Investigations, activities, & teaching plans
Classified by dimensions of science & age levels
Integrated ideas
- Integrated curriculum - explores a truly integrated study or project or unit and how it relates to a school with an integrated curriculum philosophy. Information is presented as a school prospectus, which includes curriculum documents for an integrated philosophy, documents to plan and implement integrate studies, with a sample water themed unit or project.
- Outdoor education activities - some sample activities to do outdoors. Why people create and care for public spaces, parks, black bear simulation, mapping parks, light and temperature probe activities, orienteering, steps, team building activities, tree comparisons, tree data collection sheets
- Early child exploration activities: Introduction withs examples of how to integrate physical skills, observational sense, exploration, vocabulary literacy, and early science concepts. Activities are grouped around exploration of common objects and actions in young childrens' world: color paper, fasteners, construction activities,s sand, air, five senses, nature, dirt, music, animals, stores, space, light, plants water, and tools.
- Making healthy decisions for personal, social, and environmental health
- Ecosystems subject dimensions integration with a 5 E learning cycle
- Subjects integration planning for a sound theme unit
Inquiry & science cross cutting concepts, processes, & skills
- Living Organisms - Inquiry into what all living organisms have in common.
- Challenges - 70+ science & STEM projects & challenges for Project based learning (PBL) & Challenge based learning (CBL) plus
- Discusses challenges, problems, & discrepant events
- Explores instructional characteristics for project based learning (PBL) or problem based learning, and challenge based learning (CBL) commonly used with challenges, discrepant events, problems, and projects, along with supporting research.
- List of questions & ideas to explore or investigate
- Challenge to explain prehistoric tracks. Uses a sequenced set of three pictures of ancient tracks. Includes additional pictures and references of tracks.
Science cross cutting concepts, processes, & skills
Order and organization
- Classification -
- Tree anatomy & classification information
- Activities to introduce identification & classification with insects - activities for naming & organizing organisms. Includes: What's in a name & classification; Insect collecting & identification; Make an insect model; & Insects as a phylum; More detailed information on arthropods - Insect facts, identificationkeys, insect orders bee model & pollination activity, spider & insect information, comparison of spiders & insects, insect & spider containers, spider island, suggestions for collecting insects, mounting insects, and info on crustaceans, myriapods, and an outline for a sequence of study
- Fungi & lichens fact sheet with classification information
- Animal classification Bingo game - list of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish - cut them out, mix them up, & sort them in different categories ...
Evidence, Explanations, and Models
- Asking investigation questions - water balloons
- Data analysis, variables, relationships, & graphing summary sheet
- Discrepant events activities
- Evidence - unit with plans & activitie for: Light & heat, sound as vibrations, hot & cold insulators, rock hardness, mold, & taste buds
- Evidence, explanations, diagrams as models Light unit plan - grade four
- Models - actvities & plans include black box, mystery pipe, insect condominiums, expanding universe, Earth changes, earthquake, recycled water, glaciers, hum dingers, drought stopper, fog chamber, cloud, go carts, cart tricks, electric circuits, & moon craters. Background information for models & modeling process.
- Model - Cell models - cell organalles & functions, animal & plant cell models, their organalles & functions, cell cycle, & mitosis includes activity plan
- Model - roller coasters & ball runs
- Model - down hill cars & roller coaster vehicles
- Model - space & solar system - size & scale activities
- Open source 3D models
- Model - insects with lesson plan, supporting materials, & pattern
- Observation
- Senses - Many activities for the five senses with sense words introduct. Relates senses to observation & properties
- Observation Little book to record observations of small objects with naked eye (actual size) & magnification.
- Observation Record sheet
- Observation - Blue jeans: investigation, texture, size, seams, weaving
- Observation - Measurement as an observation, how to measure, properties to measure, & measurement procedure work sheets
- Observation - Power poles observations & measurement
- Observation & inference - Challenge to explain Prehistoric tracks Uses a sequenced set of three pictures of ancient tracks. Includes additional pictures and references of tracks.
