JoinAll Resources
Journal Article
The Early Years: Open-Ended Maker Projects
This column discusses resources and science topics related to students in grades preK to 2. This issue describes how children use available materials to make structures of their own design....
Journal Article
Formative Assessment Probes: Uncovering “Maker” Ideas About Sound
This column focuses on promoting learning through assessment. This issue discusses the Making Sound probe....
Journal Article
Teaching Through Trade Books: The Force Is With You (or Against You)
This column includes activities inspired by children’s literature. This month through the use of playground equipment and common toys, students investigate force, energy, and motion in engaging ways....
Journal Article
The Poetry of Science: Let’s Make a Robot
Building literacy in playful, meaningful ways. This month robotics and trial-and-error in science is discussed....
Journal Article
Teaching Teachers: Designing an NGSS Learning Pathway
This column enhances the repertoire of preservice and inservice teachers. How informal institutions can help teachers implement the NGSS...
Journal Article
Methods and Strategies: Equity and the Maker Movement
Integrating children’s communities and social networks into making...
Journal Article
Science 101: Why Do Helicopters Always Have Two Blades, and How Does That Help Cats?
This column provides background science information for elementary teachers. This issue discusses torque....
Journal Article
Science 102: A Faucet Phenomenon
This column shares exercises to challenge content knowledge. This issue presents a new challenge and answers the Tricky Numbers challenge from last month....
Book Chapter
In this lab investigation, students are introduced to the disciplinary core ideas of (a) The Universe and Its Stars and (b) Earth and the Solar System as they develop a model that explains the underlying cause of the lunar cycle. Included are the Tea...
Book Chapter
In this lab investigation, students are introduced to the disciplinary core ideas of (a) The Universe and Its Stars and (b) Earth and the Solar System as they develop a model that explains seasonal average temperature change. Included are the Teacher...
Book Chapter
In this lab investigation, students are introduced to the disciplinary core ideas of (a) The Universe and Its Stars and (b) Earth and the Solar System as they explore the role that gravity plays in the motion of objects within the solar system. Inclu...
Book Chapter
In this lab investigation, students apply the disciplinary core idea of The Universe and Its Stars to identify exoplanets that may support life. Included are the Teacher Notes, Lab Handout, and Checkout Questions for the lab, in addition to the book�...
Book Chapter
Lab 5: Geologic Time and the Fossil Record
In this lab investigation, students are introduced to the disciplinary core idea of The History of Planet Earth as they identify major extinction and diversification events that happened during the last 650 million years of Earth’s history. Include...
Book Chapter
In this lab investigation, students are introduced to the disciplinary core idea of Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions as they explore plate tectonics and the geologic activity that occurs near different types of plate boundaries. In...
Book Chapter
Lab 7: Formation of Geologic Features
In this lab investigation, students apply the disciplinary core ideas of (a) The History of Planet Earth and (b) Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions as they develop a conceptual model that explains how the Hawaiian archipelago formed ...
Book Chapter
Lab 8: Surface Erosion by Wind
In this lab investigation, students are introduced to the disciplinary core idea of Earth Materials and Systems as they develop a conceptual model that can be used to explain why wind speed, wind duration, and soil moisture affect the amount of soil ...
Book Chapter
Lab 9: Surface Erosion by Wind
In this lab investigation, students are introduced to the disciplinary core ideas of (a) Earth Materials and Systems and (b) The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes as they figure out how stream flow volume affects the size and shape of riv...
Book Chapter
Lab 10: Deposition of Sediments
In this lab investigation, students are introduced to the disciplinary core ideas of (a) Earth Materials and Systems and (b) The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes as they explore the factors that affect the settling velocity of sediments ...
Book Chapter
Lab 11: Soil Texture and Soil Water Permeability
In this lab investigation, students are introduced to the disciplinary core ideas of (a) Earth Materials and Systems and (b) The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes as they determine how soil texture affects soil water permeability. Include...
Book Chapter
Lab 12: Cycling of Water on Earth
In this lab investigation, students are introduced to the disciplinary core idea of Earth Materials and Systems as they determine how temperature and the surface area to volume ratio of water affect the rate of water evaporation. Included are the Tea...
Book Chapter
Lab 13: Characteristics of Minerals
In this lab investigation, students apply the disciplinary core idea of Earth Materials and Systems as they identify a set of unknown minerals. Included are the Teacher Notes, Lab Handout, and Checkout Questions for the lab, in addition to the book�...
