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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 15 resources:
Galaxy classification
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
- 9-12
Source:
- Whitfield, Lisé
Resource type:
- lab activity
Discipline:
- Space science
Time: One class period
Overview
This is a modified version of Galactic Inquiry in which students learn about galaxy classification while also experiencing a simple simulation of peer review and community analysis.
Inventing Tomorrow: Water Module
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
- 9-12
Source:
- WGBH
Resource type:
- classroom activity
Discipline:
- Earth science
Time: 10-12 class periods
Overview
This module uses a film about student Sahithi Pingali, who investigates water quality in her hometown in Bangalore, as a jumping off point for students to expand their understanding of eutrophication and the process of science.
Inventing tomorrow: Air Module
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
- 9-12
Source:
- WGBH
Resource type:
- classroom activity
Discipline:
- Earth science
Time: 10-12 class periods
Overview
This module (on the right) uses a film about students José, Jesús, and Fernando, who investigate smog in their town in Mexico, as a jumping off point for students to expand their understanding of air pollution, global warming, and the process of science.
Introducing the Understanding Science Flowchart to middle school students
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- classroom activity
Discipline:
- Earth science
Time: 1-2 class periods
Overview
Students read a story about Walter Alvarez and then plot his scientific journey on the Understanding Science Flowchart. Students find that science is seldom a linear story.
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.
The story behind the science
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- Iowa State University
Resource type:
- article
Time: Variable
Overview
Thirty stories spanning five disciplines help students explore key science concepts through the eyes of the scientists who were involved, while emphasizing the nature and process of science.
The Hobbit: When scientists disagree about the evidence
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- Visionlearning
Resource type:
- classroom activity
Discipline:
- Life Science
Time: One class period
Overview
This classroom activity, adapted from an exercise on PBS's NOVA website, provides an excellent example of an active debate within the scientific community regarding a relatively recent human fossil find, Homo floresiensis.
The structure of DNA: Cooperation and competition
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Life Science
Time: 2-3 periods
Overview
This Science Story examines how evidence and ideas from different research groups contributed to the discovery of the structure of DNA. Get tips for using science stories in class.
Endosymbiosis: Cells within cells
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Life Science
Time: one period
Overview
This Science Story on endosymbiosis explores the career of microbiologist Lynn Margulis and how an unlikely idea overcame strong resistance within the scientific community and finally came to be an accepted part of evolutionary theory. Get tips for using science stories in class.
Ancient bones, modern problems: One scientist’s trash is another scientist’s data
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- research profile
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Life Science
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
Learn how scientists reuse and upcycle their data, while following graduate student Maria Viteri as she investigates ancient and modern small mammal communities. Get tips for using science stories in class.
Asteroids and dinosaurs: Unexpected twists and an unfinished story
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Earth science
- Life Science
Time: 2 class periods
Overview
This story uses the Science Flowchart to map Walter Alvarez's scientific journey as he investigates an intriguing hypothesis about the extinction of the non-Avian dinosaurs. Get tips for using science stories in class.
How science works
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
- 9-12
Source:
- OceanLeadership
Resource type:
- Science Story
- video
Discipline:
- Earth science
Time: 10 minutes
Overview
This video uses the Understanding Science flowchart to describe how a team of scientists investigates climate change throughout Earth's history with ocean sediment cores.
From Caribbean girl to California geologist
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Earth science
Time: 5 min
Overview
This Science Short illustrates how sedimentologist Liselle Persad's science was shaped by the landscape of Trinidad and Tobago, where she grew up. Get tips on using Science Stories in class.
From city girl to naturalist
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Life Science
Time: 5 min
Overview
This Science Short illustrates how scientists are shaped by their personal experiences in the context of research about fossil insects. Get tips on using Science Stories in class.
Fossil insects take to social media
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Life Science
Time: 5 min
Overview
This Science Short illustrates scientific collaboration in the context of research about fossil insects. Get tips on using Science Stories in class.