- Observation & inference
- Front - back view
- Four day observation two images & one with old young illusion
- Snow White comic
- Up down images
- Relative size images
- Bouncing spheres video - observation & inference
- Activities on observation & recording of observations of Colored Water on Charts
Change, Constancy, and Measurement
- Measurement - primary level introduction to linear, volume, mass, & temperature
- Measurement: middle level review of linear, mass, volume, measurement of matter, with an introduction to density with directed inquiry activities & blank student lab notes
- Observation & measurement - How do we observe? properties to observe, change, measurement, properties to measure, & measurement procedure work sheet
- Density - learning cycle inquiry activities for middle grade to apply measurement: linear, mass, volume, of matter to calculate density of solids, liquids, & gases. Includes 14 activities with lesson plans & lab sheets.
- Motion - spinners, tops, zoomers, twirlers, rolling wheels, rolling cups, rolling spheres
- Cartography map making, angle measurement, compass, clinometer, measure height, measure distance, locating objects with distance & angle combinations, contour maps,
- Measuring heights of trees & other objects - clinometer, shadows, scale (Biltmore) stick
- Relative Position & Motion - integrated science sample sequence for 4th grade and above
- Cartography - maps, measurement, degrees, height, clinometer, orienteering
- Shadow on the playground - lesson plan & notes for first grade & up activity
- Observations & inference - plan to introduce or review observation, inference, & relative postion. Includes images
- Tracks - animal tracks, make observations & inferences of ancient tracks activity
- Rolling spheres & their tracks - lesson plan
- Relative position puzzles
- Video on solar system and earth relative position & motion ... rotation, revolution, and the seasons - see also space ...
- Images to explore up and down
- Outdoor education activities
Evolution and Equilibrium
- Pressure and Equilibrium - balloons, fizz keepers, and two-liter plastic bottles | Plastic bag piercing |
- Evolution and natural selection - marbles in a bucket activity
- Animals 1 - feathers, beaks, meal-worms,
- Animals 2 - camouflage moths, simulation activities, echolocation, penguin - temperature
- Adaptation - Meal-worms, bird beaks, feathers...
Form and Function
Physical Science
- Air - as matter, occupies space, & pressure
- Balance and stability - activities & plans
- Balloon Piercing | Plastic bag piercing |
- Bubble exploration - 12 activities with plans: bubbles in the air, under water, on a surface, anti bubbles, big bubbles, little bubbles, Alka-seltzer bubbles, measuring bubbles, color of bubbles
- Chemistry - lab notes for activity to model atoms, elements, & compounds with nuts & bolts.
- Los Alamos national laboratory electronic periodic table of elements
- Colored Water - liquids as matter, mass, density
- Density - learning cycle inquiry activities for middle grade to apply linear, mass, volume, measurement for matter, to introduce density of solids, liquids, & gases. Includes 14 activities with lesson plans and lab sheets. Includes pop can float, wood, metal, plastic, gas, assorted materials, cubes, spheres, population of school rooms, cross cutting concepts measurement, change, properties, variables, operational definitions Assessment data base for density related concepts
- Electrical circuits - A middle level study of electricity and magnetism. Activities start with a historical static influence. Moving to understand current electricity in a simple closed circuit (bulb, battery, & wire) by creating a model that explains the energy transfer from source to receiver. Continues to circuit tester, multiple sources & receivers in parallel and series, resistance, make a switch, electical puzzles, electro magnetism, & electro scale.
- Electricity - static electricity
- Energy - activities and concepts - no instructional suggestions
- Force, mass, and movement activities - annotated list of activities
- Gravity, acceleration, inertia, friction - includes link to moon feather hammer experiment
- Heat and energy transfer * - teacher directed plan with lab notes to explore: hot & cold with touch, variety of activities using water, mixing hot & cold water, warming ice water to boiling, salt & ice, temperatures of cars in sunshine, blowing hot & cold bubbles, conduction, convection, & radiation.
