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To search for teaching materials that address particular concepts in our conceptual framework, visit the teaching guide for your grade level:
K-2, 3-5 , 6-8, 9-12, or College
Found 16 resources:
Science and technology on fast forward
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Life Science
- Physical Sciences
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
Teach about how technological and scientific advances propel one another forward, using an example that connects the cathode ray tube to modern DNA technologies. Get tips on using Science Stories in class.
Fair tests in physics: Examining eclipses
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Physical Sciences
- Space science
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
Teach about test design in the field of physics. Get tips on using Science Stories in class.
The science checklist applied: Cold fusion
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Physical Sciences
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
Have your students read about an investigation of cold fusion and compare it to the Science Checklist in order to explore the key traits that make science science. Get more tips on using Science Stories in class.
The science checklist applied: CFCs and the destruction of the ozone layer
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Earth science
- Physical Sciences
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
Have your students read about the investigation of the hole in the ozone layer and compare it to the Science Checklist in order to explore the key traits that make science science. Get more tips on using Science Stories in class.
Benjamin Franklin: STEM Activity Toolkit
Grade Level(s):
- 3-5
- 6-8
- 9-12
Source:
- PBS and WETA
Resource type:
- classroom activity
Discipline:
- Earth science
- Physical Sciences
Time: 1-6 hours
Overview
Ken Burns’s four-hour documentary, Benjamin Franklin, explores the revolutionary life of one of the 18th century’s most consequential figures. This STEM Activity Toolkit frames the context of the film series, and provides guidance for viewers to engage in discussions and activities around science, technology, engineering, and math.
Exploring how liquids behave
Grade Level(s):
- K-2
Source:
- Janulaw, Sharon
Resource type:
- lab activity
Discipline:
- Physical Sciences
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
Learners observe how liquids behave and record their observations. Then they combine two of the liquids and observe and record how the liquids behave.
Exploring liquids
Grade Level(s):
- K-2
Source:
- Janulaw, Sharon
Resource type:
- classroom activity
Discipline:
- Physical Sciences
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
Learners will use their senses to investigate and observe three liquids. They will see, hear, touch, smell and taste to collect data and to ask and answer questions.
Exploring bouncing balls
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- lab activity
Discipline:
- Physical Sciences
Time: one class period
Overview
Students explore the physical properties of a variety of balls and how they bounce. Students then reflect on the process they used by charting their pathway on the Understanding Science Flowchart.
Heating and cooling of the Earth’s surface
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- lab activity
Discipline:
- Physical Sciences
Time: Two class periods
Overview
Students conduct experiments on the rate that sand and water heat up and cool down. Based on their observations, they make hypotheses about why materials heat up and cool down at different rates and then test their ideas.
Newton’s 2nd law: Inquiry approach
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- Tung, Cecilia
Resource type:
- classroom activity
Discipline:
- Physical Sciences
Time: One to two class periods
Overview
Students act as colleagues of Isaac Newton. Students focus on how to design a procedure to test Newton's hypothesis and then communicate that idea to others. The emphasis is on the process rather than the actual results.
What’s in a Word?
Grade Level(s):
- 3-5
- 6-8
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- Schwartz, Renee
Resource type:
- article
Discipline:
- Earth science
- Life Science
- Physical Sciences
- Space science
Overview
Word choice in the classroom can (mis)represent science. Use word lists to combat misconceptions about science that stem from vocabulary mix-ups. Find out how in this article distributed with permission from Science Scope.
A science prototype: Rutherford and the atom
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- classroom activity
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Physical Sciences
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
Have your students read the full article on Rutherford's investigations of the atom and compare it to the Science Checklist in order to explore the key traits that make science science. Get more tips on using Science Stories in class.
Traveling through different liquids
Grade Level(s):
- K-2
Source:
- Janulaw, Sharon
Resource type:
- classroom activity
Discipline:
- Physical Sciences
Time: 40 minutes
Overview
Learners will observe and record what happens when they manipulate bottles containing one liquid and an object. They will compare bottles that have an object and different liquids. They will observe and record what happens when they manipulate bottles containing one liquid and more than one object.
Ozone depletion: Uncovering the hidden hazard of hairspray
Grade Level(s):
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Earth science
- Physical Sciences
Time: 2 hours
Overview
Follow a group of scientists from around the world as they work together to understand - and then help fix - a problem that threatens the future of the planet: a hole in the ozone layer. Get tips for using science stories in class.
Sensing Energy
Grade Level(s):
- 3-5
Source:
- AAAS Science NetLinks
Resource type:
- classroom activity
Discipline:
- Physical Sciences
- Space science
Time: Two 45-min class periods
Overview
Students perform simple experiments using UV detection beads to explore unseen energy produced by the sun.
Rutherford’s enlarged: A content embedded NOS activity
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- Abd-El-Khalick, Fouad
Resource type:
- lab activity
Discipline:
- Physical Sciences
Time: One class period
Overview
Students reason about a model of Ernst Rutherford's famous experiment supporting the idea of the atomic nucleus. They differentiate between observation and inference and see the role of creativity in the process of science.
