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In this lesson, the teacher will use a small candle flame to demonstrate a chemical reaction between the candle wax and oxygen in the air. Students will see a molecular animation of the combustion of methane and oxygen as a model of a similar reaction. Students will use atom model cut-outs to model the reaction and see that all the atoms in the reactants show up in the products.

Students will be able to explain that for a chemical reaction to take place, the bonds between atoms in the reactants are broken, the atoms rearrange, and new bonds between the atoms are formed to make the products. Students will also be able to explain that in a chemical reaction, no atoms are created or destroyed.

Grade(s)

8

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

In this lesson, students will share their background knowledge of gravity and how it affects skydivers. After a brief whole group discussion on gravity, students will work in small groups to explain why the International Space Station does not fall to Earth. Finally, students will create a model helicopter to provide evidence that the gravitational force of earth will cause the helicopter to fall downward toward the center of Earth.

This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

Grade(s)

5

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Lesson Plan

Students will read about the life cycle of a butterfly and moth. Students will discuss the unique characteristics of each stage of the life cycle. Students will then use algorithms to code robots through the various stages of the life cycle of a butterfly. 

This learning activity was created as a result of the ALEX - Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) Resource Development Summit.

Grade(s)

3

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science
Science

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

This lesson will allow students to gather evidence to better understand how plants and animals provide for themselves by altering the environment. Students will observe plants and animals. Students will discuss their findings with group members. The students will write or draw about their findings. After writing with their group members, students will produce and present their knowledge to the class via Chatterpix.

This lesson results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.

Grade(s)

K

Subject Area

English Language Arts
Science

Learning Resource Type

Lesson Plan

A bioblitz is a short, intensive study of the biodiversity of an area. In this activity, students investigate and analyze local biodiversity using iNaturalist observations. They collaborate in small groups to explore observations and identification of various taxon groups. Then students create a class graph of data and draw inferences about biodiversity, invasive species, and endangered species in their local park. 

Grade(s)

7

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

This is how you touch: Nerve cells throughout your body respond to external stimuli by sending nerve impulses to your brain. To put it another way, your skin’s nerve cells respond to the things you touch, allowing you to feel them.

This resource presents a short slide show about how humans interpret and respond to things they touch. After utilizing this resource, the students can complete the short test to assess their understanding.

Grade(s)

4

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Learn about motion, forces, and sources of energy as you direct a train to the finish line in Rail Rally from Dinosaur Train.

Grade(s)

K

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

During this before activity, the students' prior knowledge will be assessed and activated by completing an ABC brainstorm of matter using the Alphabet Organizer tool. The digital tool allows the student to create an alphabet chart or book using words and pictures. The students can have voice and choice by choosing to create an alphabet chart with five words per letter or with a word, note, and picture for each letter. When the project is complete, the students can save their work, print their work, or share their work through an e-mail link. This web tool requires a computer with internet access and Adobe Flash Player.  

This activity was created as a result of the GAP Resource Summit.

Grade(s)

8

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

In this hands-on investigation, students will demonstrate how forces have an effect on objects. This lesson, “Move It!” is Day 1 in a series of lessons that help to explain how forces affect objects.  Students will identify objects that can be moved and demonstrate how movement puts objects in motion. In Day 2, “Push Me, Pull You”, students demonstrate that objects can be moved by pushing or pulling them. On Day 3, “Tug of War!”, students describe relative strengths and directions of the push or pull applied to an object.

This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

Grade(s)

K

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Lesson Plan

In this PhET Activity, students will explore the relationships between the pressure, volume, temperature, and density of ideal gases. As an extension, students can visualize, using graphs, how the temperature and pressure of a gas impact the speed and kinetic energy of particles. This activity can be used as an exploratory introduction to the behavior of gases, as a digital lab, or to reinforce student knowledge of confined gases.

Grade(s)

9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

The teacher will present an informational text from the website, ReadWorks. Students will interact with this non-fiction text by annotating the text digitally. The students will answer the questions associated with the article as an assessment. This learning activity can introduce students to the concept of eclipses, serve as reinforcement after students have already learned this concept, or be used as an assessment at the conclusion of a lesson. 

Grade(s)

6

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

In this first episode of Crash Course Physics, Dr. Shini Somara introduces us to the ideas of motion in a straight line. She talks about displacement, acceleration, time, velocity, and the definition of acceleration.

Grade(s)

9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Students make observations and analyze data to investigate how the duration of daylight changes throughout a year. They consider their own experiences in addition to evidence gathered from videos, data tables, and a line graph to describe the pattern in the changing duration of daylight from January to December.

The associated lesson plan Investigating Daylight Throughout a Year provides more support for teachers and students, including handouts and materials for diverse learners, as well as information for customizing the data to your location.

Grade(s)

6

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Cows have adapted to an incredible range of environments as they have provided people with milk, meat, leather, and draft power. As a response to the many uses and habitats of cattle, a wide variety of breeds have been developed. Breeders of beef and dairy cattle carefully select cows from known breeds that will yield the most meat and milk. In this video from Nature, learn about the most desirable traits in both beef and dairy cows.

Grade(s)

7

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

This activity should be completed after teaching a lesson on animal adaptations and camouflage. Students will choose an animal and create an artwork by using a series of patterned dots to "camouflage" or blend their animal into the landscape. After completing their artwork, students will examine their artwork and demonstrate their scientific knowledge by answering reflection questions in their science journal. 

This activity was created as a result of the Arts COS Resource Development Summit.

Grade(s)

4

Subject Area

Arts Education
Science

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

In this lesson, students will gather quantitative information to construct a graph to show the period trends in electronegativity, electron affinity, and ionization energy. Once the trends are recognized, they will construct a model of these periodic trends using the Alabama Science in Motion Lab (Periodic Trends: Graphs and Straws). 

