STEM Lesson Plans

An introduction to Kepler's 1st Law and ellipses. The lesson includes some guided notes for students as well as a hands on activity where students will draw, measure, explore, and conduct calculations

This two-part lesson models STEM instruction in the context of an ELD classroom. In this lesson (part 2), students pose a research question about clouds, weather, and/or climate, and address it with

Students will learn about the atmosphere and what causes it to form layers. Then, students will identify how the atmosphere interacts with the geosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Students design an

This engaging lesson is an introductory lesson regarding the size and scale of the Universe and objects within. This was designed for high school Astronomy but is easily useable with ages down through

This two-part lesson models STEM instruction in the context of an ELD classroom. In part 1 (this lesson), the goal is to promote scientific academic discourse in an ELD classroom. Students use a

In this lesson, students explore glow-in-the-dark materials using regular flashlights and UV flashlights. They then add phosphorescence and the emission of EM energy to previous models of light and

In this lesson students will create a model to investigate how a location's temperature may change during an El Niño year. Students will construct landforms in a tray and then fill the tray with water

In this lesson, students will be given a region where they will need to research and collect data with their groups to determine patterns and formulate predications about the types of disasters that

Students will use a budget sheet to 'buy' materials for the challenge. They will be applying their knowledge of decimals to add up their total as well as critical thinking and problem solving skills

Students will learn about the history of the National Parks Service and the different biomes and environments within the United States. Then, they will choose a National Park to research and present a

This is a culminating project for the end of a Space Science unit. Students will each research a unique star, then work in a group to research the constellation of their star. In groups, students will

~Students apply the engineering design process as they learn the advantages and disadvantages of the greenhouse effect. ~Students will work collaboratively to construct a miniature greenhouse to

Students are challenged to clean up an oil spill in a river environment. Students create the river environment in a container and add water, plants, sand, and animals. They will spill 1/4 oil into

This design challenge was open for any interested students from grades 9-12. Students met afterschool over the course of the second semester. This is the 3rd sequence lesson in a set of 4. This lesson

In this 7 week unit, students will utilize resources around them to create a garden for a culminating taco party! Students will work on science, math, and ELA within the unit. Feel free to host this

Students will be identifying the unknown minerals by looking at cleavage, fracture, luster, streak, hardness, and density. This is a hands on activity where students will place their data on a data

Students will learn how robots help complete repetitive tasks for humans. Robots use a series of steps that are programed into their circuits. It must be done systematically and include each step, in

Teaching with phenomena is a great way to connect real world events with inquiry based learning in the classroom. In this lesson students will observe and investigate a phenomenon that involves the

The Mystery Box Investigation combines science concepts about properties of matter, how we use and identify matter based on its properties, and the mathematical concepts needed to calculate density

In this activity, students will complete a Web Quest to find the diameter of the Earth, Moon, and Sun AND will observe how the Earth orbits around the Sun and how the moon rotates around the Earth by

In this lesson, students will read about volcanoes (using teacher chosen books and Readworks.org passages) as well as watch videos to see them in real life. They will then create their own volcano and

In this lesson, students will incorporate science and math concepts as they investigate properties of matter. They will apply mathematical concepts and formulas in a hands on activity where they

Are you ready to learn about volcanoes?! In this engaging lesson, students will identify the most common types of volcanoes, analyze how volcanoes are formed, share with groups to compare design ideas

This lesson discusses winter weather and snow. We will create a recipe for “snow” following step-by-step directions that includes an addition math problem. Student will be responsible for measuring