- Heat energy and conservation - candle & heat
- Hoop & bottle challenge - force, motion, Newton's laws of motion
- Kitchen science - food groups, fat test, acid test, sugar test, yeast
- Matter
- Air - as matter, occupies space, & pressure
- Balloon Piercing | Plastic bag piercing |
- Bubble exploration - 12 activities with plans: bubbles in the air, under water, on a surface, anti bubbles, big bubbles, little bubbles, Alka-seltzer bubbles, measuring bubbles, color of bubbles
- Colored Water - liquids as matter, mass, density
- Density - learning cycle inquiry activities for middle grade to apply linear, mass, volume, measurement for matter, to introduce density of solids, liquids, & gases. Includes 14 activities with lesson plans and lab sheets. Includes pop can float, wood, metal, plastic, gas, assorted materials, cubes, spheres, population of school rooms, cross cutting concepts measurement, change, properties, variables, operational definitions Assessment data base for density related concepts
- Heat and energy transfer * - teacher directed plan with lab notes to explore: hot & cold with touch, variety of activities using water, mixing hot & cold water, warming ice water to boiling, salt & ice, temperatures of cars in sunshine, blowing hot & cold bubbles, conduction, convection, & radiation.
- Heat energy and conservation - candle & heat
- Liquid properties - Water, balloons, and other solid, liquids, & gases to review / assess the properties of solids, liquids, & gases; The shapes of liquids; Surface level of liquids; Properties of liquids; Density of liquids & Oobleck, solid, or liquid?; Colored drops in water; Colored drops in different liquids; Mixing colored drops from four different solutions - Teacher preparation of materials REQUIRED; Colored drops in different temperatures of water; Mixing without mixing & discovery Exploration of different volumes and temperatures of water; Water Drops Water Drops on a Coin; Pepper in the Plate; What is "Surface Tension"?; Soak Those Sharks; How a Plant Carries Water; The S.S. Paper Clip
- Mixtures - Solid, liquid, filter, solutions
- Pressure and Equilibrium - balloons, fizz keepers, and two-liter plastic bottles | Plastic bag piercing |
- SOAP-BUBBLES and the Force which mould them. - first book on soap bubbles.
- Solid, Liquid, Gas -
- Evaporation and Condensation -
- Liquids - properties, liquids, ooblick
- Sound unit - for fourth grade including notes on its development
- States of matter properties chart
- Surface tension 1 - Paper clips and coins in a cup full of water, Drops on coins, floating objects, plain water, soapy water
- Surface tension 2 - coins in a cup full of water. surface tension, pepper in water, tooth pick attract.
- Temperature by touch - Developing explanations for why different objects feel different temperatures
- Temperature -activities & concepts including thermometers, no instructional procedures
- Motion
- Motion - unit of study with spinners, tops, zoomers, twirlers, rolling wheels, rolling cups ,& rolling spheres activities
- Rolling Spheres - inquiry unit that focuses on observation of sphere tracks
- Relative Position & Motion - science unit plan that integrates science content, processss, and inquiry dimensions for observatin, inference, relative position & motion, energy transfer, & force.
- Motion, force and simple machine activities with K'Nex
- Motion roller coasters & ball runs -
- Light - unit plan for grade four a & up, activities to collect evidence & reason abou the properties of light. Make diagrams & models. Activities include: How light travels, explore flat mirrors, string mirror apparatus, mirror puzzles, bouncing light & text reflections, refraction & liquids, bent pencil, appearing coin, lens & different liquids in cylindrical containers, lens & two slit beams, lens & candle, sight & eye , pin hole camera, light & color - white light through colored filters, colored objects in colored ligh, colored paper reflections, mixing colored light, light, shadows, & their shapes, light, shadows, & their properties, analysis of light, shadows, & highlights in works of art, light & shadows of different colors, reviews - prisms & light, water lens, turning colored light - white, making fire from light
- Light - optical illusions - Unit plans, activities, & supporting information for activities: Go (red) - Stop (green) color illusion; Hello Red Fox by Eric Carle; Zoomer & tops for color blending, zoomers & pencil flipper for bird in cage illusion; filter light; shadows, black, white, gray illusions; rotoscope; perspective & warped window illusion; & flip book with plane looping.
