Students imagine they are scientists or engineers designing a new space probe to explore our solar system. They choose a planet, review its weather factors, and use a rubric to gather information, make a plan, modify and/or test their plan, and create their design. Students conduct peer evaluation and revise, publish, and present their designs.
This resource is a detailed article on the digestive system.
In this lesson, students watch a video about space probes and discuss the function of space probes. They use a photo gallery to compare and contrast different structures and equipment of probes, and make connections between the different structures and purposes of space probes. Then students use an interactive diagram of the Cassini space probe to imagine what instruments they might include on a probe of their own design.
This resource explains plant and animal domestication and it effect on humans.
Students are introduced to the unanswered question about the future of Earth's climate. They explore data showing temperature changes over the past 120 years and data illustrating climate trends over different time scales. Students evaluate the information the data provide and consider the limitations of conclusions based on the data.
Students discuss and illustrate the water cycle, including evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Students then use language arts skills to create stories about the journey of one drop of water through the water cycle. A MapMaker Interactive site is linked for use and a graphic illustrating the water cycle is included. Key terms are highlighted and linked to definitions.
Students watch videos and discuss ecological relationships with a focus on observing symbiosis. Then they classify the ecological relationships they observe as mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.
Students build on their knowledge of individual impacts on the ocean to see how the whole system can react to threats and changes. They examine ways in which human actions throw marine ecosystems out of balance, explore the concept of how impacts can build, and review their understandings of ecosystem dynamics.
Students analyze a diagram showing how the energy obtained from a resource gets to homes to power a light bulb. They describe the process by which electricity gets from its source to its destination, track and graph how much energy is transferred out of the system at each step, and write a statement about energy based on what they have learned.
Students explore real-world data to learn about electricity consumption trends worldwide. They watch a video to discover how different energy sources are transformed into electricity.
Students select an endangered or threatened animal to research, locate it on a map, and create a persuasive essay or poster to convince others to help the animals.
Students read an article about a community wind project in Kenya, analyze the article"™s structure, and develop and categorize a list of factors to be considered when planning the wind project.
Students investigate issues of energy use in the Americas that are related to energy consumption, carbon emissions, and population size. They map and graph the information and then analyze it.
Students investigate how nature can inspire engineers. Students will use the engineering design process to design, build, and test a prototype of an underwater vehicle that can withstand both heat and cold.
Students will be inspired by James Cameron's historic DEEPSEA CHALLENGE dive to investigate pressure and use the engineering process to design, model, test, document, evaluate, and re-design a submersible vehicle.
Students brainstorm solutions to location and water-based issues and discuss how these issues were addressed by engineering projects.
This guide was developed to support teachers in teaching topics with real-world context, and provide them with the background to feel competent and comfortable when teaching about the climate change. The guide includes numerous education features, such as teaching tips and student thinking, that help to connect the content to classroom practice.
This guide was developed to support teachers in teaching topics with real-world context, and provide them with the background to feel competent and comfortable when teaching about fresh water. The guide includes numerous education features, such as teaching tips and student thinking, that help to connect the content to classroom practice.
This guide was developed to support teachers in teaching topics with real-world context, and provide them with the background to feel competent and comfortable when teaching about energy. The guide includes numerous education features, such as teaching tips and student thinking, that help to connect the content to classroom practice.
Students use an interactive computational model and real-world data to evaluate the environmental impact of extracting natural gas to generate electricity. Students explore some of the relative benefits of natural gas and some of the potential environmental costs of extracting natural gas.