Book Chapter
Lab 14: Distribution of Natural Resources
In this lab investigation, students apply the disciplinary core ideas of (a) Earth Materials and Systems, (b) Natural Resources, and (c) Human Impacts on Earth Systems as they evaluate competing plans for a new copper mine. Included are the Teacher N...
Book Chapter
Lab 15: Air Masses and Weather Conditions
In this lab investigation, students are introduced to the disciplinary core idea of Weather and Climate as they determine how the motions and complex interactions of air masses result in changes in weather conditions. Included are the Teacher Notes, ...
Book Chapter
Lab 16: Surface Materials and Temperature Change
In this lab investigation, students are introduced to the disciplinary core ideas of (a) Earth Materials and Systems and (b) Weather and Climate as they determine the relationship between the materials covering an area and the rate at which the tempe...
Book Chapter
Lab 17: Factors That Affect Global Temperature
In this lab investigation, students are introduced to the disciplinary core idea of Weather and Climate as they determine how the temperature of Earth responds to changes in the amount of cloud cover and the concentration of various greenhouse gases ...
Book Chapter
Lab 20: Predicting Hurricane Strength
In this lab investigation, students are introduced to the disciplinary core idea of Natural Hazards as they develop a conceptual model that can be used to predict changes in wind speed inside a hurricane over time. Included are the Teacher Notes, Lab...
Book Chapter
Lab 21: Forecasting Extreme Weather
In this lab investigation, students are introduced to the disciplinary core ideas of (a) Weather and Climate and (b) Natural Hazards as they determine when and under what conditions tornadoes tend to form in the Oklahoma City area. Included are the T...
Book Chapter
Lab 22: Minimizing Carbon Emissions
In this lab investigation, students are introduced to the disciplinary core ideas of (a) Natural Resources, (b) Human Impacts on Earth Systems, and (c) Global Climate Change as they develop a plan to minimize human impact on climate. Included are the...
Book Chapter
Lab 23: Human Use of Natural Resources
In this lab investigation, students apply the disciplinary core ideas of (a) Natural Resources and (b) Human Impacts on Earth Systems as they develop a plan to ensure that there is enough water available to meet the current and near-future needs of t...
Book Chapter
This problem addresses students to develop ways to use direction and distance to describe position and motion. Students are members of a fire department rescue team who practice giving each other directions to get out of a smoke-filled room in a burn...
Book Chapter
This problem addresses direction, distance, and speed by having students develop ways to use time and distance to describe speed. Students determine the winner of a race between a beetle that moves fast with intermittent pauses and a beetle that move...
Book Chapter
In this problem, direction, distance, and speed are addressed by having students develop ways to use time and distance to describe instantaneous and average speed. This problem can be adjusted for students of different ages and math skills. Students ...
Book Chapter
This problem addresses direction, distance, and speed by having students develop ways to use speed, time, and distance to describe a motion. Students determine whether self-propelled toy cars are moving at a constant velocity and focus on measuring t...
Book Chapter
This problem addresses direction, distance, speed, and acceleration by having students develop ways to use speed, time, direction, and acceleration to describe a motion. Students use acceleration data from an insurance car monitoring system to recons...
Book Chapter
In this problem, students explore how forces change the direction of motion of a spaceship moving between asteroids. They simulate the scenarios by using puffs of air delivered through straws to move balls through a maze made up of an “asteroid fie...
Book Chapter
In this problem, students compare the end velocities of cartoon characters that jumped up from, jumped down from, or fell from a cliff and landed in a river. Students are asked to design experiments to test the impact velocities of falling objects. T...
Book Chapter
This problem focuses on force, acceleration, direction, and mass, and is set in the context of a rescue team. Students figure out how to balance three forces to suspend a person in a particular position. They balance three forces of different strengt...
Book Chapter
In this problem, students work in teams to design a new type of roller coaster ride. Students act as engineers to design a model roller coaster with “cars” (marbles) that are launched using elastic potential energy. The problem specifies that the...
Book Chapter
Rube Goldberg machines are comical machines with many parts. This problem focuses on engineering energy transformations to make a functioning Rube Goldberg machine. The function of the machine, the materials used, and the number or type of energy tra...