Curated OER
I've Got That Sinking Feeling
Middle schoolers design a simple boat and predict how much weight it can carry. They should also discover why objects float or sink and how this can be determined experimentally. A great lesson on buoyancy!
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Pendulums
Middle schoolers explore the period of a pendulum. In this pendulum lesson plan, students make a pendulum using a fishing weight, hook, string and paper clip and measure the pendulum's period. Middle schoolers measure the number of...
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Trig River
Middle schoolers calcute distances using trigonometry and angle measurements. They estimate the width of the Trig River, measure it and compare their results with their classmates. They collaborate with a group to research and find the...
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Analyzing 3-D Shapes and 2-D Representations
Students can analyze 3-D objects better with actual physical models and by also drawing 2-D representations of them.
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Life in Ancient Mesopotamia
Students reconstruct and make drawings of vessels in the same manner as an archaeologist. In this archaeologist lesson plan, students each get a piece of a broken pot and they have to work together to put it back together. Once it is...
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Let it Roll!
Students explore how various ramps affect the rate of speed of a rolling object. In this physics lesson, students work in groups to build a ramp out of various materials. Students test and record the rate of speed of a rolling object by...
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Explore the Ocean
Students explore the oceans from their origin. In this oceans lesson, students read and discuss excerpts from the Book of Genesis regarding the creation of the ocean. Students then clean up a mock oil spill, measure the volume and area...
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Toting the Log and Lifting the Babe
Students use simple machines that demonstrate force, friction, work and power. They investigate and explain simple machines.
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Falling Water
Students drop water from different heights to demonstrate the conversion of water's potential energy to kinetic energy. They see how varying the height from which water is dropped affects the splash size. In seeing how falling water can...
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Three States of Matter
Third graders investigate the three states of matter and the properties of materials as they undergo physical changes. They identify examples of each type of matter, role-play atoms in solids, liquids, and gases, and conduct an...
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Elementary Concepts in Heat
Third graders read a thermometer with accuracy, record observations and data, and infer conceptual meaning. They integrate mathematical charting and graphing skills to organize their data. They explore what happens when they touch or use...
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Navigating by the Numbers
Students observe how math is important in navigation and engineering. They study how surveyors use math and science to calcute, count, measure, label, and indicate distances on a map. They estimate specific distances.
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LRO-Searching for Lunar Boulders
In this lunar boulders activity, students use an image taken by the LRO satellite of the surface of the moon to find the scale of the image and determine the number of boulders and their approximate sizes.
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Counting Animal Populations
Students learn how to count animal populations by the Mark and Recapture method. In this counting animal populations lesson plan, students begin by predicting amounts of different candies in a jar. Students then simulate using beans, two...
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Magnetism: What is a Magnetic Field?
Students make a compass. In this magnetism lesson, students use the Internet to research magnetic fields and perform an experiment to find the magnetic fields around different magnets. Students use the Internet to research...
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Recipe For Disaster
Students play an interactive game online to learn ratios. For this statistics lesson, students solve problems in an online game about ratio and relating statistics to the real world. This lesson provides hands on as well as teaching time.
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The Physics of Sound: How We Produce Sounds
Young scholars are introduced to how they produce sounds. In groups, they participate in experiments in which they measure sound and identify their five senses. Individually, they make their own musical instruments using different...
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Cheerios- Not Just for Breakfast Anymore
Second graders measure surface area and perimeter using estimation. They complete a variety of measurement activities using Cheerios breakfast cereal.
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Playground Games
Students compete in playground games in order to review velocity and wave behavior in real life situations. They demonstrate understanding by calculating velocity in their "Playground Games" packet.
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Geometry: Area Project
Sixth graders identify and use area formulas for finding the area of geometric shapes.
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Four Forces of Flight
Students explore the four forces of flight. They investigate the four forces of flight: lift, drag, thrust and weight (gravity). They experiment with flight-testing various objects commonly found around the house and constructing paper...
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Math: Finding Surface Area
Eighth graders engage in hands-on activities to determine the surface areas of various objects. Using boxes, they cut them so they can lay flat and measure all the various shapes, which can be calculated and added together to equal the...
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What Makes Airplanes Fly?
Young scholars examine force and conduct activities that model parachutes and helicopters. In this airplanes lesson students identify the forces that make airplanes fly higher and land.
California Education Partners
Lashelles Garden
Let knowledge grow bountifully like plants in a garden. Given a diagram of a rectangular garden split into plots, scholars determine the area of the entire garden and the areas of the individual plots. As a culminating activity, they...