Explore character, plot, and setting through dramatic puppet play. Second graders discuss basic story elements and then practice making a character with their sock puppets. After they've crafted a dynamic puppet, they pair up to create a...

Compare and contrast the characteristics of fresh and salt water marshes. After exploring the typical plants and animals found in each marsh type, participants use a set of flash cards to sort into fresh and salt water marsh life. Their...

Magnets don't grow in fields, but magnetic fields are important to understand. The lesson covers the effect electricity has on magnetic fields. Scholars use a compass, magnets, and electrical wire to test magnetic fields and energy...

Put a new, action-filled spin on a classic game with Star Wars® Dodge Ball. Scholars turn into Jedis and lightsabers are used to save peers from sitting on the sidelines, all the while a bombardment of balls fly towards moving...

Can you see your class working on spatial visualization? The first installment of a five-part module introduces the concept of spatial visualization and provides a 12-question diagnostic assessment to test spatial visualization skills....

In collaborative groups, physics learners design and create a web portfolio of internet resoucres explaining poitive and negative acceleration, zero acceleration, and positive and negative velocity. This is a terrific assignment for...

Third graders demonstrate the effects of varying environmental components on plants and animals: chemical, physical and biological characteristics of a habitat. They find chemical, physical and biological characteristics of the lake at...

Rally your administration and facilities manager to let your class examine the water flow rates in different areas of the school. After the audit, the class researches opportunites for conserving water and writes a report or develops a...

Research various types of bridge designs. Your class will be asked to consider what it would be like without bridges while learning about how they work. They will construct a model bridge based on given parameters. They then calculate...

Young entomologists familiarize themselves with the physical characteristics of insects. Composed of two activities, each lesson involves your scientists tapping into their prior knowledge of bugs and making observations of real live...

Here is a lesson plan that invites learners to engage in a kinesthetic activity that allows them to physically move and manipulate words in order to think about ways to understand vocabulary in context. After that activity is complete,...

You will need to gather a number of tokens, bags, and other various game components in order to incorporate this activity into your curriculum. Different tokens represent carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Printable 8.5"x11"...

Mid-ocean ridges, rift valleys, island arcs, mountain ranges, earthquakes, volcanoes ... there are so many features associated with plate tectonics. The 14th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography...

Searching for an activity that allows emerging biologists to explore symbiosis up close and personal? Pupils collect samples and view lichens through a microscope and conclude with a discussion about the relationship they have...

Students construct models that demonstrate potential sources of contamination. Students select one type of contamination model (septic system, sinkhole, landfill, disposal lagoon, leaky barrels, oil spill, agricultural contamination) to...

Students use tools to represent bird beaks and pick up different types of food with them in order to discover which beak would help the bird survive depending on their food type.

Take a peep into optics. Pupils watch a video about a large Polaroid camera before building pinhole viewers. The scholars then create different types of viewers and compare them to determine which provides the best image.

First graders are introduced to a variety of maps such as globes, street maps, atlases, and different types of floor plans. The focus of the lesson requires individuals to create their own plan of the classroom using the PowerPoint...

Toys are great for learning about physics. Scholars use Slinky® toys to study Newton's laws of motion and types of energy. After a little play, they then model longitudinal and transverse waves with the Slinky® toys.

Are you looking for a good, solid instructional activity on sedimentary rocks? This one, produced by the Illinois State Museum, is just such a instructional activity. Middle schoolers identify common rocks and minerals by analyzing...

How diverse is the rainforest? How much more diverse is a rain forest than a temperate forest? Explore these focus questions in a lesson that explores the plants, animals, and insects in forests. After listening to a reading...

Students discover what compost is. In this composting lesson, students view a sample of a compost bin and define what the purpose of compost is. Students discuss what the compost bin consists of and sort the compost bin into the green...

Young scholars explain the difference between regolith formation on Earth and the Moon. For this space science lesson, students model the different factors affecting regolith formation on Earth. They identify the different types of...

Is your class in another dimension with regards to dimensional analysis? Give them some extra practice with a straightforward activity. Learners convert units by following concise step-wise examples, including setting up the...