This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

Grade(s)

9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science
Science

Learning Resource Type

Lesson Plan

In this game, students will learn how carbon atoms move through different carbon reservoirs during the carbon cycle. Students can play the game as a single-player or join others in a multiplayer format. Students will begin to understand the delicate balance of the carbon cycle while playing this game. 

Grade(s)

6

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

We learn a lot about our surroundings thanks to sound. In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Dr. Shini goes over some of the basics (and some of the not so basics) of the Physics of Sound.

Grade(s)

9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Jump in with both feet as you watch oobleck (cornstarch and water mixture) videos and learn about three states of matter: solids, liquids, and gases. Learn to use captions and charts to make reading comprehension less messy and loads of fun.

Grade(s)

5

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

In these Hero Elementary activities, children explore solid and liquid materials. They observe, compare, and describe solid and liquid materials. They sort materials as solid or liquid. They find out how hot and cold can change the state of materials.

Grade(s)

2

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

In this activity, the students will read an article that explores the relationship between synthetic and natural materials. Next, the students will watch a short video clip related to synthetic materials in order to understand the impact these resources can have on society. As they watch the video, the students will assess its validity and purpose by using a graphic organizer.

This activity was created as a result of the DLCS COS Resource Development Summit.

Grade(s)

8

Subject Area

Science
Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

This inquiry-based lesson provides an introduction to waves by using water waves to explore patterns of amplitude, wavelength, and frequency.  Students will investigate water waves in slow motion.

This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

Grade(s)

4

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Lesson Plan

The teacher will present an informational text from the website, ReadWorks. The students and teacher can interact with this non-fiction text by annotating the text digitally. The students will answer the questions associated with the article as an assessment. This learning activity can be used to provide information regarding geologic events that happen over a short period of time, serve as reinforcement after students have already learned this concept, or be used as an assessment at the conclusion of a lesson. This learning activity includes a StepRead: StepReads are less complex versions of the original article. StepRead1 (SR1) is less complex than the original article, and StepRead2 (SR2) is less complex than SR1. This will allow the teacher to use this learning activity with students of varying ability levels. 

Grade(s)

2

Subject Area

English Language Arts
Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

This inquiry-based lesson allows students to explore how energy is transferred through a wave. 

This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

Grade(s)

4

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Lesson Plan

The teacher will present an informational text from the website, ReadWorks. The students and teacher can interact with this non-fiction text by annotating the text digitally. The students will answer the questions associated with the article as an assessment. This learning activity will introduce students to how animals can disperse seeds or pollinate plants. This could be used as a precursor before students design and create their own models. This learning activity includes a StepRead: StepReads are less complex versions of the original article. StepRead1 (SR1) is less complex than the original article, and StepRead2 (SR2) is less complex than SR1. This will allow the teacher to use this learning activity with students of varying ability levels. 

Grade(s)

2

Subject Area

English Language Arts
Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

The way light behaves can seem very counterintuitive, and many physicists would agree with that, but once you figure out light waves it all starts to make more sense. In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Dr. Shini shows us how we know that light exists as a wave and why that's really cool.

Grade(s)

9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Use text features like captions, bold print, glossary, and index to learn about the hot and cold states of water and all about penguins. Students will read an informational text on what makes water freeze, look at cool penguin pictures, learn weird penguin names, and read how penguins enjoy the water in all of its states.

Grade(s)

2

Subject Area

English Language Arts
Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

We've all seen substances change as a result of changes in temperature. Water heated on the stove eventually changes from a liquid to a gas and seemingly disappears as it disperses into the air. But even at lesser extremes, temperature affects the density of water. In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, a cast member demonstrates how temperature affects the way water molecules react with one another.

Grade(s)

5

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

In this activity, students will construct their own electromagnet from a battery, wire, and a nail.

This resource is a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

Grade(s)

8

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

Students will complete a data table using authentic tide predictions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Next, students will use their data table to create a line graph that will show the relationship between the tidal range and moon phases. Lastly, students will analyze their graph to explain how the occurrence of ocean tides is related to the moon's phases. 

This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

Grade(s)

6

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Lesson Plan

The teacher will present an informational text from the website, ReadWorks. The students and teacher can interact with this non-fiction text by annotating the text digitally. The students will answer the questions associated with the article as an assessment. This learning activity can be used to introduce students to the varying habitats of living things, serve as reinforcement after students have already learned this concept, or be used as an assessment at the conclusion of a lesson.

Grade(s)

2

Subject Area

English Language Arts
Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

In this video, Hank tells how the work of some amazing thinkers combined to produce the Ideal Gas Law, how none of those people were Robert Boyle, and how the ideal gas equation allows you to find out pressure, volume, temperature, or a number of moles.

Grade(s)

9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

The universe describes space and all of the planets, stars, galaxies, and other matter contained there. It is so big that some scientists believe that it might go on forever.

The classroom resource provides a video that will describe the components of the universe and their relationship to each other. This resource can provide background information for students before they create their own models. There is also a short test that can be used to assess students' understanding.

Grade(s)

6

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

In this lesson, students will be able to plan and carry out an investigation to compare the property of sinking and floating between different substances. Students will develop an understanding that whether a substance sinks or floats is a property of the substance. Students will look at several objects made from wax, wood, metal, and rubber and predict and test whether they sink or float.

Grade(s)

2

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

The students will measure the speed of a tennis ball as it rolls across a flat surface.  Students will learn that because of inertia, an object tends to maintain its motion.

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Development Summit. 

Grade(s)

8

Subject Area

Science

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity
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