- Magnetism & magnets - activities & lesson plan for a unit on the properties of magnets. Explore magnets, magnetic materials & non magnetic, magnetism through different materials, strength of magnets, iron filings to explore magnetic poles & magnetic fields, rules of attraction, strength of magnets, fish and clips, holding power of multiple magnets, & floating magnets
- Measurement: middle level review of linear, mass, volume, measurement of matter, with an introduction to density with directed inquiry activities & blank student lab notes
- Mixtures - Solid, liquid, filter, solutions
- Physics: Matter, energy, waves, & particles notes
- Pressure and Equilibrium - balloons, fizz keepers, and two-liter plastic bottles | Plastic bag piercing |
- Probes - experiments that use electronic probes and data collecting software
- Propulsion -
- Rolling Spheres - relative position & motion inquiry unit, focuses on sphere tracks
- Relative Position & Motion - sample science unit plan with science dimensions integrated
- Outdoor education activities
- RubberBandOlogy - elasticity & inquiry activities
- Simple Machines - A unit with plans, to review or develop a beginning understanding of simple machines through science explorations. Simple machines introduced: inclined plane, lever, & pulley.
Levers - Unit with activities to develop a deeper understanding of levers. Includes three classes of levers and concepts for physical science, inquiry, & science habits of mind.- Simple machine activities with K'Nex - Examples of incline plane, measure distance from different heights, pulley, free pulley, screw, grain auger, super ball track, equal arm balance, bridges, cooperative building, team building
- SOAP-BUBBLES and the Force which mould them. - first book on soap bubbles.
- Solid, Liquid, Gas -
- Evaporation and Condensation -
- Liquids - properties, liquids, ooblick
- Sound unit - for fourth grade including notes on its development
- States of matter properties chart
- Static electricity -
- Structure - Notes on relationship of walls & roof. Related to Minds of their own series.
- Surface tension 1 - Paper clips and coins in a cup full of water, Drops on coins, floating objects, plain water, soapy water
- Surface tension 2 - coins in a cup full of water. surface tension, pepper in water, tooth pick attract.
- Temperature by touch - Developing explanations for why different objects feel different temperatures
- Temperature -activities & concepts including thermometers, no instructional procedures
- Water - absorption, cohesion, adhesion
- Water cycle - condensation, transpiration, percolation, absorption, condensation
Life Science
- Anatomy - See Human anatomy & health resources & activities
- Anatomical Positions and positional vocabulary
- Anatomical Positions for Human Anatomy diagram
- Anatomical positions for veterinarian science - dog diagram
- Animal as pets for early grades* - activity unit with plans for pets: gerbils, responsibility, habitat, movement, seasonal adaptations, classification, food, & zoo trip with concepts and outcomes threaded to National Standards
- Animal classification - list of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish - cut them out, mix them up, & sort them in different categories
- Animals & fungi in my neighborhood & maybe beyond - Copy and paste this journal to make your own journal or field guide to study of outdoor environments. Includes suggestions to study insects, ants, spiders, mammals, birds, earthworms, fungi, how to make a Berlese funnel, a
- & more
- Animals - camouflage moths, simulation activities, echolocation, penguin - temperature
- Arthropods (insects, spiders, crustaceans, & myriapods) - Insect facts, identification keys, insect orders, Bees, bee model, & pollination activity, spider & insect information, comparison of spiders & insects, insect & spider containers, spider island, suggestions for collecting insects, mounting insects, and an outline for a sequence of study
- Birds learning sequence beaks and adaptation *
- Bird guide online Cornell lab of Ornithology
- Cells - activities & plans for cells their organalles & functions, animal & plant cell models, cell cycle, & mitosis model
- Community -
- Dinosaurs
- Earth worms and soil -
- Environmental education & sustainability
- Historical perspective of environmental education, state of environmental education, ICEE findings & recommendations, suggestions to help teachers become environmentally savvy, teacher's views of their needs, sample program goals, scoring guide for environmental concern, suggestions to assess curriculum, dtudent environmental knowledge, misconceptions, teaching resources, & six questions & answers about environmental education
- Environment & environmental factors - unit with plans, activities, & lab note book
- Community - A unit or packet with a sequence of activities & plans to develop a deeper understanding of the relationships of organisms & populations as communities within environments. Includes hands-on activities with plants, seeds (embryo, cotyledon, & seed coat), crickets, anoles, decomposers, and terrariums.
