Lesson Plans

Students will learn how engineers construct buildings to withstand damage from earthquakes by building their own structures with toothpicks and marshmallows. Students test how earthquake-proof their buildings are through an earthquake simulation using a pan of Jell-O.

This lesson was adapted from Teach Engineering.

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

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.

During this lesson, students will create two line graphs: one that shows how carbon dioxide levels have changed over time, and one that shows how global temperatures have changed over time. Students will read current news article(s) detailing the human activities and natural processes that could change global temperatures. Students will interpret their graphical data, as well as information in the article, to determine if there is any relation between carbon dioxide levels and global temperatures. 

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

Students will conduct an experiment to determine the effect of mass on the distance a toy car will roll. Students will calculate the effect that mass has on the acceleration of the car (the distance the car will roll). Students will also make a prediction of how far the car will roll if more mass is added. 

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

This lesson increases student knowledge of severe weather and weather forecasting. It emphasizes the importance of student questioning to obtain information. After the introduction to severe weather is made, students will create their own Tornado in a Bottle, and use this exploration to make further connections.

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

In this lesson, students will explore animal adaptations for a variety of animals.  Students will select one adaptation and create a wanted poster describing the specific adaptation for that animal and how it functions to help the animal survive, grow, behave, or reproduce.  

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

Students will compare and give examples of density-independent and density-dependent factors and how they have an effect on the changing conditions on a lake. After establishing the difference between them, students will play a game where they change several factors and assess the effects of their changes to the environment.

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

In the urban dictionary, “on fleek” is currently a popular slang term that describes something that is  “flawlessly styled or groomed.”  In this lesson, the students will explore the concept of evolution by using their engineering skills to “build” various bird beaks that are “flawlessly styled,” or “on fleek,” for capturing different types of food.  Finally, the students will use argument-driven inquiry to design an experiment and use claim, evidence, and reasoning to justify which “bird” is best adapted to survive during conditions of limited resources.

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

In this lesson, students will explore a consequence of burning fossil fuels: the greenhouse effect. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to interpret data to explain the greenhouse effect on temperature and how various human activities could cause changes in local and global temperature over time. 

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

Lesson modified from Global Climate Change and Sea Level Rise plan from the California Academy of Science http://www.calacademy.org/educators/lesson-plans/global-climate-change-and-sea-level-rise.

Students will design a roller coaster using marbles and foam pipe insulation to observe the relationship between potential and kinetic energy. Students will calculate the average speed of the marble and relate that speed to the potential and kinetic energy of the marble. Students will use various angles and track designs to see the impact it has on marble speed.

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

This lesson will engage students in the ways an object can move by applying the forces of push and pull. Students will investigate how to make an object move faster, slower, and stop.

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

Students will collect data on an investigation where two or more substances are mixed together. Students will analyze the investigation to decide the type of change, chemical or physical, that occurred during the investigation. Students will use their observations from the investigation to create a short movie where they will describe the data they used to determine the type of change that occurred during their investigation. This lesson will work best for classrooms equipped with classroom tablets or schools that allow students to bring their own device.

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

Students will examine how they use water daily and calculate their daily water consumption. In addition, students will analyze how the changing human population will affect water consumption globally. Lastly, students will develop methods to decrease their personal water consumption, and/or design a product or policy that could help citizens decrease their water consumption. 

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

The students will make a drawing that lights up, while investigating circuits using copper tape, batteries and LEDs. They will use templates for the first circuit and then explore by adding more LEDs and copper tape traces. 

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

This inquiry-based lesson provides an introduction to density allowing students to explore density and its relation to objects floating and sinking. 

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

If water covers 70-75% of our planet, then why should we be concerned about water quality and conservation? This lesson helps students understand that 97% of our water is present on Earth in the form of salt water, and therefore, unavailable for helping support life on Earth. Another 2% of Earth's water is frozen, which leaves us approximately 1% in groundwater, lakes, streams, and water vapor. 

This lesson was adapted from a lesson series from 4-H SET (California).

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

In this lesson, students will investigate the design behind William Kamkwamba's windmill. Using his design ideas, students will design, construct, and test their own windmill. 

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

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.

In this lesson, which was adapted from Gravity and Falling Objects, students predict what will happen when different objects are dropped at the same time from the same height, and then test their predictions. Next, they will observe objects of different masses being dropped and leaking cups being dropped into a bucket. The activities in this lesson will demonstrate that all objects fall at the same rate, regardless of their mass. Finally, students will 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.

