How can you measure the height of a tree or telephone pole with only a short measuring tape?  It's not a problem when you start by measuring your shadow and your height to create a ratio to use with taller objects. Additional...

Mathematicians use a CBR 2™ motion detector to determine their speed or velocity going down a playground slide. They also experiment with different ways to increase their speed going down the slide. Finally, students complete the Student...

Advanced economics pupils analyze a series of graphs, data sets, and profit scenarios all related to monopolies and marginal revenue. They read through the background information, complete a graph using the data provided, and justify...

Earth science super stars visit the National Earth Science Teachers Association's interactive website to glean information on the layers of the atmosphere. Data tables are provided for them to record what is collected. This assignment...

Challenge your sixth graders with this lesson about the freezing and boiling points of water. In these activities learners graph temperature data, read and analyze information, and identify the freezing and boiling points of water and...

An interesting instructional activity on hypothesizing about the diameter of a drop of blood that is splattered. To test their theories, learners work in groups to make blood droplets splatter from different heights. They use graphed...

Modeling population growth gives learners an opportunity to experiment with real data. Comparing the growth rates in this real-life task strengthens learners' understanding that exponential functions change by equal factors over equal...

A series of math and science activities feature M&M's® as manipulatives to help kids work through equations. The resource includes exercises on finding averages, percent of compositions, moles in chemical reactions, genotypes and...

This optional instructional activity introduces the class to the idea of a minimum spanning tree. The activity focuses on determining an algorithm that will find the most efficient path in a network to transfer data. 

Sometimes scientists learn more from unexpected findings than from routine analysis! Junior oceanographers dive deep to explore hydrothermal vent communities in the fourth lesson in a series of five. Scholars examine data and look for...

Fifth graders make a model and write an essay of a new arthropod family using known data.

Future chemists practice laboratory techniques by creating a monochloramine solution. The objectives are to use of dilution, 9concentration, and measurement skills and to prepare a solution that will be used in a water treatment...

Sixth graders create a spreadsheet on the favorite ice cream flavors of their peers. They interview their classmates, documenting their findings on a "Favorite Flavors" spreadsheet. Students graph and analyze the data.

Students are able to list at 3 rules for operating in a laboratory and to explain why each is important. They are able to identify problems with laboratory scenarios presented by the teachers. Students execute a lab protocol using...

Learners study the water cycle and create a booklet entitled: "Discover the Wonder of Water" They observe and record data regarding evaporation, condensation, and precipitation and how water moves from a solid to a liquid to a gas. They...

Students apply knowledge of soil, environmental impacts, economics, multiple human demands, and use given data for a proposed scenario in making land use decisions. They debate land use issues and/or scenarios and discuss a case study.

Students, after reading a novel, utilize geographic skills to map out the places described in the novel. They collect data, envision spatial features and then design a map to work off of to complete their assignment. Each student also...

Challenge young scientists to design their own experimental procedures. They write the procedure for properly preparing two grams of a water-insoluble ionic salt. To finish, they perform the experiment and collect data to prove their...

Introduce the inverse matrix method to solve systems of linear equations both algebraically and graphically. Using given data, your class checks their answers with graphing calculators. Handouts are included in this well-thought out lesson.

Begin by showing a six-minute video, Changing Planet: Rising Sea Level as an anticipatory set. Pupils draw a topographic map of a potato continent. Finally, they will visit NOAA's sea levels online map and NASA's carbon dioxide...

Following detailed directions, teams collect the voltage and current outputs of a photovoltaic cell by adjusting the resistance. Using the collected data, they determine the highest power output. Implications for weather and a large...

Introduce ecology classes to biodiversity and interdependence in ecosystems with a PowerPoint presentation. Then, they get up-close and personal with the invertebrate world by collecting insects, classifying them, and graphing their...

Encourage the spread of knowledge in your class with this cross-curricular epidemic simulation. Pulling together science, social studies, and math, this lesson engages learners in modeling the spread of infectious...

The fifth installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program defines dead zones and how they form. Pupils then examine data from the Gulf of Mexico to determine dead zone formation.