Smithsonian Institution
Trait Tracker
Help mice beat the odds with an exciting activity about traits. Biologists discover the role of diet and other factors on animal traits by participating in a simulation activity. Teams collect and evaluate data to understand how certain...
Curated OER
Build an Ice Cap
Learners research Earth science by conducting an experiment in class. In this ice-cap lesson plan, students identify what an ice cap is and create a biome using a box which measures 1 ft. x 1 ft. Learners participate in an animal...
Curated OER
Build the Arctic Tundra
Students build a model of biome in order to comprehend the abiotic and biotic factors that are prevalent in a biome. In this hands on building lesson plan, students use a box to build a biome. . Students decorate the inside and outside...
Curated OER
Cell Organelles
Students explore biology by researching living cells. In this living organism instructional activity, students participate in a role-playing activity in which all the students in class form one plant cell by portraying specific parts of...
Curated OER
Machine Poetry
Fourth graders write poems describing the relationship of machine parts. In this poetry writing lesson plan, 4th graders review a system and examples. Students discuss the systems individual parts and how they work. Students use the...
Curated OER
Hippocratic Medical Rounds
A very interesting way to model Hippocrates allows your clas to to compare world views and to illustrate how ideas have changed at key times throughout the history of science. This simulation has students role play patients and physicians.
Curated OER
Rocks and Minerals
First graders examine different types of rocks and minerals. They create models of the rocks and minerals they find interesting. They discuss and explain three ways in which the earth changes.
University of Wyoming
Free Fall…From SPACE!/Nanotechnology in the Classroom
Provide the details about Felix Baumgartner's sky jump from the far reaches of our atmosphere, 39,045 meters up! Then get your physics free fallers to evaluate the factors that played a role in his acceleration, the time to reach maximum...
Curated OER
Everybody Needs a Little Sunshine
Three activities introduce upper elementary ecologists to photosynthesis and food webs. In the first, an experiment is set up to determine how plants respond to different types of light. In the second, they connect organism cards with...
Curated OER
WET Science Lesson #11: How Light Affects Water
Scientists listen to the story of Wadja Egnankou who works to save African mangrove forests. They experiment with refraction and the introduction of particulate matter to water. They conclude with creative writing about the need for a...
Curated OER
Ants
Students make sequential patterns by using ants and following the model. They identify different parts of an ant by matching the picture to the word name. Pupils identify the ant's life cycle by creating a chart using pictures.
Curated OER
History in the Making: The Tortilla
Fourth graders examine the history of the tortilla and extend the study across the curriculum. In this history of the tortilla lesson, 4th graders research the background of the tortilla, determine the ingredients, and work with the...
National Wildlife Federation
It's A Bird...It's A Plane...It's...CARBON!
An interesting lesson takes pupils on a trip through the carbon cycle. A reading passage allows scholars to take notes and make choices about what happens to the carbon on its journey. This third lesson in a series of 21 discusses...
Curated OER
Designing Babies
Students analyze current and emerging techniques used to select specific characteristics in offspring. They examine specific case studies and make ethical decisions based upon the Ethical Decision-Making Model.
Curated OER
Mind Mapping
Young scholars explore the functions of the brain. They create their own "live" model comparing a phrenology chart to our modern understanding of brain function and anatomy. Students compare and contrast brain models.
Curated OER
Bugging Out
Students explore how insects behave in their natural habitats and build dioramas to create an Insect World in their classroom. They investigate various insects and the roles they play in the environment. They write creative short...
Curated OER
School Lighting Audit Data Analysis
Students analyze the data collected in the school lighting audit. They work together to write recommendations for more efficient lighting for their school. They practice using new vocabulary and working together with others.
Curated OER
Design a Parachute
Students engage in a discussion about what a parachute is and how it works. They create a parachute using different materials that they think will work best. The students test their designs, which will be followed by a class discussion...
Curated OER
TE Lesson: Pollution Solutions
Students study how industrial technology helps clean up and prevent air pollution. They role play as engineers to examine methods of engineering pollutant recovery methods such as scrubbers, electrostatic precipitators, cyclones, and...
Curated OER
We Are Lunar tics!
Second graders, working in cooperative groups, will create a multimedia presentation about the Earth's moon. Their research must be presented through three or more methods. (i.e. charts; graphs; oral reports; multi-media; dramatic role...
Curated OER
The Lorax
Third graders identify environmental problems. In this natural resources instructional activity students participate in several activities that support critical thinking about the environment and natural resources. The students write,...
Curated OER
Tag, You're Sick
Students play a game to model how the immune system works. In this health and wellness lesson, the teacher explains how the immune system works, then students play a game of tag trying to stay away from germs, viruses, and bacteria and...
Curated OER
Polymers-Greaaaaaat Biiiiiig Molecuuuuuules
Students explore polymer properties. In this instructional activity about polymers, students perform an experiment to understand polymers, their properties, and that they are formed from small molecules. Students role play pretending...
Curated OER
Food Safety Lab
Students use the scientific method to investigate the role of temperature in microbial growth. In this food preservation lesson, students set up an experiment with fruit in room temperature and in a refrigerator. They record the...