Looking for Science Activities?
NSTA Press publishes science activities for teachers of grades K through 12 on topics ranging from force and motion to Earth's changing climate. We've posted sample chapters and activities from our books for free download so you can look inside. Be sure to search our online Science Store for additional topics!
For more science activities, click here for our searchable database.
Click on the book titles below and scroll down on the Store page until you see the link “Read Inside” (under Details)—you’re just two clicks away from your first PDF of a free lesson.
Preschool and Elementary
Activities Linking Science With Math, K–4 by John Eichinger
• Free chapter: "What Makes a Boat Float?"
Developing Visual Literacy in Science, K–8 by Jo Anne Vasquez, Michael W. Comer, and Frankie Troutman
• Free chapter: "Visual Literacy in Life Science: Insect Metamorphosis"
Dig In! Hands-On Soil Investigations
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Free chapter: "What Is Soil?: Soil Searching"
Even More Everyday Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching by Richard Konicek-Moran
• Free chapter: "Here's the Crusher" (air pressure)
Everyday Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching by Richard Konicek-Moran
• Free chapter: "The Magic Balloon" (properties of matter; temperature, gases)
The Frugal Science Teacher PreK–5: Strategies and Activities, edited by Linda Froschauer
• Free chapter: "Materials Repurposed: Find a Wealth of Free Resources at Your Local Recycling Center"
A Head Start on Science: Encouraging a Sense of Wonder, edited by William C. Ritz
• Free chapter: "Introduction" (includes "Ramps" and "Pondering Pumpkins: The Insides")
Hop Into Action: The Amphibian Curriculum Guide for Grades K–4 by David Alexander
• Free chapter: "Lily Pad Venn Diagrams"
Inside-Out: Environmental Science in the Classroom and the Field, Grades 3–8 by Robert W. Blake, Jr., J. Adam Frederick, Sarah Haines, and Stephanie Colby Lee
• Free chapter: "Water"
More Everyday Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching by Richard Konicek-Moran
• Free chapter: "Worms Are for More Than Bait" (life cycles; animal behavior)
More Picture Perfect Science Lessons: Using Children's Books to Guide Inquiry, K–4 by Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan
• Free chapter: "Imaginative Inventions"
Outdoor Science: A Practical Guide by Steve Rich
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Free chapter: "Birds, Bugs, and Butterflies: Lessons for Your Outdoor Science Classroom"
Picture Perfect Science Lessons, Expanded 2nd Edition: Using Children's Books to Guide Inquiry, 3–6 by Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan
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Free chapter: "Earthlets: Dr. Xargle's Book of Earthlets and Seven Blind Mice" (observation and inference)
Middle and High School
Activities Linking Science With Math, 5–8 by John Eichinger
• Free chapter: "Determining the Size and Shape of the Blind Spot"
Brain-Powered Science: Teaching and Learning With Discrepant Events by Thomas O'Brien
• Free chapter: "Air Mass Matters: Creating a Need-to-Know"
Climate Change From Pole to Pole: Biology Investigations by Juanita Constible, Luke Sandro, and Richard E. Lee Jr.
• Free chapter: "Now You 'Sea' Ice, Now You Don't" (living systems; interdependence of organisms; importance of evidence in formulating scientific explanations)
Earth Science Puzzles: Making Meaning from Data by Catherine Oates-Bockenstedt and Michael Oates
• Free chapter: "How Do We Know What the Climate Was Like in the Past?"
Earth Science Success: 50 Lesson Plans for Grades 6–9 by Catherine Oates-Bockenstedt and Michael Oates
• Free chapter: "Meteorology"
Extreme Science: From Nano to Galactic by M. Gail Jones, Amy R. Taylor, and Michael R. Falvo
• Free chapter: "Billions of Us: Scale and Population"
More Chemistry Basics: Faking It! Finally Understanding Science So You Can Teach It by William C. Robertson
• Free chapter: "Special Reactions"
Once Upon a Life Science Book: 12 Interdisciplinary Activities to Create Confident Readers by Jodi Wheeler-Toppen
• Free chapter: "The Case of the Tree Hit Man"
Predict, Observe, Explain: Activities Enhancing Scientific Understanding by John Haysom and Michael Bowen
• Free chapter: "Bernoulli's Principle"
Take-Home Physics: 65 High-Impact, Low-Cost Labs by Michael Horton
• Free chapter: "Understanding Force and Motion"
Tried and True: Time-Tested Activities for Middle School by Inez Liftig
• Free chapter: "How the Brain Visually Perceives the World"
Uncovering Student Ideas in Physical Science, Volume 1: 45 New Force and Motion Assessment Probes by Page Keeley and Rand Harrington
• Free chapter: "Just Rolling Along"
Using Forensics: Wildlife Crime Scene! by Laura M. Sanders Arndt
• Free chapter: "Lesson 5: Hair Identification"
Virus and the Whale: Exploring Evolution in Creatures Small and Large, edited by Judy Diamond
• Free chapter: "Diatoms: One-Celled Wonders"
Watershed Investigations: 12 Labs for High School Science by Jennifer Soukhome, Graham Peaslee, Carl Van Faasen, and William Statema
• Free chapter: "Plant Identification"
Teacher Professional Development
Exemplary Science for Resolving Societal Challenges by Robert E. Yager
• Free chapter: "Linking Science, Technology, and Society by Examining the Impact of Nanotechnology on a Local Community"
Mastery Learning in the Science Classroom: Success for Every Student by Kelly Morgan
• Free chapter: "What Is Mastery Learning?"
Science Education Leadership: Best Practices for the New Century, edited by Jack Rhoton
• Free chapter: "A New Challenge for Science Education Leaders: Developing 21st-Century Workforce Skills"
Science Teaching as a Profession: Why It Isn't, How It Could Be by Sheila Tobias and Anne Baffert
• Free chapter: "The Essentials Under Siege"
The Teaching of Science: 21st-Century Perspectives by Rodger W. Bybee
• Free chapter: "A Perspective on the Reform of Science Teaching"