Teach Engineering
Skin and the Effects of Ultraviolet Radiation
Though UV radiation can damage skin, it isn't all bad. The third installment in a six-part series allows the class to study the structure and function of skin. They learn about the different types of skin cancer and the SPF rating...
LABScI
Enzymes: The Spit Lab
Enzymes in our bodies each have a job to do. Learn the factors that affect the activity of some enzymes using the third activity of an informative 12-part biology series. A three-part laboratory activity asks teams to investigate how...
Curated OER
The Game is Afoot - A Study of Sherlock Holmes
Mystery is an exciting genre for young readers to investigate. The plots are so intriguing! Here is a series of lessons featuring Sherlock Holmes stories that invite learners to enter the world of the mystery genre. Based on what...
Curated OER
Amounts of Dissolved Oxygen in Various Bodies of Water
Students test water to determine the dissolved oxygen content while displaying the proper use of testing instruments while visiting water testing sites. They determine if the amount of dissolved oxygen is appropriate for the tested...
Curated OER
Towers of the Lost City
Middle school marine scientists compare the pH change in distilled and saltwater as acetic acid is added one drop at a time. Then they compare the pH change in both when sodium hydroxide is added. This experiment demonstrates the...
NOAA
Climate Is Our Friend…Isn’t It?: Make an Extinction Polyhedron
Climate affects populations in different ways. Scholars research extinct organisms and mass extinctions in part three of the 10-installment Discover Your Changing World series. They create graphic organizers, then fill in the...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Day the Mesozoic Died
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...
Curated OER
Water Pollution
Here is a fine lesson plan for fifth graders that will give them an idea of the variety of impacts that human-introduced pollutants have on the environment. After an initial class discussion and teacher-led demonstration, pupils...
Teach Engineering
Air Pressure
Investigate what is pushing on us. An intriguing lesson has pupils calculate the amount of force on various squares due to air pressure. Using the data, individuals create a graph in the third lesson of the Up, Up and Away unit...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Introducing Ecosystem Services
Ecosystems provide many things humans not only use but also need in order to survive. The last instructional activity in the series of seven introduces scholars to the idea of ecosystem services, that ecosystems provide humans with many...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Introducing Ecosystem Services
Purifying air and water, providing soil in which to grow crops, and moving water through its natural cycle are all services an ecosystem provides that benefit humans. Lesson four in a series lets learners explore and discuss the value of...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Calculating Your Carbon Footprint
Unplugging from technology for one day per week will decrease your carbon footprint—are you up to the challenge? Part two in a series of three allows individuals to explore their personal carbon footprints. By first taking a quiz at home...
American Chemical Society
Moving Molecules in a Solid
Who likes magic shows? In the fourth of five lessons, pupils view a scientific magic trick. The ball fits through the ring easily, but then moments later, it won't pass through anymore. What changed? Can we reverse the change? Scholars...
Curated OER
Water's Edge Café
Students observe water birds feeding at a local wetland, record what they see, and construct an appropriate menu for a "Waterfowl Cafe." They also play a "flocking" game.
Curated OER
Intoxication: In the Arms of Morpheus
A comprehensive instructional activity that takes a look at psychoactive plants with this one focusing on the opium poppy. Information about the history, culture, use, source and effects are discussed. There are weblinks to reliable...
Curated OER
Temperature
Several slides compare different temperature scales. Thermal expansion, heat transfer, and Maxwell speed distribution are also explored. The last two slides seem unrelated to the topic of heat, but are easily left out of this otherwise...
Virginia Department of Education
The Ratio of Surface Area to Volume
Demonstrate the ratio of surface area to volume in your high school class by using phenolphthalein, gelatin, and an onion. Intrigue the class by leading a discussion on osmosis and diffusion, then making "scientific jello." Participants...
Curated OER
Lab Tests, Results, and Sulfuric Acid
You may want to change the title of this chemistry PowerPoint to "Identifying Compounds in the Laboratory." Individual slides explain tests that can be performed to confirm what element you have: carbon dioxide, carbonates, and metal...
Curated OER
Elements Make Compounds
This presentation starts with safety warnings for an experiment. Students will be introduced to the reaction that happens when magnesium is burned, the chemical background and the energy changes. Excellent examples and labeled reactions...
Chymist
Landfills and Recycling
Examine the nature of landfills through experimentation. Scholars build miniature landfills and monitor changes over a six-week period. Observations allow individuals to draw conclusions about the different types of trash and their...
Curated OER
Energy Transformation Worksheet
Upper elementary or middle school scientists determine what types of energy are involved in six different pictures. Then they produce examples of three different energy transformations. This activity has colorful graphics and is neatly...
Curated OER
Point- vs. Non-point Pollution
Students differentiate between point and non-point pollution and determine how the different types of pollution are harmful to aquatic ecosystems. They complete a series of tests on a sample of "polluted" water and a sample of "pure" water.
CK-12 Foundation
Cellular Respiration: Can Photosynthesis Be Reversed?
Cellular respiration and photosynthesis relate closely, but many don't realize how. Scholars drag and drop the reactants and products to the chemical reactions for both processes. Then they answer three multiple-choice questions.
Curated OER
pH Potential
Students experiment to determine the positive and negative impacts of human activities on environmental change. They examine how physical and biological processes such as decomposition affect soil characteristics while looking at the pH...