NASA
Is It Alive?
Determining whether or not something is living can be more difficult than it seems. Put your young scientists to work defining their own criteria to identify life, then work with three samples to see if they are alive or...
Curated OER
The Solar System: Go Green with the Sun!
Third graders learn how to use solar power. In this sun, technology and energy lesson, 3rd graders learn how the solar power from the sun can give off energy, learn about solar panels, discuss their uses and benefits, and design a...
Curated OER
The Life Cycle of a Star
Students investigate the life cycle of a star and make conclusions based on evidence, research, and observation. In this lesson on space and scientific investigation, students describe the relationships between science and...
Curated OER
The Human Footprint
In this environmental stewardship lesson, students view the human footprint website and then answer 3 short answer questions related to human impact on the earth.
Alabama Learning Exchange
A Rockin' Investigation
Young scientists identify the rock cycle. For this earth science activity, students participate in web-based research to understand how sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks form. As a follow-up, they collect various rocks and...
Curated OER
What's A Water Column Profile?
Students investigate water column data. In this earth science and seawater lesson, students determine how temperature, salinity, and density have an impact on sea water by viewing and analyzing data obtained from a number of websites....
Curated OER
Finding the Way
High schoolers identify and research navigational tools used in deep sea explorations. They are introduced to a compass, the Global Positioning System and sonar technology and then describe their uses in underwater exploration.
Curated OER
Cloud Identification
Students study types of clouds. In this earth science lesson plan, students read the book The Cloud Book. Students use photos to examine each type of cloud and visit suggested websites.
Curated OER
Cyclones
Learners explore Earth science by researching natural disasters in class. In this cyclone lesson, students discuss the creation of cyclones and what their potential destruction can be in the wrong environment. Learners read assigned text...
Teach Engineering
Introduction to Water Chemistry
What are the issues surrounding water quality? Viewers of this short presentation gain information about the importance of clean water, the lack of fresh water, water contamination, and ways that engineers treat water.
Curated OER
The Earth
Third graders examine the relationship between the Earth and the Sun. They define key vocabulary terms, and in small groups conduct Internet research, exploring a variety of websites. Students answer comprehension questions, and...
Curated OER
Effects of the Sun on Our Planet (Grades 2-4)
Students observe how the sun's rays can cause evaporation and discuss its role in the weather cycle. They discover what the sun's energy brings to plants. They examine how different types of technology can enhance the amount of solar...
Curated OER
Many Happy Returns
Students compare the journey of Lewis and Clark with the space flight of Apollo 11. Students sequence events using a timeline. Students write a persuasive essay trying to persuade the people of the US to support space exploration.
Curated OER
Our Space Station Earth
Students discover ways to preserve the Earth's resources. For this natural resources lesson, students investigate how many gallons of water the average American uses per day and then total their estimated usage. Students discuss the...
Curated OER
Science: Arsenic and Old Lace
Pupils read about specific instances of arsenic in history and share these stories with each other. They identify, after reading the articles and sharing, what role arsenic played, how arsenic enters the system and what its effects are....
Teach Engineering
Magnetic Fields
Introduce your class to magnetic fields with an activity that demonstrates that a compass is affected by the magnetic field of the earth, unless a closer, stronger magnetic field is present. Pupils can use this fact in the...
Teach Engineering
Weather Basics
Weather — there's more to it than meets the eye of the storm. With this resource young meteorologists learn about the basics of weather, including information about the factors that influence the weather, common weather vocabulary,...
Teach Engineering
Get Me Off This Planet
What do Newton's Laws have to do with getting from Earth to Mars?The activities in this resource show how Newton's Laws work with rockets to get them into space. Background information includes facts about orbits and how orbits...
Curated OER
A Moon with a View
Third graders explore the rotation of Earth and the moon. In this solar system instructional activity, 3rd graders participate in an Earth and moon simulation in which part of the class "becomes" the sun, while other children represent...
Curated OER
Paper Towers
Students have the opportunity to use model-building as a way to help comprehend the forces and phenomena at work in the world around them. They describe gravity as a universal force that pulls everything toward the center of the earth....
Curated OER
Performing Well Under Pressure
Students study the physical properties of minerals and illustrate their functions. In this mineral lesson students construct models of some minerals.
Curated OER
The Reasons for the Season
Students explain the reason for the changes in season. In this lesson examining the relationship between the Earth and the Sun, students use an applet to discover how the alignment of the Earth and the Sun cause the change in seasons.
Curated OER
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Students understand the process of recycling. They investigate how it improves the environment. They read the story "Don't Pollute" by Stan and Jan Berenstein. They analyze trash and sort it into bins.
Curated OER
Volcanoes And Atmospheres
Students identify the volcano as the primary source of atmospheric gases, to explain the formation of ozone, and to recognize the dangers of volcanic gases through the use of technology in the classroom.