After examining how a spring scale works, teams work together to design their own general measurement device. Reading material provides background information, but there is no part of the procedure in which learners handle an actual...

Get things moving with this elementary science unit on simple machines. Through a series of nine lessons including teacher demonstrations, hands-on activities, and science experiments, young scientists learn about forces, motion,...

Does doubling mean everything doubles? Learners adjust the scale factor between two rectangles. Using the calculated measurements, pupils investigate the ratios between the lengths, perimeters, and areas of the rectangles.

Knowing the temperature coefficient allows for the calculation of voltage output at any temperature. Groups conduct an experiment to determine the effects of temperature on the power output of a solar panel. The teams alter the...

Students work in small groups to solve the problems presented. The main project, mapping the classroom, use these discussions to collaborate in creating a tangible demonstration of their understanding.

You can eat a solar cell? A unit on solar energy begins with a discussion about organic solar cells, followed by directions on how to build your own. After following the teacher's directions to build an anthocyanin...

Let's talk about earthquakes .... Using the Internet, pupils research what causes earthquakes, how scientists measure them, their locations, and their effects. The resource is not only informative, but it also builds crucial...

What does it mean to be a good steward? Middle school environmentalists learn to care for their state's waterways through research, a guest speaker, and poster activity. Groups must locate and learn more about a river basin and the human...

It's a neat idea, but the task of designing a system for filling jars with consistent specific amounts of a product may be a little out of reach, especially for younger pupils. Intended as an engineering design lesson, this may be better...

Who said things were fair? The unit introduces probability and its connection to fairness. The class interacts with activities of chance and plays games to relate them to fairness. Groups design a fair game and develop a presentation....

A change is coming. Pupils use unit cubes to investigate how changes in the length, width, and/or height affects volume and surface area. They extend the results to write and test predictions on the effect of changing multiple sides on...

What does math have to do with a sore throat? When you mix water and salt you have a great review of how to represent proportional relationships by an equation or graph. Here the proportions of the mixtures may be different, but the...

Help the local elementary school fix their playground by calculating the amount of sand needed near the swing set. The problem practices setting up proportions and ratios with three different options for solving. You can chose the option...

What do cereal, fog, and space shuttles have to do with newspapers? A collection of science investigations encourage critical thinking using connections to the various parts of the newspaper. Activities range from building origami seed...

Human impacts on the environment can sometimes be difficult to measure, especially under water! An activity centered on ocean acidification gives science scholars the opportunity to examine the effects of carbon dioxide on marine life....

Young geometers become pool sharks in this analysis of the angles and lengths of a trick shot. By using angles of incidence and reflection to develop similar triangles, learners plan the exact placement of balls to make the shot....

What can someone do to increase the peace? Pupils take small steps toward a big peacebuilding role in the final lesson in a 15-part unit. Individuals identify their roles as a peacebuilder and create a stepping stone that reflects their...

While this is not the traditional, step-by-step lesson plan, it is chock-full of material that you can easily incorporate into your earth history unit. Its main purpose is to serve as a guide to using a three-part film, The Day the...

Second graders distinguish between and use nonstandard and standard units of measurement, use appropriate tools and techniques to measure length and width, and record and interpret data using graphs.

Students research the International System (SI) of units of measurements. They make measurements using the metric system. They study key concepts used in building and use of sensors, how sensors work and their role in measuring...

Students review the units of the metric system, convert from the US system of units of measure to the metric system, and estimate measures before converting between the two systems of measurement.

Fourth graders identify the attribute of volume of an object. Units of measurement are reviewed and utilized in this instructional activity.

Students explore what causes wind, why wind behaves as it does, early cultural beliefs about wind, high and low pressure systems, basic fluid dynamics, units of measurement for wind, and how lift is caused; students create and fly kites.

It may be tricky for a young mind to conceptualize that less than 1% of all water on earth is useable for humans to drink. Simulating the amount of fresh water available on earth by removing measured amounts of water from a five-gallon...