Curated OER
Give Me Energy
Students explore kinetic energy. In this energy lesson students complete an activity and explain what happened.
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Hey, Look Me Over!
Students make observations about mealworms using hand lenses, rulers, and cotton swabs. Students complete their own mealworm observation chart, then they share their observations with the class. This is one station out of five in an...
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Weightlessness
Eighth graders study weight, force and mass as it pertains to the earths pull. In this weightlessness lesson students are divided into groups and complete an activity.
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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 plan, they share their own ideas on how they...
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Measure Mania
Groups of students rotate through five classroom stations to estimate, measure, and record volume, length, weight, mass, and area using both customary and metric measure. They evaluate their data to determine how close their estimates...
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One, Two, Three--Isaac Newton and Me
High schoolers experiment to develop understanding of Newton's Laws and how they apply to space travel in this ten day lesson sequence.
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What is the Rock Cycle and Its Processes?
Geology beginners examine three different rock samples and determine their origin by their characteristics. By making and recording observations, they become familiar with features of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rock types....
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Lesson-Mass and Weight
Student identify the three stationary positions, on the Earth, on the Moon, and in a house floating atop the cloud layers of Jupiter. They also identify the three orbiting positions, orbiting the Earth, orbiting the Moon, and orbiting...
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Sliding and Stuttering
Students measure frictional force existing between a moving cup and the surface it slides on. They conduct the experiment and answer discussion questions.
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A Human-Powered Vehicle for Trans-Glacial Transport
Students practice problem solving skills and experimental design. They build a vehicle that can traverse "glacial" ice capable of carrying a specific load and glide smoothly, creating as little effort as possible for the skier pulling...
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3RC (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Compost)
Students examine the effects of packaging decisions and the engineering advancements in packaging materials and waste management. They observe biodegradation in a model landfill.
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Simple Machines
Students investigate what simple machines are and how they work. In this simple machine lesson, the students create simple and compound machines and test each machine's ability to perform a task. Students compare simple machines to...
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Just a Little Bit of Effort: Exploring Levers
Learners build models of types of levers. For this simple machines lesson, students use dowels and modified wooden rulers to build different types of levers. They compete to create the most efficient lever in the class.
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Forces and Motion
Young scholars are able to analyze gravity as an universal force. They are able to demonstrate ways that simple machines can change force. Students are able to determine how the force of friction retards motion. They are able to...
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You’re Tugging at Me!
Students study the sliding and rolling friction. In this forces lesson students divide into groups and use a cart to examine the amount of force that is used to move objects.
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Is a Pulley a Special Kind of Lever?
Fifth graders use information from their text to read and discuss pulleys and levers. They examine a top sketch of the arrangement of a fixed pulley. Working in groups, 5th graders perform experiments to test the effect of using a pulley...
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Inclined Plane and Pulley
Students describe how inclined plane and pulleys make work easier. In this physics lesson, students calculate work done and mechanical advantage of both simple machines. They collect data from the experiment and construct graphs.
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Saving Sturgeon
Marine biology apprentices interpret data of sturgeon interaction with gill nets. They use the data to calculate the percentage of fish entangled in each twine size to discover if there is any correlation. This is a valuable exercise in...
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Circuit Diagrams: Switching Circuits
Use a lab sheet on circuit diagrams in your electricity unit. Fifth graders draw two series circuits with diagrams, based on two examples. A science experiment prompts learners to use 3x5 cards to illustrate the way a series circuit works.
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What's the Rub? It's All About Friction!
Students determine the coefficient of friction for different surfaces. In this physics lesson, students identify the factors that affect friction. They collect data and write a formal lab report.
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Discovering Friction
Students watch a demonstration that introduces them to the idea that friction is a force that impedes motion when two surfaces are in contact. They work in groups to experiment with frictional force using a coffee cup on which they alter...
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Distance over Time
Young scholars analyze velocity and how it is determined. They experiment with velocity in order to measure and calculate the magnitude of speed. They use examples in their novel "Skateboard Renegade" to relate velocity to real life...
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Strength in Size? Madagascar Cockroach Pulls
Fourth graders conduct an experiment involving size and relative ability in smaller species using Madagascar cockroaches. They make predictions about how many pennies the roaches can pull, compare the results to human strength, and...
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Interdisciplinary Task: Weather
Students design a chart to use to record the weather for five days. They then build an anemometer to record wind speed and discover why they are used for this purpose.