To further their understanding of sound energy, students identify the different pitches and frequencies created by a vibrating ruler and a straw kazoo. They create high- and low-pitch sound waves.

Uncountable times every day with the merest flick of a finger each one of us calls on electricity to do our bidding. What would your life be like without electricity? Students begin learning about electricity with an introduction to the most basic unit in ordinary matter, the atom. Once the components of an atom are addressed and understood, students move into the world of electricity. First, they explore static electricity, followed by basic current electricity concepts such as voltage, resistance and open/closed circuits. Next, they learn about that wonderful can full of chemicals the battery. Students may get a "charge" as they discover the difference between a conductor and an insulator. The unit concludes with lessons investigating simple circuits arranged "in series" and "in parallel," including the benefits and unique features associated with each. Through numerous hands-on activities, students move cereal and foam using charged combs, use balloons to explore electricity and charge polarization, build and use electroscopes to evaluate objects' charge intensities, construct simple switches using various materials in circuits that light bulbs, build and use simple conductivity testers to evaluate materials and solutions, build and experiment with simple series and parallel circuits, design and build their own series circuit flashlight, and draw circuits using symbols.

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Collections > PreK-12 Resources for Emergency Closings

As teachers, students, and families deal with school closures, PBS LearningMedia producers and educators have come together to curate a special collection of resources organized by grade and subject area. Find videos, lesson plans, and activities that support learning at home. Create a free account to save and organize content.

Featured lesson plans in this collection contain full contextualization for the media they include. Plan and adapt our lessons in creative ways, using the Lesson Builder tool, Google Classroom, Remind, and more.

For early educators, we’ve assembled packets of printable activities to download and share with parents and students. Check out our PreK-K packet, and Grades 1-2 packets.

For Spanish-language content, see our Recursos de PreK-12 para Cierres de Emergencia.

Looking for ways you can add a little flair to your Distance Learning? Check out these Virtual Zoom Backgrounds from PBS Kids!

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Media Gallery
PreK
For early educators, we’ve assembled packets of printable activities to download and share with parents and students. Check out our PreK-K packet.

Science
Document (1), Video (4), Lesson Plan (1)
Math
Document (2), Video (2), Interactive (1), Lesson Plan (1)
Reading/English Language Arts
Document (2), Video (3), Interactive (1)
Social Studies
Document (3), Video (3), Media Gallery (1)
Kindergarten
For early educators, we’ve assembled packets of printable activities to download and share with parents and students. Check out our PreK-K packet.

Math
Media Gallery (3), Video (3), Interactive (3)
Reading/English Language Arts
Document (2), Video (3), Interactive (1)
Social Studies
Video (5), Interactive (1)
Science
Media Gallery (3), Video (3), Document (2), Interactive (1)
Grade 1
For early educators, we’ve assembled packets of printable activities to download and share with parents and students. Check out our Grades 1-2 packets.

Science
Media Gallery (2), Interactive (3), Interactive Lesson (2), Video (3)
Math
Interactive (4), Video (2)
Reading/English Language Arts
Media Gallery (1), Video (3), Interactive Lesson (2), Interactive (3)
Social Studies
Document (2), Video (4), Media Gallery (2)
Grade 2
For early educators, we’ve assembled packets of printable activities to download and share with parents and students. Check out our Grades 1-2 packets.

Science
Media Gallery (1), Interactive (3), Interactive Lesson (1), Video (3)
Math
Video (4), Interactive (1), Lesson Plan (1)
Reading/English Language Arts
Document (1), Interactive (1), Lesson Plan (1), Media Gallery (1), Video (3)
Social Studies
Media Gallery (1), Video (5), Interactive Lesson (1), Interactive (1)
Grade 3
Science
Media Gallery (2), Video (2), Document (1), Interactive Lesson (2), Interactive (3)
Math
Media Gallery (2), Video (3), Lesson Plan (1), Interactive (1), Interactive Lesson (1), Audio (1)
English Language Arts
Video (2), Interactive (3), Interactive Lesson (3), Lesson Plan (1)
Social Studies
Media Gallery (4), Video (4), Interactive (1), Interactive Lesson (1), Image (1)
Grade 4
Science
Media Gallery (2), Interactive (5), Interactive Lesson (1), Image (1)
Math
Media Gallery (2), Video (2), Interactive (2), Interactive Lesson (2), Lesson Plan (2)
English Language Arts
Video (1), Interactive (2), Interactive Lesson (2), Lesson Plan (3)
Social Studies
Media Gallery (2), Video (4), Image (1), Lesson Plan (1)
Grade 5
Science
Media Gallery (3), Video (2), Image (1), Interactive (3)
Math
Media Gallery (1), Video (1), Interactive (2), Interactive Lesson (2), Lesson Plan (3)
English Language Arts
Video (1), Interactive (3), Interactive Lesson (3), Lesson Plan (2)
Social Studies
Interactive (1), Lesson Plan (1), Interactive Lesson (1), Video (4)
Grade 6
Science
Media Gallery (1), Video (5), Interactive (1)
Math
Video (4), Interactive (2)
English Language Arts
Interactive (4), Interactive Lesson (4), Video (2)
Social Studies
Media Gallery (1), Video (6)
Grade 7
Science
Video (3), Interactive Lesson (3), Interactive (3)
Math
Video (4), Interactive Lesson (1), Interactive (2)
English Language Arts
Media Gallery (3), Video (5), Interactive Lesson (1), Interactive (1)
Social Studies
Media Gallery (2), Video (6)
Grade 8
Science
Interactive (6), Interactive Lesson (4)
Math
Video (4), Interactive Lesson (2), Interactive (2)
English Language Arts
Media Gallery (2), Video (4), Interactive Lesson (2), Interactive (2)
Social Studies
Media Gallery (1), Video (6)
Grade 9
Earth and Space Science
Interactive (5), Interactive Lesson (2), Video (1)
Algebra & Graphing
Document (1), Interactive (3), Interactive Lesson (3), Video (1)
World History
Media Gallery (2), Video (4), Image (2)
English Language Arts
Media Gallery (2), Video (6)
Grade 10
Biology
Interactive (4), Interactive Lesson (2), Video (2)
Geometry
Video (2), Interactive Lesson (3), Interactive (3)
English Language Arts
Media Gallery (2), Video (4), Interactive Lesson (2), Interactive (2)
US History I
Media Gallery (3), Video (6)
Grade 11
Chemistry & Others
Interactive (5), Interactive Lesson (2), Image (1)
Probability & Statistics
Video (5), Interactive Lesson (1), Interactive (1)
English Language Arts
Media Gallery (4), Video (5), Interactive Lesson (1), Interactive (1)
US History II
Media Gallery (1), Video (4), Interactive Lesson (1), Interactive (2)
Grade 12
Physics & Electives
Interactive (6), Interactive Lesson (4)
Calculus
Video (3)
English Language Arts
Media Gallery (2), Video (6)
Civics & Government
Media Gallery (2), Video (6)
Economics
Video (5), Interactive Lesson (1), Interactive (1)
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This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 3rd Grade Math. 

