DiscoverE
Sun-Warmed Treats
Treat your class to a fun activity, complete with treats. Groups create a solar oven from a pizza box. They then use it to heat up some food ... that's what an oven is for, after all!
Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Investigation: Building a Parabolic-Trough Collector
Amateurs of alternative energy build a mini parabolic-trough solar energy collector and use it to heat water. Temperature is recorded over a three-minute period and the data is graphed and analyzed. Note that in order to paint aquarium...
Armory Center for the Arts
Place Value Collage
How can art represent math? Use a lesson on place value collages to illustrate the different meanings that numbers have in their designated places. Kids observe photographs and paintings that show place value, then work on their own.
Curated OER
It's Hot
Third graders examine the effect of sunlight on the earth. Individually, they pick an article of clothing out of a bag and sort themselves based on the color of the shirt and whether it should be worn on a cold or a hot day. To end the...
Curated OER
With Liberty & Top Soil for All
Students compare the basic needs of plants to the basic needs of democracy. For this democracy comparison lesson, students complete a worksheet on what happens to a plant that's not nourished. Students draw a correlation to the basics of...
DiscoverE
Design a Folding Solar Panel
Solar energy is an amazing alternative ... but, not always particularly portable! Challenge young scientists to a folding solar panel build-off with an easy-to-execute activity. Scholars brainstorm around specific design needs, construct...
Curated OER
Atomic Structure and Ionic Bonding (A Visual Approach)
Using toothpicks, marshmallows, and round colored sticky dots, physical science enthusiasts build models of an atomic nucleus. In this eighth grade chemistry lesson plan, they play an atom-naming game with the models that they have...
Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Investigation: Water Wheel
Middle school scientists construct a working water wheel from an aluminum pie pan. Because of the sharp edges on the cut aluminum, this activity is for mature learners only. You could have your class compete to see whose wheel can lift...
Exploratorium
Circles of Magnetism IV
Hang a strip of foil on a stand and form a loop out of it. Then attach the clips of a battery-operated circuit to the loop to see its sides repel each other. This simple demonstration is applicable and easy to add to your lecture on...
Curated OER
Recycling!
Students explore environmental awareness by participating in a recycling activity. In this sustainability lesson, students identify methods in which things can be reused, such as paper. Students utilize aluminum foil, a bowl, water,...
Beacon Learning Center
Cherries Are Positive, Lemons Are Negative
Lemon heads and cherry drops combine for a sweet lesson on positive and negative integers. Following an activity sheet, they use lemon as negative and cherry as positive and follow directions with a partner. An assessment, a rubric, and...
Curated OER
Capacitors: What Are They?
Students discover how capacitors help store data. In this computer science lesson, students investigate how capacitors can store an electronic charge, eventually helping computers store data. Students create their own...
Curated OER
Friction
Students explore the force of friction between materials. In this physics lesson, students participate in an experiment using various materials such as wood, waxed paper, and aluminum foil and explore which item produced the most friction.
Curated OER
Solar Oven
Young scholars construct a solar oven using cardboard, duct tape, aluminum foil and other materials. They use the solar oven to cook something and keep a journal of their project.
Discovery Education
Cool It!
Adjust the melting time of ice without varying the temperature! Learners experiment with different materials to decide how the materials affect the rate an ice cube melts. They then connect their findings to the conductivity of each...
Curated OER
Ships 2: What Floats Your Boat?
Students design, build, and test the specifications (water displacement and load line) for a model boat. The instructional activity focuses especially on integrating design principles with inquiry-based experimental skills.
PBS
Star Power
Let there be light—or maybe not. Pupils learn about light pollution with an investigation of constellations. They create constellation boxes and experiment with different levels of light. Observations are then made about the lighting in...
Cornell University
Light Waves: Grades 9-12
Explore the behavior of light waves with a lab activity. Scholars build new vocabulary through experimentation and observation. Using different mediums, they model reflection, refraction, transmission, diffusion, and scattering of light.
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Creating and Testing Silver-Nanoparticle Socks
Antibacterial socks are a product of nanotechnology. An inquiry-based lesson asks collaborative groups to create their own antibacterial socks and then test them against other products on the market. The sock with the least amount...
Cornell University
Light Waves: Grades 6-8
Explore the behavior of light with different materials. Collaborative groups determine whether certain materials absorb, reflect, diffract, or transmit light waves. They then measure the angle of incidence and angle of reflection.
Curated OER
Keep It Hot
Learners design and conduct an experiment to explore the insulating abilities of different materials for keeping a liquid in a paper cup warm. A small group of lab partners test four different materials: black paper, white paper,...
Curated OER
Mexican Metal Tooling
Metal work can be a wonderful way to expose learners to Mexican folk art. This resource provides all the necessary steps for creating Mexican metal tooling with your art class. Images, web links, recommended books and products make...
Curated OER
Magnetism
Student participate in magnetism demonstrations. In this magnetism lesson, young scholars dangle paper clips near magnets and explain what happens. They work with steel wool, metal filings, and aluminum foil to see which items can be...
Curated OER
Two Layer Painting
With a little extra tag board and some tempera paint, learners can explore warm and cool colors. They create a two layered drip painting where they focus on mixing both cool and warm colors to achieve a fascinating effect.