decision Making
Pupils participate in a board game activity in which landing on a space called "Decision Card" presents them with a land-use situation to consider and decide how to act. In order to advance in Hydropoly, players must think critically and...
Curated OER
Ecotourism in National Parks and Wilderness
Students develop a plan for ecotourism after researching a nearby national park or wild area.
Curated OER
Building an Underwater Habitat
Students investigate underwater habitats. In this underwater habitat lesson, students study Aquarius and design their own underwater habitat that can sustain life. Students work in groups and present their habitats to the class. Students...
Curated OER
Features and Limits of Aircraft Design
Students identify the desired features of an aircraft and the limits that they, the Wright Brothers, or NASA scientists might face in designing one, and methods to solve these. They review parts of an airplane and what makes it fly. They...
Curated OER
Ben Franklin's Inventions
Students discover the life of Benjamin Franklin by studying his inventions. In this biography lesson, students identify the inventions of Benjamin Franklin and their impact on society today. Students create a commercial in an attempt...
John Lentine
Butterflies and Bugs
Symmetry, line, shape, art, and math are all connected through a fun hands-on craft. Included are instructions to a classic activity, where learners create butterflies to show symmetry in nature and then discuss symmetry in math. It is...
Curated OER
Go Fly a ( Tetrehedral) Kite!
Students research the tetrahedral kites invented by Alexander Graham Bell. In this components of flight instructional activity, students examine the kites made by Bell and his team. Students create their own kite and add them together as...
Curated OER
Land Use Change Over Time
Students use historical aerial photographs and current aerial photographs to compare the change over time to the land. For this land changing lesson plan, students analyze, compare, contrast, and list the land change in their own community.
Curated OER
Life on Earth and Beyond, Our Search for Answers
Students in a special education classroom are introduced to how the universe and solar system was formed. Using the internet, they research the characteristics of Earth that support human life. In groups, they compare and contrast...
Curated OER
Constructing a Periodic Table of Elements
Learners create a periodic table of elements. In this chemistry lesson, students work together to build all of the different elements into a complete mini periodic table. They identify similarity and difference of the elements.