This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 3rd Grade Math.

Students learn how and why engineers design satellites to benefit life on Earth, as well as explore motion, rockets and rocket motion. Through six lessons and 10 associated hands-on activities, students discover that the motion of all objects everything from the flight of a rocket to the movement of a canoe is governed by Newton's three laws of motion. This unit introduces students to the challenges of getting into space for the purpose of exploration. The ideas of thrust, weight and control are explored, helping students to fully understand what goes into the design of rockets and the value of understanding these scientific concepts. After learning how and why the experts make specific engineering choices, students also learn about the iterative engineering design process as they design and construct their own model rockets. Then students explore triangulation, a concept that is fundamental to the navigation of satellites and global positioning systems designed by engineers; by investigating these technologies, they learn how people can determine their positions and the locations of others.

Engineers work in many fields associated with precipitation. Engineers study glaciers to better understand their dates of formation and current demise. They deal with issues of pollution transport and water yield, and they monitor reservoirs and dams to prevent flooding.

This hands-on activity explores the concept of static electricity. Students attract an O-shaped piece of cereal to a charged comb and watch the cereal jump away when it touches the comb. Students also observe Styrofoam pellets pulling towards a charged comb, then leaping back to the table.

In this activity, students act as engineers to determine which type of insulation would conserve the most energy.

In this activity, students investigate the effect that fins have on rocket flight. Students construct two paper rockets that they can launch themselves by blowing through a straw. One "strawket" has wings and the other has fins. Students observe how these two control surfaces affect the flight of their strawkets. Students discover how difficult control of rocket flight is and what factors can affect it.

In this activity, students investigate the effect that thrust has on rocket flight. Students will make two paper rockets that they can launch themselves by blowing through a straw. These "strawkets" will differ in diameter, such that students will understand that a rocket with a smaller exit nozzle will provide a larger thrust. Students have the opportunity to compare the distances traveled by their two strawkets after predicting where they will land. Since each student will have a slightly different rocket and launching technique, they will observe which factors contribute to a strawket's thrust and performance.

In this activity, students investigate the effect that weight has on rocket flight. Students construct a variety of their own straw-launched rockets, or "strawkets," that have different weights. Specifically, they observe what happens when the weight of a strawket is altered by reducing its physical size and using different construction materials. Finally, the importance of weight distribution in a rocket is determined.

Students are presented with a scenario surrounding a relevant contemporary public issue on which they can take a stand. Students will work together to create a survey that will then be shared with various groups, in order to analyze the ways in which certain groups perceive a given issue.

Students experientially learn about the characteristics of a simple physics phenomenon the pendulum by riding on playground swings. They use pendulum terms and a timer to experiment with swing variables. They extend their knowledge by following the steps of the engineering design process to design timekeeping devices powered by human swinging.

This is from Tools 4 NC Teachers. The resource can be given at one time or the problems can be split up and students can work on them at different times. It remixable, but please maintain the rigor of the assessment and include an answer key.

This PowerPoint provides some professional learning activities about Grade 3 Cluster 2 with a focus on data. It is remixable.

This is from Tools 4 NC Teachers. This document includes examples of anchor charts. It is remixable.

This lesson is from Tools 4 NC Teachers. This lesson provides students with opportunities to become introduced to creating bar graphs after collecting data.

This is from Tools 4 NC Teachers. This is a 3 lesson "mini unit" about collecting data intended to be taught in order towards the beginning of Cluster 2.

This lesson is from Tools 4 NC Teachers. This lesson provides students with opportunities to become introduced to collecting data about their classmates’ favorite food.