Learning Activities

The students will participate in aerobic and anaerobic exercises. They will record their heart rates before and after the exercises and record the data. They will evaluate their body’s responses to the exercises and analyze the differences in how they feel in each round. The students will be able to easily explain why they would categorize the exercises into aerobic or anaerobic types and explain how the exercise affected their cardiovascular system.

This learning activity was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science (GEMS) Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

Students will research the role of enzymes and how their deficiencies can affect living things.

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

Students will investigate how structures can reduce the effects of sunlight on the Earth’s surface. Students will use recycled materials to design a structure to reduce the effects of sunlight. Students will work in small groups to design and construct their structure. Finally, students will test their structures outside in the sun and record their findings.

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

Students will demonstrate their knowledge of animals with bioluminescent characteristics by collaboratively creating a sea animal out of glow in the dark slime. Students will then display their sea animal for the class and explain why their animal uses bioluminescence to survive.  

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

This activity activates and builds on students’ background knowledge of the butterfly’s unique life cycle. Students will begin the study by completing a K-W-L chart (Know, Want to Know, and Learned). Students will interact with the picture book The Very Impatient Caterpillar by Ross Burach and note characteristics that make the life cycle of a caterpillar unique. 

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

Students will create a "mind map" or a concept map using an online concept mapping software to outline the four main types of biological molecules - carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. The students' mind map will compare and contrast the four main divisions of biological molecules.

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

Creating and collaborating are two key components of any engaged classroom. In this learning activity, students work together using digital tools to create a presentation that will be shared with their fellow classmates. All living things share four common characteristics (birth, growth, reproduction, and death). This activity will focus on the life cycle of a butterfly and how a similar cycle is seen in all living things. Critical thinking skills will be on full display while students communicate their ideas to the class.

This activity was created as part of a collaboration between Alabama Technology in Motion and ALEX. Activity author recommended by TIM Trainer Barry Wiginton.

Students will explore sounds using rulers to simulate a barred instrument. Students will experiment with the vibration of sounds by pulling up on the rulers to make them vibrate and create sounds. They will change the ruler's length to create different pitches. Finally, students will work with a partner to create a melody on their barred instrument.

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

The purpose of this activity is to determine prior knowledge of plants and animals found in a wetlands ecosystem. The teacher will show examples of southeastern ecosystems from the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit. The image provides five examples of ecosystems found in the southern United States. Using a shoulder partner, students will determine if the photograph shows a wetlands ecosystem. Student partners will defend their conclusion verbally. 

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

Students will analyze viruses based on current knowledge and characteristics of living things. Students will create a Claim-Evidence-Reasoning to argue from evidence. 

This activity follows the "Characteristics of Living Things" Activity. 

This activity resulted from the ALEX Resource Development Summit. 

Students will interact with a Tornado VR Experience on Youtube and make observations about Earth's natural events that happen over a short period of time. Students will engage in conversation to discuss how natural disasters affect their lives. 

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

This activity utilizes maps and other visualizations to analyze past NOAA hurricane data.  It incorporates graphing wind speed and pressure to note the correlation between the two. Finally, it will show the relationship between hurricane category and damage.  

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.

In this activity, students will work in groups of four to complete a thermometer investigation using the Scientific Method. Throughout this detailed inquiry, students will learn the components that make up a thermometer, along with the units of measurement (Fahrenheit and Celsius). In the first part of the activity, students will use the thermometer to measure three different temperatures of water (room temperature, warm, and cold). The goal of this portion of the activity is for students to see the thermal energy of the water expand or contract the mercury within the thermometer. The second part of the activity will lead students to determine whether food coloring travels faster through warm or cold water. The teacher will put one drop of food coloring in both the warm and cold cups, and students will observe which cup the food coloring disperses/dissolves the fastest. This section is included to explain how molecules move faster in warm water and slower in cold water. 

This learning activity was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science (GEMS) Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

This learning activity should be used during a lesson on chemical and physical reactions. The students will observe and analyze the characteristic properties of vinegar and baking soda.  They will also conduct an experiment and determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.

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

In this learning activity, students will gather evidence that spiderwebs transmit vibrations. Students will investigate how a spider reacts to vibrations in its web using a tuning fork. Finally, students will construct their own spider web out of yarn to show the relationship between the vibrations on the web and the spider's reaction to its prey. 

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.

Students will use Google Drawings to create an infographic describing why an organism is classified as a living thing. 

This learning activity was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science University, GEMS-U Project.

Students will complete a guided research activity about electronic cigarettes and vaping and their effects on the respiratory system. Students will read and take notes on two articles retrieved from the Alabama Virtual Library. After taking notes, students will organize the information according to Statistics, Health Effects, Pros and Cons (related to conventional cigarette smokers), and Other Information. 

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

Students will create a cell model and communicate/present their projects to the class. Students will upload their pictures on a free program called Padlet. Padlet is an application to create an online bulletin board that you can use to display information for any topic. Easily create an account and build a new board. You can add images, links, videos, and more. Students will evaluate their classmates' projects and presentations.

