Elementary School Lesson Plans (Page 3)

Skydive Into Forces

Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd

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7 reviews

Forces, which we might instinctively describe as pushes and pulls, are acting on us at all times, but we cannot always see them. This hands-on lesson offers a fun opportunity to explore "invisible" forces like gravity and air resistance. Students will build parachutes and investigate how they allow skydivers to safely land. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

3-PS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.

Sound and Vibrations 2: Make Sprinkles Dance

Lesson Plan Grade: 1st

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6 reviews

Can you make something move by using only sound? Your students will find out in this lesson plan as they explore the connection between sound and vibrations. This is the second in a pair of lessons about sound. See Sound and Vibrations 1: Rubber Band Guitar for the first lesson. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

1-PS4-1. Plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that vibrating materials can make sound and that sound can make materials vibrate.

Sustainability: How Our Actions Affect the Environment

Lesson Plan Grade: 5th

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6 reviews

How do our everyday actions contribute to our ecological footprint? Can we change our individual actions to be more environmentally friendly and create a more sustainable lifestyle? In this lesson, students will evaluate their own environmental impact using an online tool called Your Plan, Your Planet, and evaluate simple ways to reduce their ecological footprint as an individual or community. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

5-ESS3-1. Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth's resources and environment.

2022 Paper Ball Run Challenge for Grades 3-5

Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd-5th

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2 reviews

Add a twist to a classic activity with this fun lesson plan. Your students will design and build a ball run for a ping pong ball using nothing but paper and tape. Their goal is to make the slowest ball run possible. How long can they make it take for the ball to go through their ball run? The 2022 competition is over, but you can see what students built and learn about the winners on the 2022 Engineering Challenge summary page. Teachers, note that middle school and high school … Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

3-5-ETS1-2. Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

Build a Machine to Lift Water

Lesson Plan Grade: 4th-8th

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What would your students do if your town's water supply was cut off due to an equipment failure or natural disaster? Inspired by Global Problem Solvers: The Series, in this lesson plan they will tackle a real-world engineering challenge by building a prototype of a device that can manually pump water during an emergency. They will also think like entrepreneurs and come up with a business plan for how their device could be produced, sold, and used in the real world. This lesson is one of… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
3-5-ETS1-2. Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
3-5-ETS1-3. Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
MS-ETS1-4. Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.

Floating Magnets

Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd

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6 reviews

Do your students think making things float in mid-air is a magic trick? Show them how you can do it with science! In this lesson plan they will learn about interactions between magnets and figure out how to make them float. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

3-PS2-3. Ask questions to determine cause and effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other.

Food Waste Audit

Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd-11th

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4 reviews

"Fresh Food In Garbage Can to Illustrate Waste" by SpeedKingz/Shutterstock.com Have you ever thrown away food after a meal? Have you ever thrown away a whole piece of food? What are some of the reasons you threw away that food? During this Food Waste Audit, students will explore their own impact on our food system. Students will brainstorm solutions to reduce their food waste and be challenged to try out their solution! Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-ESS3-3. Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.

Fossil Fuels: Air Pollution and the Greenhouse Effect

Lesson Plan Grade: 4th-8th

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"Nuclear Power Plant Cattenom" © 2005 Stefan Kühn In these two activities, students will explore two consequences of burning fossil fuels: air pollution and the greenhouse effect. For a comprehensive unit on fossil fuels, this lesson works especially well as an extension to Fossil Fuels: Chocolate Chip Mining. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

4-ESS3-1. Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and that their uses affect the environment
MS-ESS3-4. Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems.

How are New Materials Invented?

Video Lesson Grade: 5th

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6 reviews

New materials often involve chemical reactions, and slime is no exception. In this lesson, students will use the engineering design process to design a slime product. They will need to decide on the desired properties for their slime and then experiment to find the best recipe. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
5-PS1-4. Conduct an investigation to determine whether the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances.

How Rain Gardens Fight Pollution and Flooding

Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd

Students might think rain gardens are only there to make an urban area look nice. In this lesson, students will make mini rain gardens and discover how these can filter out pollution and soak up excess rainwater. Will they find how rain gardens help prevent natural disasters? Try out this fun lesson and see! Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

3-ESS3-1. Make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impacts of a weather-related hazard.

Elementary School Lesson Plans (106 results)

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