- Ecosystem - A unit or project with a sequence of activities & plans to develop a deeper understanding of the interdependence required to maintin healthy ecosystems. Investigations include study of environmental factors, organisms and their needs, populations, communities, life cycles, food webs and energy cycle, water cycle, carbon dioxide - oxygen cycle, nitrogen cycle, and decomposition.
- Fossils - 3D open source models
- Fungi & lichens fact sheet with classification information
- Gardening - Let's Move - school garden checklist
- Genetics - Punnett Square for Sickle Cell disease and theoretical and experimental probability - Student work sheet
- Grasslands annotated resource list & notes on Nebraska Sandhills
- Great River History - historical story of fictitious river
- Growth - plant growth and mathematics
- Human & animal comparison - focus questions, investigation ideas, & supporting resources
- Insects - activities for naming & organizing organisms. Includes: What's in a name & classification; Insect collecting & identification; Make an insect model; & Insects as a phylum; see also arthropods
- Leaves, needles, & twigs
- Living Organisms - activities for: What do all living organisms have in common?
- Make a dolphin - problem for energy chain or food chain or food web, Use what dolphins eat to make a dophin, & use a model (Source: Science July 2024) to explain how rat poison can affect other organisms.
- Nebraska Sandhills - notes
- Nutrition - food pyramid
- Plants - framework for teaching plants in elementary grades, support materials for flowering plants - anatomy of leaves, stems, trunk, ...
- Soils and trees - explore types of soils for water absorption, compaction, penetration,
- Trees
- Tree growth units, activities, plans, lab notes. Primary & middle level to compare planning for the same topic
- Tree growth - activities to observe trees, notice changes, & make operational definitions to explain environmental causes for the changes. Primary level plan
- Trees - Growth, tree rings, environmental factors - Middle Grades
- Leaf identification guide for decidous trees
- Leaf identification guide for evergreen (conifer) trees
- Twigs
- Trees - observing, measuring heights, & finding patterns & relationships (clinometer & lumber scale (Biltmore) stick)
- Tree growth units, activities, plans, lab notes. Primary & middle level to compare planning for the same topic
- Vaccination fact sheet
- Veterinarian science anatomical positional vocabulary
- Wood - Notes on what makes wood heavy. Related to Minds of their own series.
- Surface tension -
Human Health & Anatomy
- See also Health & human anatomy for middle school, activities, plans & resources
- Anatomical Positions for Human Anatomy diagram
- Anatomical positions for veterinarian science - dog diagram
- Bones - the human body, skeletal system
- Ears - informational article & data sheet about the ear & its parts
- Eye - data sheet for eyes
- Genetics - Punnett Square for Sickle Cell disease & theoretical & experimental probability - Student work sheet
- Health
- Human & animal comparison - focus questions, investigation ideas, & supporting resources
- Nutrition and food investigations for: calcium & bone investigation, food label identification, starch investigations, milk investigation of proteins casein and whey, protein testing, mineral tests, fat tests, eggs & protein investigation, acid in food investigation, sugar in food investigation, energy in food, calorimeter
- Personal health - inventory & notes
- Reaction times, practice, & learning activities
- Senses - Many activities for the five senses with sense words introduct. Relates senses to observation & properties
- Transportation - blood, respiration, circulation,
- Vitamins - History of the discover of 5 vitamins and the science practices & processes used to discover them
- Vaccination fact sheet
- Word roots. Greek, Latin and other word roots for medical & anatomical terms
Personal food computer
Earth, Atmosphere, and Space Links
Earth
- Earth - Limestone & acid, erosion, crystals
- Earth_2 - Land, water, wind, ice, temperature, chemical, mountain building
- Earth Materials -
- Earthquake -
- Richter scale - info about Charles Richter, his scale, & more Earth science ...
