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Weather is the condition of the outside air at any time or place, and it is constantly changing. The climate, on the other hand, gives the big picture, or what the weather is like over a long period of time.

The classroom resource provides a video that will describe the different characteristics of weather and climate. After utilizing this resource, the students can complete the short test to assess their understanding.

We often take the force of gravity for granted, even though Earth's gravity is what keeps each of us from floating off into space! In this lesson, students begin to more fully understand and appreciate the force of gravity. They predict what will happen when a whole apple and half an apple are dropped at the same time from the same height then test their predictions. Next, they observe cannonballs of different masses being dropped out of a tower, and leaking cups being dropped into a bucket. These activities demonstrate that all objects fall at the same rate, regardless of their mass--a concept known as the law of falling bodies. Students then watch a video segment showing a NASA astronaut dropping a feather and a hammer on the Moon. They repeat the activity in the classroom then consider why these objects fall at the same rate on the Moon but not on Earth. Finally, they use what they have just learned to predict what will happen when two balls of the same mass but different volumes--and then two balls of different masses but the same volume--are dropped at the same time from the same height.

The classroom resource provides a video that will describe the process of photosynthesis. In addition, there is a sing-along video that students can perform karaoke-style that will help them remember the steps of this process. After utilizing these two resources, the students can complete the short test to assess their understanding.

In this video, Hank explains how the constants in the gas law aren't all that constant. The ideal gas law has to be corrected for volume because atoms and molecules take up space and for pressure because they're attracted to each other. Einstein was behind a lot more of what we know today than most people realize, but a Dutch scientist named Johannes van der Waals figured out those correction factors in the late 19th century and earned a Nobel Prize for his efforts.

Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space. That is why mass and volume are the properties of matter.

The classroom resource provides a video that will describe the properties and characteristics of matter. This resource can provide background information for students before they conduct their own investigations. There is also a short test that can be used to assess students' understanding.

In this lesson, students will be able to explain that when some substances are heated to a certain extent, they change in a way that cannot be changed back by cooling them.  

Students see a time-lapse video of cookie dough being baked into cookies. Students participate in a class discussion about heat-causing changes that cannot be reversed when cooled. Students learn that heating baking powder in the cookie dough makes gas and causes little holes in the cookie. Students design and conduct an experiment to see if baking powder causes more bubbling when it is warm or cold.

The classroom resource provides a slideshow that will describe a variety of landforms and the processes that formed them. In addition, there is a sing-along video that students can perform karaoke-style that will help them remember the different landforms and the geologic processes that shaped them. After utilizing these two resources, the students can complete the short test to assess their understanding. 

In this episode, Hank talks about how nutty our world is via buffers. He defines buffers and their compositions, talks about carbonate buffering systems in nature, acid rain, pH of buffers, and titration. Plus, a really cool experiment using indicators to showcase just how awesome buffers are.

Anytime there is a change in motion, force is the responsible party. It has to overcome inertia to act on an object. Inertia keeps an object either sitting still or moving at a constant speed.

The classroom resource provides a video that will introduce the concepts of force, motion, and inertia. This resource can provide background information for students before they conduct their own investigations. There is also a short test that can be used to assess students' understanding.

In this lesson, students will be able to explain that the density of a substance has to do with how heavy it is compared to the size of the object. Students will also be able to explain that density is a characteristic property of a substance. Students are introduced to the concept of density and that density has to do with how heavy something is relative to its size. Students are also introduced to the idea that whether a substance sinks or floats in water is a characteristic property of that substance and does not depend on the amount of the substance. Students also learn that if an object is denser than water it will sink when placed in water, and if it is less dense than water it will float.

Students learn about droughts and the link between climate change and water access through videos, readings, and discussions. They then brainstorm how to avoid a “Day Zero” in their watershed and how Mount Everest mountaineers can help protect the mountain's watershed. Students draw from their Project Journals to create and present a public education outreach campaign and supporting scientific arguments illustrating how humans impact water security. This lesson is part of the Peak Water: Mount Everest and Global Water Supply unit.

Discover just how powerful a dog’s sense of smell can be in this video from NOVA: Inside Animal Minds: Dogs & Super Senses. Fern, a trained sniffer dog, is put to the ultimate test: Can she locate a canister of meat hidden 20 feet underwater? As a passenger on a boat, Fern must determine the exact spot over which the canister was dropped in a lake. After about an hour of crisscrossing the lake, Fern successfully pinpoints the location. Canine smell is so acute because a dog’s nose splits the flow of incoming air into separate streams—with one dedicated solely to smell. A dog’s brain is also specially configured to make sense of the olfactory information it receives.

This resource is part of the NOVA Collection.

When scientists conduct experiments, they collect data through observation and measurement. There are many different ways to measure data, but they all help ensure that scientists can collect accurate information.

The classroom resource provides a karaoke song that will describe how scientists collect data as they experiment. Students can use the information presented in this audio resource as they plan their own investigations. There is also a short test that can be used to assess students' understanding. 

In this lesson, students investigate the condensation of water vapor on the inside of a plastic cup. Then they design an experiment to see if cooling water vapor, even more, affects the rate of condensation. Students also relate evaporation and condensation to the water cycle.

Students will be able to describe on the molecular level how cooling water vapor causes condensation. Students will also describe the roles evaporation and condensation play in the water cycle.

Steve Trash teaches kids about science with fun and magic. The show is filmed in Alabama.

You find water in oceans, rivers, lakes and ponds, in clouds and rain and snow. Explore how all of these are connected through a continuous cycle in the natural world. Then, Steve suggests ways to prevent litter and other destructive types of pollution. After all, it's no fun to play in the water if its full of garbage.

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 ocean. It provides a solid introduction to the ocean and the ocean literacy principles in an accessible and reader-friendly manner. In addition to general information about the ocean, the guide includes numerous education features, such as teaching tips and student thinking, that help to connect the content to classroom practice.

Plants produce seeds in order to reproduce. Gymnosperm seeds develop in cones, and angiosperm seeds develop in fruit. When a seed is fertilized, in the right conditions, it will germinate, starting the life of a new plant!

The classroom resource provides a video that will describe the process of reproduction in plants with seeds. After utilizing this resource, the students can complete the short test to assess their understanding.

Players are challenged to investigate a city neighborhood and explore relationships among living and non-living things in this interactive game from PLUM LANDING. Plum provides short prompts that encourage students to find animals and plants, consider how they meet their needs in a city environment, and discover connections among living and non-living things.

In this lesson, students will make a 2-D model of a salt crystal and use water molecule cut-outs to show how water dissolves salt. After seeing an animation of water dissolving salt, students will compare how well water and alcohol dissolve the salt. They will relate their observations to the structure of salt, water, and alcohol on the molecular level.

Students will be able to explain, on the molecular level, why water can dissolve the salt. Students will be able to identify the variables in their experiment. Students will also be able to explain why a less polar liquid, such as alcohol, is not good at dissolving salt.

Students build a stronger understanding of how the human body is organized and interacts with microbes through a series of articles and videos and by creating a human body microbial map. Then they create a public service announcement on a specific microbe.

A wave is energy in motion or energy moving from point to point. To describe the traits of a wave, there are a few terms you need to know.

Students will choose a term in the activity to display its description in the diagram.

Enjoy this colorful self-paced lesson to practice leveled reading. Use question words like “Who? What? When? Where? Why? & How?” Watch a real hot air balloon launch and meet a crazy ostrich who knows she can run but thinks she can fly. Students learn about how matter, mass, volume, and weight are connected to air.