Curated OER
Earthquakes: Second Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
What causes earthquakes? Second graders learn about stresses from plate movement with a set of hands-on activities. After tracing fault lines on a map with yarn, class members create a paper plate model of Earth to show its layers and...
California Academy of Science
Be Prepared for an Earthquake
Earthquakes can be frightening and dangerous, but being prepared can make a world of difference. Perform an earthquake simulation during which the class practices how to drop, cover, and hold on as you read a script describing what might...
Curated OER
Deep Sea Drilling
Students explore ocean vessels that drill the ocean floor. In this ocean drilling lesson, students watch videos about drilling the ocean floor and discuss. Students get into groups, go outside and use string to mark off the amount of...
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
What is Groundwater? Our Underground Water Supply
Learn about the consequences of groundwater with a lesson about the different ways California handles water conservation and pollution. After reading a passage about the water table, learners apply what they have read to six...
Curated OER
Volcanoes: Second Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Young geologists explore volcanoes with a series of engaging geology activities. First, they learn the difference between magma and lava before coloring and labeling the parts of a volcano. During the lab, individuals watch a...
Royal Society of Chemistry
Energy—Gifted and Talented Chemistry
What has more energy than a room full of pupils after a fire drill? This lesson plan! Explore the changes in energy during different chemical reactions, discover why some reactions feel cold and others feel hot, and tackle the concept of...
It's About Time
Oil and Gas Production
Would you consider a power failure a current event? This lesson uses multiple experiments, guided inquiry activities, and group discussions to cover the topics of oil and gas production. This is the seventh lesson in a series of eight.
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Build Your Own Aquifer
Ever wondered how an aquifer works? Introduce your class to the amazing way many people get water by exploring how underground aquifers work. Two fun hands-on activities are used to help kids understand what an aquifer is, how it works,...
Curated OER
What's down there?
pupils analyze how oil is formed and where in the Earth we find it. Students take a core sample to look for oil in a model of the Earth. They analyze their sample and make an informed decision as to whether or not they should "drill for...
Science Matters
Earthquake Preparedness
Forty-five states and territories in the USA are at moderate to very high risk of earthquakes. The discussion-based lesson covers what to do before, during, and after an earthquake. The 14th lesson in the series includes how to prepare a...
Physics LAB
Electric Field Drill: Point Charges
In this electric field instructional activity, students answer 18 questions about given diagrams of electric fields including the direction of the electric field, the charges, the patterns of the charges, the field strength and the...
Physics LAB
Electric Potential Drill: Point Charges
In this electric potential activity, students answer 16 questions about absolute potential, field lines, equipotential surfaces, and electrostatic potential.
Exploratorium
Depth Spinner
Put a new twist on your collection of optical illusion activities. Affix the linked printable spiral to a drill, record player, or some other rotating tool. Have learners stare at the spinning disk for only 15 seconds and then look away....
Exploratorium
Bernoulli Levitator
Two versions of this activity are presented for you to choose from when teaching about Bernoulli's principle in your physical science class. One is a hands-on activity, while the other would be best used as a demonstration during...
Micron Technology Foundation
Inventions and Patents
Curiosity gets you everything. With this assignment, inspiring minds come together to create and invent. Learn how and why we invent and what it means to patent an invention.
Curated OER
A Bit of Engineering
Students discuss the drilling process. In this engineering lesson, students get into small groups and drill their own core samples in a sandwich using a plastic tubing, a jumbo straw, a slim straw and a offee stirrer predicting which...
Curated OER
Hazards: Second Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Equip learners with safety knowledge in the case of an earthquake. After coloring the places to go to get help after a quake, and label places that wouldn't be safe to go after a quake, young geologists simulate three levels of...
Curated OER
Plate Tectonics: Second Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Second graders explore convection currents and how they relate to the movement of tectonic plates. Then, young geologists reconstruct Pangaea with a worksheet and pinpoint plate boundaries on a map using locations of earthquakes and...
Curated OER
Games on Echolocation
Get a little batty with life science! This fun simulation game replicates how bats use echolocation to hunt moths in their native Hawaiian habitat. After creating blind folds and discussing some basic principles of echolocation, students...
DiscoverE
Make a Light Bulb
Could you reinvent the light bulb? Scholars tap into their inner Thomas Edisons to build a light bulb prototype out of a jar and some wires. They see how long the filament wire glows in the jar (batteries not included) to measure their...
Pulitzer Center
Extractive Industries
Here is a chance for environmental studies classes to take a critical look at crises occurring around the globe by reading articles and viewing video clips. The human activities under scrutiny are the extraction of oil, logging, and...
It's About Time
Coal and Your Community
When I was young, I was afraid of the dark. Now I am afraid of getting the electric bill. This fourth lesson in a series of eight focuses on coal mining, conservation, and energy efficiency. Scholars start by taking data from a table and...
Curated OER
Animals
Students explore biology by participating in a science vocabulary activity. In this animal species lesson, students define a list of animal vocabulary terms as well as practice using them in sentences with the appropriate adjectives and...
Curated OER
Magnetic Levitation
A thorough investigation of magnetic levitation; this activity has four parts. First, physical scientists play with a wooden dowel and three disc magnets to review polarity and repelling action. Then they experiment with the strength of...