LAFS.68.RST.1.3Archived Standard

How can you save your house on the lake? This is a three-day activity that will reinforce science skills, math skills, and technology skills by taking the students through the design process to create a solution to the real-world problem of lake erosion.

Type: Lesson Plan

This a inquiry investigates plasmolysis in plant cells when exposed to NaCl solution. The ionic solution causes the water within the cell to move out and the cell membrane shrinks inward. Students will prepare wet mount slides, view, draw, record time data for plasmolysis, and analyze the data generated.

Type: Lesson Plan

This POE explores the concept of uneven heating of Earth's surfaces by the sun through collecting and analyzing data and comparing results with a gallery walk.

Type: Lesson Plan

While not explicitly stated in the standard, the idea that the Law of Conservation of Mass is conditional to a closed system and this is the focus of my lesson. This lesson starts with an investigation of seeds growing in a jar with students quickly recording the mass each day for 5 days. On the 5th day, students complete 2 more investigations, half with closed systems and half with open systems. They will compare the final masses and draw conclusions independently and through class discussions about the condition of the Law of Conservation of Mass.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will identify the effects of friction on the falling rates of an object in different liquids using speed calculation. With these calculations, the students will synthesize a cause/effect statement from the results comparing thickness (viscosity) of the liquid and the speed on a falling object.

Type: Lesson Plan

This resource uses a variety of techniques to address the factors that contribute to natural selection. Included in the lesson is a hook to engage students, a weblab exercise, a poster activity for expression and a hands-on simulation.

Type: Lesson Plan

This MEA explores the idea of replication when completing scientific investigations. Students are asked to create a plan for Science Incorporated to determine if their investigations are replicable.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

This MEA is based on a 6th grade life science standard. Using a doctor's report, students will create a checklist and system of identifying organs and body systems affected by the patients symptoms.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson is an engaging way to strengthen students understanding of balanced and unbalanced forces and how these forces change an objects direction of motion. Students will participate in an actual tug of war and determine what factors create an unbalanced force. The lesson not only supports science benchmarks but Math and Language Arts as well.

Type: Lesson Plan

The students make observations and take the mass of various structures constructed by the teacher. They rearrange the structures and measure the mass again. During the whole class discussion the students come to understand that during a chemical or physical change the mass is conserved.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is a lesson on viruses and a simulation on how diseases can spread.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students explore morphology (body shape) of fish and how they can indicate the fish"s lifestyle.

Type: Lesson Plan

During this 3 day lesson, students will review a Powerpoint presentation, watch a short video, have discussions in groups, and enjoy competing as predators for their prey in an engaging activity. Students will gain a better understanding of adaptations, and what an animal needs to do to survive.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will examine the relationships between mass, force and acceleration, applying Newton's 2nd Law.

This is part 2 of a two-part lab. It is recommended that the teacher cover the first lesson (, ID 51003) prior to completing this lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

This activity brings heat to life. It is based on transferring of heat through conduction, convection, radiation. It is a 4-day lesson with a PowerPoint, 2 labs, and a computer activity. Students have real word experiences with these and are now able to relate them to their daily lives.

Type: Lesson Plan

The lesson will begin with the teacher engaging the students with a presentation of "How the Blood Gets Around the Body" following a think quest presentation that covers the parts and functions of the circulatory system, including the brain, veins and arteries, heart and blood. Students will explore blood vessels by watching a short video clip, conducting a hands-on investigation about blood pressure. Next the teacher will lead a discussion and explain about the human heart and will use a "Map of the Human Heart" to show the class exactly how the heart pumps blood throughout your body and learn facts about the human heart. Students will get a chance to elaborate by creating a color picture of blood flow to, through and from the heart in their notebooks. To evaluate the students, they will watch a short video clip about the circulatory system and take the accompanying quiz.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will learn how to take a clipping from a mother tomato plant and make an exact duplicate copy for mass-reproduction that will produce a harvest quickly. This will engage students as they discover this can be done without seeds, and they can grow a plant about 2 feet in height!

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will choose a "cool" scientific experiment ("trick") from informational text, follow a precise multi-step procedure to carry out the experiment, research the scientific explanation for the result and using accurate reasoning explain the science to a broadcast audience. Students will be creating a short video clip with the theme "Is it Magic or is it Science?" to air on the school CCTV. They will dress up like magicians and scientists and perform a science experiment for the audience. After the experiment the debate will begin and ultimately the magician will give in and admit that it was science, not magic. Students will research, perform, write, edit, record, create video clips with music and text.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will predict if the temperature will rise inside of an empty sock compared to the air outside the sock then they will test their hypothesis. This lesson addresses heat transfer and variables.

Type: Lesson Plan

How do things heat up? Help students relate thermal energy to their daily lives. This is a two-day entertaining lesson explaining thermal energy the transfer of energy between the phases of matter. It includes 2 activities for the students along with two-teacher demonstrations. Also included is a power point, and small quiz.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will demonstrate earthquakes using graham crackers. They will then discover the after effects, (after shocks and tsunamis), and earthquake has on Mother Earth. Lastly, they will discover not all tsunamis are enormous tidal waves. This is lesson 3 of a 4-part unit. Lesson 1 (ID 45876), Lesson 2 (ID 45856), Lesson 4 (ID 45984)

Type: Lesson Plan

This is a fun lab activity to be used as part 3 of a 4 part series on Interdependence.  It can also be used as a stand alone activity. Animal crackers are used - they can be eaten at the end of the activity- so double check with your students about any food allergies (ie gluten).

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will randomly sample a model Earth (inflatable globe) in order to determine the percentage of Earth's surface covered with water.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will discover the importance of scientific replication by performing an investigation requiring them to write, and then follow, step-by-step instructions. The scenario will be based on the show Survivor and will involve making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will use this kinesthetic activity to further their knowledge regarding balancing chemical equations.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will be introduced to the taxonomy of living things created by Linnaeus. They will learn how to use binomial nomenclature to create and solve dichotomous keys.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students must assist an archaeological research team to determine which material ancient archers likely used to string their bows. Students must design an experiment to test various materials for power, precision, and durability. After the data is collected, they must develop a system to determine which material would have been most desirable for the ancient archers.

This MEA is a multifaceted lesson designed to address both the processes of discovery through scientific investigation and problem-solving through engineering. The full-scale MEA involves the development of a complete experiment and a proper lab report and then an application of the collected data to address the problem-solving requirement of the MEA.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students must explore and assess the implications various human and environmental factors are having on the yellow-legged frog population in California. Then, they must choose one avenue to attempt to help save these animals. Some options will work quickly, while others will take time to implement. However, the ones that take longer to implement are generally more likely to be effective for a longer period of time. Students will use knowledge of percentages to calculate population size and will complete research to explore the affects of human impact on the environment and the process of adaptation through natural and artificial selection.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

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By the end of this module, teachers should be able to:

• Name the key instructional shifts in English Language Arts and Literacy
• Label the College and Career Readiness, also known as CCR, anchor standards for Reading
• Use the language of the Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects to identify what students should know and be able to do
• Arrange and sequence the Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects
• Distinguish the changes in rigor as a Reading standard progresses from one grade band to the next

This is Module 1 of 4 in the series, "Literacy across the Content Areas: Reading and Writing to Build Content Knowledge."

Type: Professional Development