STEM Lesson Plans

With this introductory lesson on Newton's Laws, student will have the opportunity to understand and explain Newton's 3 laws through a hands-on experience. This is an excellent way to introduce physics

Can one organism turn an ecosystem upside down? In this engaging lesson, students use an interactive site (hhmi biointeractive) to understand and answer how a species becomes invasive, analyze

From this lesson, students will discover how friction affects how things move. This is an excellent activity that will allow students to be creative and build a marble run to show friction. This

Mad For Magnets is a lesson plan for K-4th grades. Scholars will learn about magnets, how they attract and repel, north and south poles to apply to the assigned challenge. Scholars will design and

This is a lesson plan about creating a vermicomposting bin. This explains how vermicomposting helps in keeping the environment clean and also how it helps create rich soil which is important for

This lesson is an introduction to the parts of a plant and how the parts help the plant get nutrients for grades K-2. Students will have an opportunity to plant and care for a plant at the end of the

In this lesson, students will embark on an exciting exploration of greenhouses. They will discover how greenhouses provide a special environment for plants to grow by letting in sunlight and trapping

Students will identify a problem, time-telling, and use it to create sundials. They will conduct an experiment and use the data to show how the sun moves in relation to the Earth in the sky. After

Students make a terrarium from rocks, soil, and plants to understand how 4 spheres and water cycle work in a closed system.

Students will learn about how energy can be transferred from wind into electricity. Students will work in groups to design a wind turbine, research how turbines and generators work, build a turbine

Built as a month long, end of year project, students get to discover the water quality of several geographically different natural water sources by completing field research and data collection. As a

Students will use the story "The Mice Who Lived in a Shoe" to design and build a new house for the mice. They will work collaboratively to complete this project. The house will have to protect the

In this lesson on Genetic Variations, Inheritance, and Natural Selection, students will explore how genetic variations occur in offspring through the inheritance of traits or mutations. They will also

Let's talk about waste! Situation: Many items are thrown in the trash every day at school. As a class, track data to determine what the top 5 most frequently discarded items are on your campus

In this problem-solving lesson, students learn about our landfills and come up with a solution using robots! Did you know, according to data from Waste Business Journal, American landfills only have

This lesson allows students to create their own ecosystem to gain a better understanding of how each part works with each other and why they are so important. They will show proficiency when they

In this lesson, students will design and test solutions to protect their homes during monsoon flooding. They will discuss flooding in Arizona and then research ways to protect their homes. Students

Students will plant seeds and measure their plant growth over time in this hands-on lesson. They will record their data in a chart and create a line plot and bar graph to visually represent collected

In this engaging lesson, students use LEGOs to create a working seismograph. Included are all the materials you will need, video links, a pre and post assessment and rubric. Students will enjoy this

In this hands-on lesson, students identify Newton’s Laws of Motion, analyze the difference between force and motion, compare balloon car designs with group mates and demonstrate how to design and test

In this lesson, students will be introduced to the phenomenon of paper/air pressure rocketry. Students will make a memorable and hands-on connection with the transfer of energy when they create and

Could Iron Man actually survive a superhero landing? In this lesson, students follow the engineering design process to create a "suit" for an egg to protect it from being dropped on the ground. They

In this hands-on lesson, students will consider what they think about several different closed systems. Then students will design and carry out investigations of living things to inform their closed

The Challenge: Design and build a piece of furniture out of cardboard! In this engaging and creative lesson, students embark on a design challenge with criteria and constraints. Students develop an