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Investigations, activities, & teaching plans
Classified by dimensions of science & age levels

Integrated ideas

 

Science curriculum framework - elementary grades physical, life, earth science focus with integrated process, inquiry, perspectives, & attitudes

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

Science cross cutting concepts, processes, & skills

Order and organization

Evidence, Explanations, and Models

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.

Model of models

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.

 

More information on model concepts in the literate section of models in the science processes knowledge base.

Change, Constancy, and Measurement

Evolution and Equilibrium

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.
  • 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 -
    • 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
  • 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 -
    • Ramps and paths for rolling spheres
  • 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.
    • Water splatter imageLevers - 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 -
  • Sound unit - for fourth grade, includes 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 & positional vocabulary - diagrams using dog model
  • Anatomical Positions & positional vocabulary - diagrams for human anatomy
  • 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, adaptation, & form & function - teacher activity for preservice and inservice teachers to explore and reflect on four kinds of learner assessment (diagnostic, formative, summative, & generative) in instruction.
  • Bird guide online Cornell lab of Ornithology
  • Cells - activities & plans for cells their organalles & functions, animal & plant cell models, cell cycle, & mitosis model
  • Community - Unit with lesson plans & activities to explore different environmental communities
  • Dinosaurs - Activities about foot prints, body size, and bones
  • 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
    • Environmental - A sequence of plans or unit with activities and lab notes to facilitate a review and develop a deeper understanding of environments and environmental factors that are necessary to support life. Activities explore environmental factors of water, temperature, light, and chemical fertilizer with bean plants, shrimp eggs, isopods, and land snails.
    • 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.
    • Air, Earth, & water quality Vs. pollution - Activities and resources recent history of a lake or river, climate change, global warming, & other pollution related resources
    • Pollution activities - sequence
    • Sustainable notes
    • Human & environmental health - unit with plans, activities, & lab note book. It includes beneficial and detrimental environmental affects on health and how influences impact the decisions people make. Reasoned decisions and decisions made subconsciously and emotionally without sufficient critical thinking.

Animal & Ph of water survival

 

Human Health & Anatomy

 

Personal food computer

 

Earth, Atmosphere, and Space Links

Earth

Atmosphere

Space

 

Science perspectives

Technology

Personal

Social

 

History of Science

Nature of Science

Design process

A comprehensive design process has many ideas that can be used to guide design. However, the use of different ideas depends on the problem and the design being considered.

With a process that is sorta linear, sorta cyclical, and sorta random. Meaning it can be started at any point and move to any other point a designer or team 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 we become familiar with design.

A basic design with five steps and a more comprehensive process follows:

A five step design process includes

  1. 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)
  2. 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.
  3. Iterate prototypes - identify and develop a best solution through multiple iterations. (Research, identify, design, draw, evaluate, solution, prototype)
  4. Test - evaluate prototypes and consider improvements. (Test, redesign, redraw, create or make the solution)
  5. Present & communicate the solution - draw, model, and explain.

A more comprehensive representation of the design process:

Design process

 

Design problems

  • Design error
  • Operator error
  • Poor maintenance of vital parts
  • Complex combination of risks