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

This lesson will allow students to experiment with different objects to predict and explain the results of their experiments on the objects as they relate to density. Through this experiment, students will be able to understand the cause and effect relationship to explain the objects sinking or floating. 

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

This lesson will allow students to investigate matter and its states by describing and classifying substances according to their physical properties. Students will begin their journey with a song. Then identify their thinking with an idea chart. Finally, they will put their learning into practice in the real-world with an explorative scavenger hunt.

The lesson provides an overview of cloud formation. Cloud formation results when warm, humid air rises and cools, causing the water vapor in the air to condense and form clouds. In this lesson, students will conduct an activity that demonstrates how this occurs.

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

This lesson was modified from NASA series “Investigating the Climate System.  They can be freely downloaded at https://www.strategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Clouds_04.pdf

This lesson provides an introductory-level experience with soil. During the experiment, students will combine soil with water and conduct observations. The observations made will lead to greater understanding of soil's basic properties.

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

This lesson is the first part of a series of lessons based on Newton's Three Laws of Motion. This lesson introduces the laws and specifically centers on developing a video as a model for students to demonstrate and explain Newton's First Law of Motion.

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

As the second installment of a series of lessons on Newton's 3 Laws of Motion, this lesson focuses on Newton's Third Law. Students will take part in an activity exploring the motion of colliding objects. Students will photograph these collisions as a demonstration and explain how Newton's 3rd Law and balanced & unbalanced forces relate to their collision.

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

The third installment of a three-part lesson on Newton's Laws of Motion, this lesson focuses on Newton's 2nd Law and offers review of all three laws. Students will complete graphic organizers to demonstrate their understanding of the three laws of motion. Students will work in tiered groups to prepare a brief presentation to share with the class on a real-life scenario demonstrating Newton's 2nd Law.

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

Under the Unity and Diversity DCI, students are asked to evaluate data comparing similarities in developing embryos across different organisms. While this is a classic component of understanding evolution, the modern, real-world reason to learn it is to understand the why and how of using model organisms like zebrafish. Students will learn about how model organisms have been used to find treatments to medical problems in the past, how they are used and selected now, and will be able to draw their own conclusions about the similarities among vertebrates vs. other types of animals. This is a stand-alone lesson/investigation but it would be a great bridge between genetics and evolution and could connect to 7th-grade content. 

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

In this hands-on activity, the students will become Linnaeus by dividing into groups to create their own "Six Kingdom" classification system using various types of fasteners.  They will group the fasteners based on similar characteristics and divide them into domains, kingdoms, phyla, classes, orders, families, genera, and species. They will also have to "name" each taxon for their classification system as well as give the scientific name for each "species" of a fastener.  

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

In terms of life science content, evolution is essentially where genetics meets ecology. In this introduction to evolution, students will take on the role of both research biologists and predators to simulate how environmental conditions affect and change a population of model frogs and traits. Students will encounter the impacts of mutations and changes to the environment affecting the survival as well.

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

During this activity, the students will use drag and drop computer code to create an interactive ecological energy pyramid model that shows how the 10% law applies to the energy available at each trophic level.  As part of the hour of code, students can use this activity to participate in the Hour of Code week during their biology class.  

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

Engage students in testing their knowledge of circuits in this delightful dissection. Students will apply science practices and content knowledge while conducting hands-on and digital/print research and writing. The actual "dissection" does not take very long, but the writing components can be extended if desired. 

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

In this lesson, the students will learn that plants need water, air, nutrients, and sunlight to grow.

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

**This lesson can be taught over a three to five day period. Simply repeat the steps as the students will become more knowledgeable of the target.

Students will construct and test pendulums with varying weights, string types, release positions, and lengths.  They will collect, graph, and analyze data to see which variables affect the speed of the pendulum in order to predict the movement of new pendulums. Then they will then use this data to solve a real-world problem and explain their thinking.

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

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.

In this lesson, students will examine the electronegativities of atoms relative to one another to determine if a covalent bond will be classified as polar or nonpolar. Students will use an online simulation to help them understand the importance of lone pairs of electrons as well as bonding pairs of electrons.  Students will use ball-and-stick models to examine and identify the shapes of various molecules.

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