- Model for earthquake
- Earth's Circumference, Eratosthenes, Astronomy, Solstices, Equinoxes, Latitude, Science, and Math Activity
- Erosion - temperature, glacier, wind, water, chemical
- Soil and Earth Worms -
- Pollution air - land - water
- Rocks grades 1-2*
- Rocks grades 3-4*
- Rocks grades 6-8*
- Rock cycle -
- Soil and plants grades 3-8* - Soil characteristics necessary for plant life; Inquiry - Observation, properties, variables, & evidence
- Streams and rivers * Water leaves footprints: Activities to model the effects of slope & volume on erosion & channeling.
- Volcanic hot spots create island chains video (2:14) like the Hawaiian Islands.
- Water cycle -
- Watershed*
Atmosphere
- Climate change - NASA online lab with lesson plans
- Weather - clouds, rain, & the water cycle
- Weather - comprehensive outline of concepts and activities, no instructional suggestions
Space
- Relative Position & Motion - sample integrated science sequence see also measurement ... and Images to explore up and down
- Video on solar system and earth relative position & motion ... rotation, revolution, & the seasons
- Make a scale model of the Solar System & discover a definition of space
- Activities (5E learning cycle) to explore the size and relative position of the solar system aligned to the Common Core Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, National Science Education Standards, & 21st Century Skills: critical thinking, communications and measurement.
Science perspectives
Technology
Personal
- Kitchen science - food groups, fat test, acid test, sugar test, yeast
Social
History of Science
- History and Nature - rainbows, colors in plants, plant dyes
- History of the discover of 5 vitamins and the science practices & processes used to discover them
- History & nature of science - notes chart
- Science, math, & technology timeline
Nature of Science
Design process steps
A comprehensive design process has many ideas that can be used to guide a design process. However, the use of different ideas depends on the problem and the design being considered. While the process is sorta linear, sorta cyclical, and sorta random. Meaning it can be started at any point and move to any other point the designer desides to consider next.
There is no magic number of steps or ideas to be included in a process, but it is helpful to start with four or five ideas and add more or subtopics, as users become familiar with designing.
A basic design with limited steps and a more comprehensive process follows:
A basic design process includes:
- Ask: - What is the problem?
- Empathize - consider others’ needs beyond solving the problem. (Ask)
- Define the problem and create meaningful and actionable problem statement. (Ask)
- Imagine solutions - encourage innovation throughout brainstorming. May be helpful to remember that any design is culture-bound and visual memories are very influential. creative design may be found outside one's culture or altering a known visualization. Visualization is necessary in engineering. Visualize and draw.
- Iterate prototypes - identify and develop a best solution through multiple iterations. (Research, identify, design, draw, evaluate, solution, prototype)
- Test - evaluate prototypes and consider improvements. (Test, redesign, redraw, create or make the solution)
- Present & communicate the solution - draw, model, and explain.
A more comprehensive representation of the design process:
Design problems
- Design error
- Operator error
- Poor maintenance of vital parts
- Complex combination of risks
Model process
Models have explanatory and predictive power (physical objects, plans, mental constructs, mathematical equations, computer simulations...) that may or may not be observed with real objects, systems, and events. They are created with information collected from observations, facts, laws, inferences, thought, and reasoning. They represent systems or things and are used to provide an explanation.
More information on models in the literate section of models in the science processes knowledge base. Or activities in the evidence, explanations, & models section.