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

Students are introduced to the four major classes of biological macromolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids). The video “You Are What You Eat” discusses the biological macromolecules and their role in the body and the food that we eat. The website also includes a chart comparing and contrasting the structural characteristics of the four macromolecules and an explanation of dehydration synthesis and hydrolysis. 

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Gap Resource Development Summit.

Students will construct hanging mobiles in the style of Alexander Calder using coat hangers and assorted materials while exploring the principles of balanced and unbalanced forces.

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

After completing the before activity and defining keywords for the life cycle of a plant, students will read "Flowering Plants" from the Gale Elementary Online Collection. Students will participate in a class discussion to broaden their understanding of key terms to gain a deeper understanding of the life cycle of a plant. Students will create word definitions for the following words: seed coat, germinate, photosynthesis, pollination, and reproduction. 

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

After viewing the Amoeba sisters video, students will use the diagrams included for each stage of meiosis in the video (or textbook if teacher prefers) to create flashcards of the stages of Meiosis. Students will include names of stages, descriptions and a drawing in color. Students will peer check by putting another student's cards in order. 

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

This activity is designed to be an introductory activity to generate student thought and interest in energy transfers and identification of potential and kinetic energy transfers in a system.

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

Students and teacher collaboratively collect and organize data on the length of days throughout the year and analyze patterns that they see. Students and teacher will create a digital spreadsheet and a connected chart in order to reflect and make observations while analyzing the data represented in chart format.

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

The article from Britannica School Elementary provides information on human body systems for research. In this activity, students will use articles from this source to obtain and communicate information on one of the twelve human body systems. Human body systems for research include: cardiovascular, circulatory, digestive, endocrine, immune, lymphatic, muscular, nervous, reproductive, respiratory, skeletal, and urinary.

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

In this activity, students will further expand their knowledge of energy and matter by exploring electrons. Students will learn that the flow of electrons creates electric currents. Students will explore open and closed circuits and complete experiments that use electricity. 

This resource was created in partnership with Dothan City Schools. 

Students listen to a book about a jackrabbit that wishes for horns so that he can be fierce. After listening to the read aloud, the students discuss animal adaptations for survival, including physical characteristics, habitat, and diet.

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

This activity provides the students with a visual description of the four types of chemical reactions using cartoon illustrations and then allows them time to interact with their peers so they will understand the components of each reaction. Students will also create a flip-book for the following reactions: synthesis, decomposition, single, and double replacement in order to describe the conservation of mass. Finally, students will use a digital tool to produce a "Cartoon Chemistry" artifact which will allow them to demonstrate their understanding of chemical reactions.

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

“The Story of Bottled Water” video tells the story of how Americans are influenced to purchase more than half a billion bottles of water every week when tap water is less expensive and sometimes healthier than bottled water. The environmental effects of plastic water bottles add up to billions of bottles in landfills each year. The nonrenewable materials needed to package the bottled water add up to a mountain of problems that have a negative impact on the environment. The website also includes “Act, Learn, and Share” links to lead students and teachers into getting involved. This link is a great entry event for environmental education with the potential to develop into a project-based learning topic integrating all subject areas. 

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

Students will demonstrate their knowledge of aerobic and anaerobic exercises by completing a two-question pre-test. After the pre-test, the teacher will discuss the answers provided by the students and the main differences between the two types. A graphic organizer such as a Venn Diagram or a T-chart could be used to accommodate visual learners. By the end of the introduction, the students should understand that aerobic exercise uses oxygen and increases the heart rate and anaerobic exercise doesn’t use oxygen and is high intensity, but that both types are important in how the heart performs and strengthens the body.

This learning activity was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science (GEMS) Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

In this activity, students collaborate to plan a piece of art which reflects personal and cultural significance. Students work together to produce a cyanotype silhouette print using light-sensitive chemicals. During the cyanotype process, students will trace the chemical reaction backwards to identify the activation energy and how energy transfers. Students then write an explanation of the selection process for each item in their group's artistic composition.

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

This learning activity should be used after a lesson or unit on animals native to Alabama and their habitats. The teacher will read the book If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss or use the digital resource as a read-aloud of the book. The students will then work with a partner to pretend like they are in charge of the zoo and need to build a new animal habitat for an animal native to Alabama. The students will create a drawing of a habitat for an animal native to Alabama.

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

Students will review the parts of an animal cell using the "Anatomy of an Animal Cell" webpage, and will then use their knowledge of animal cells to create a three-dimensional model of an animal cell.

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

Following the During Activity (Digestive Detectives: Gathering Information) student pairs will be provided with a patient data card. Using notes from their research, students will determine the patient’s diagnosis and create a mini claim-evidence-reasoning poster using an online design platform. The poster will allow students to communicate information to demonstrate an understanding of digestive diseases and disorders. 

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

In this activity, students will watch a YouTube video on mitosis and will then explore mitosis through modeling of the process with neon Expo markers and modeling clay/play-doh.

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