Browse lesson plans

Amazing liquid conductor

Students will mix a variety of liquid solutions together to see if they will light a light bulb in a electrical circuit. They will be able to identify liquid electrical conductors and nonconductors. Also they will be able to identify that liquid solutions that contain a noticeable amount of acid or salt are good conductors of electricity. Each group of students will make a closed circuit to test their solutions.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 6 Science)

By Martha Martin.

Blast off the wet way

This lesson takes 6–10 days and includes math classes in which students will serve as observers and will calculate the height that the rocket reached and time elapsed. In the science class the students will design, build, launch, and do a detailed analysis of the acceleration, speed, and force produced by water-filled two-liter rockets.

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 Science)

By Jack Curtis.

Classification of matter

Students are introduced to the concept of different kinds of matter. Students create models of different substances to learn to identify the differences between elements, compounds, and mixtures. This lesson is developed so that teachers can use it with English as a Second Language students.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Development and Science)

By Anya Childs and Rhonda Garrett.

Forensic scientists: Identifying unknown substances

In CareerStart lessons: Grade eight, page 5.10

In this lesson, students use the physical properties of three mystery substances to determine their identities. Students discuss how these skills apply to careers in forensic science.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Science)

By Tammy Johnson and Martha Tedrow.

Grocery store matter

The lesson stimulates students' thought processes and makes students aware of the things around them by teaching them about the three kinds of matter and their properties.

Format: lesson plan (grade 1 English Language Arts and Science)

By Indiana Jennette.

Let's hear it for sound!

This lesson will help students build an understanding of the concepts of sound (vibration, pitch) through participation in a variety of hands-on experiments. By observing, predicting, and analyzing results, students can actively investigate the science of sound.

Format: lesson plan (grade 2 Science)

By Carol Helms.

Magnetic magic

Students will explore and experiment with a magnet's mysterious invisible strength by rotating through five hands-on centers.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Science)

By Thelma Pike.

Making “Oobleck”

The students will discuss what they think will happen when mixing specific ingredients to create an unknown substance labeled “Oobleck.” Next, the students will work together in small groups of four or five to create this substance. Finally, the students will individually illustrate and write one to three sentences describing the results.

Format: lesson plan (grade 1–2 English Language Arts and Science)

By Paige Hoffman.

Solving problems using simple machines

This lesson uses the familiar story of the three pigs and the big bad wolf to explore how the wolf could have used simple machines to catch the three pigs. By reading, analyzing, and evaluating the wolf's use of simple machines in The 3 Pigs and the Scientific Wolf by Mary Fetzer, the students will design and justify their own machine to help the wolf catch those pigs!

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 English Language Arts, English Language Development, and Science)

By Allison Buckner and Maria Tanner.

Stay still

In this lesson students will learn about stability. They will design and build an earthquake-proof house that takes into account the forces acting upon it and the materials with which it will be built. The house will be tested in a “shake table.” Students will be assessed by the product itself as well as their analysis of the results of the test.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Science)

By Erin Denniston.

Studying simple machines with Rube Goldberg

Using a copy of a Rube Goldberg cartoon, show how the famous cartoonist drew weird and wacky machines to complete a simple task. Students will develop their own Rube Goldberg-type cartoon, using five types of simple machines, to accomplish their selected feat.

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 Science)

By Cynthia Corley.

Resources on the web

Free Online MIT Course Materials

At this site MIT provides a number of great resources for high school teachers and students. These include video demonstrations, AP level practice problems and exam questions, hands on learning examples, and links to further resources from MIT education outreach... (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: MIT