Curated OER
From the Gulf of Mexico to the Moons of Jupiter
Students compare deep ocean conditions to those found on the moons of Jupiter. In this Earth science lesson, students consider the possibilities and conditions needed to support simple life. Students examine the habitats and life found...
Curated OER
Enriching Student Inquiry into Endangered Animals
Learners read aloud novel Hoot, by Carl Hiassen, choose endangered animal, complete individual research projects related to their interest, prepare persuasive writing piece, and compare and contrast two endangered animals.
Curated OER
The Water Cycle: Revising the Drafts
Students explore states of matter by concentrating on the ways in which water moves between its solid, liquid, and gaseous states in a variety of Earth environments familiar to the students. Students represent these movements in dance.
Curated OER
What is the Nature of Science?
Learners examine videos of field researach to discover the components of the scientific process. Using forms, they conduct community surveys about the nature of science. They research the extinction of dinosaurs and compare...
Curated OER
Following The Sun
Students investigate botany by conducting a plant growth experience. In this sunlight lesson, students utilize two potted flowers, depriving one of direct sunlight, and recording their growth process in science journals. Students discuss...
Scholastic
Final Project: The Earth, Inside Earth
Follow in Jules Verne's footsteps and take a journey to the center of the earth! Middle schoolers work together to design a trip inside the earth using their knowledge from the previous lessons in the unit.
Curated OER
Dinosaurs
Students are introduced to the various types of dinosaurs and write in their journals about their favorite one. After listening to a story and watching a filmstrip, they color a few pages in their Dinosaur Friends Book. They also examine...
Curated OER
How Do Cells Reproduce?
Middle schoolers examine cell division and the process of mitosis. In this cell reproduction lesson students grow yeast and observe the results, and learn about the career of scientific illustration.
Curated OER
The Effects of Photosynthesis on Plant Growth
Students examine the process of photosynthesis; its products and reactants, and the sequence of the process. They diagram the light reactions, record observations of plants, and discuss how difficult it is to measure plant growth as it...
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...
Curated OER
Earth, Sun and Moon
Students explore, experiment and study how the Earth orbits the Sun once a year and how the moon takes approximately 29 days to orbit the Earth. They access an online activity to examine the process of how the Sun is at the center of the...
Curated OER
Chemosynthesis for the Classroom
Explorers set up Windogradsky columns with local mud so that they can culture microorganisms. After three and six weeks they make observations of the mud and the organisms growing in it. For this way they observe succession and relate...
Curated OER
Down in the Dumps
After an introduction to municipal sludge, middle school ecologists consider the pros and cons of dumping in the Hudson River Canyon. The class is split into two groups: one to debate in favor or dumping and one to debate against the...
Curated OER
Life Science: Plant Life Cycles
Practice defining words that have to do with plant life cycles. The list included here is mainly for structural units, but could be used to review their relevance and the process of the life cycle.
Curated OER
Enzyme and Southern Blotting
Students study southern blotting and its uses. They research on restriction enzymes and their uses, especially in relation to recombinant DNA. In addition, they write a summary and an interpretation of the gel.
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Science Pen Pals
Students explore the scientific career of Benjamin Franklin. For this science lesson, students discuss Franklin's correspondence with other scientists and write letters describing Benjamin Franklin's experiments.
Curated OER
Teaching About Magnets in Kindergarten
Students explore magnets through the five lessons of this unit. The everyday uses of magnets and an awareness of magnetic attraction form the basis of the skills presented in these lessons.
Curated OER
The Process of Speciation
Students illustrate the results of natural selection by identifying conditions that could lead to the development of new species (speciation) based on a given description of environmental conditions and description of variation within a...
Curated OER
Teaching the Kono Salmon Kite
Students complete several student readings involving kite making and kite flying. They analyze how the parts of a system go together and how these parts depend on each other. They comprehend how different environments both provide...
Curated OER
Teaching the Bell Tetrahedral Kite
Students complete readings on kite making and kite flying. They analyze how the parts of a system interconnect and influence each other. Students identifies and uses color and form in a 3D artwork.
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Myth or Fact
Are opioids the most abused drug after marijuana? How hard is it for young people to obtain painkillers without a prescription? Middle and high schoolers explore the growing epidemic of opioid addiction with a lesson that prompts them to...
Curated OER
Reducing Volcanic Hazards to People and Property
Students examine and research major hazards to humans located in the area of volcanoes and write a general summary. Students must choose a volcano and determine what actions might be taken to reduce risks to a population. Summaries are...
Curated OER
Calibrated Peer Review: Introduction-Why Study Geology?
Young scholars read an article written by Sarah Andrews, a geologist who has written mystery novels featuring a geologist who solves crimes. After reading the article, students write an essay based on a Writing Prompt and begin peer...
Curated OER
Get Dramatic: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Students explain reducing, recycling and reusing. In this science/ arts lesson, students create a commercial and display a backdrop made out of recycled goods. Additionally, students write written responses to writing prompts.