Get your middle schoolers experimenting with dry ice. In the first activity, they place a piece in water and then use phenol red to identify its pH. In the second, they place a piece in a limewater solution and watch as the combination...

Students investigate the concept of succession and plant community dynamics. They play a game in order to conduct multiple experiments while playing. The interest of the game is useful for keeping student interest throughout the activity.

Make sure to read through the activity procedures thoroughly before teaching this lesson because the materials list is incomplete. Also, the mentioned worksheets and booklet are not available. However, there is no need to discard this...

Junior scientists work in groups to construct electromagnets. They experiment by varying number of wraps around the nail, the diameter of the nail, and the type of metal the nail is made of to see if any of these factors has an...

Here is a physical science activity where pupils place thermometers inside of a white and a black paper pocket and place them under a lamp. They record and compare the temperature increase over a ten-minute period. Have your class...

Students design an experiment to test the variables involved in the hatching of the Bruchid beetle.

A total of five experiments lead chemistry pros to understand the difference between physical and chemical change. They also experiment with exothermic reaction factors that affect rate of reaction. The procedures are not written in the...

A scenario and background information are provided for two different open-ended experiments that experienced chemistry classes can perform toward the end of the school year. In the first, they design a method for testing flakes of paint...

Students perform simple and fun experiments to use the scientific method, take careful notes, and write a lab report. They first make and test a hypothesis about how many drops of water they can fit on the face of a penny and then test...

Students explore, experiment and study how the Earth orbits the Sun once a year and how the moon takes approximately 29 days to orbit the Earth. They access an online activity to examine the process of how the Sun is at the center of the...

Mini mycologists plan an experiment to determine what affects the growth of mold on gelatin. A list of available materials is provided, but the procedure needs to be designed by the lab group. A data table is also provided in...

Students research volcanoes on the Internet to compare/contrast the volcanoes on Earth to the ones found on Io, a moon of Jupiter. Students list the similarities and differences in science journals, and illustrate pictures of the volcanoes.

Students explore water and ice. In this physical science lesson plan, students participate in a science inquiry and observe the characteristics of ice and water. Students compare the differences between a solid and liquid and record...

Groups of two to four work together to design, construct, and experiment with a boat. Each boat must include all of the major parts of a real ship, be less than 12 inches long, and be able to carry a load up twice its own weight in calm...

Three class periods are required to carry out this science lesson on glacial movement, the Great Lakes basin, and the lock system that allows travel on the lakes. It is an ambitious undertaking as your class experiments with a glacier...

With The Great Kapok Tree, by Lynne Cherry as the hook learners discuss the rainforest, the animals that live there, and conservation efforts. Then, students write a letter to the man in the story asking him not to cut down the Kapok...

Using coil-spring driven cars, first year physicists experiment with Hooke's Law of elasticity. They also calculate potential and kinetic energy transfer times and distances. Not much instruction is provided to the teacher in this...

Students define the following terms: predation, competition, carrying capacity and population. They can explain the patterns of growth and the limitations of growth. Students explain the difference between density-dependent and...

Present the water cycle to your middle schoolers with this lesson. After an anticipatory set, they participate in a Q & A session about the terms associated with the water cycle: evaporation, transpiration, condensation, and...

Seeing is believing! Or is it? With this simple experiment, young scientists can explore the concept of visual perception. Attach Benham's disk to a rotating appliance such as a hand drill; As it spins, the black lines appear to be...

Using a bicycle wheel and a rotating stool, young physicists experiment with angular momentum. This is a simple, fun, and educational activity that demonstrates a foundational concept. If you can secure the materials, it is definitely...

Atmosphere aces investigate the microclimates that exist within a larger area. They use a thermometer to record the varying temperatures and identify the microclimates on a map that they have drawn. This exercise helps them to understand...

Students identify when uniform motion occurs. They watch a teacher made PowerPoint explaining the concept of uniform motion and carry out an experiment to understand the concept.

Students share experiences they have had with different types of seeds. After being read a story, they are given a lima bean in which they split apart and examine the inside. To end the lesson, they share their own ideas on how they...