In this activity, students face an engineering challenge based on real-world applications. They are tasked with developing a tool they can use to measure the amount of rain that falls each day. Students will find out why freshwater is important,... (View More) learn about the water cycle, and the need to have a standard form of calibration for measurement tools. They will learn that keeping track of precipitation is important, and learn a little bit about how NASA's GPM satellite measures precipitation from space. This lesson uses the 5-E instructional model. (View Less)

In this lesson, students are introduced to the electromagnetic spectrum. They observe a demonstration of the visible light spectrum created by a flashlight and a prism, complete an activity sheet where they identify the wavelength that is involved... (View More) in technologies used in their communities, and learn about satellite sensors that remotely sense data. Student worksheets, a data sheet, answer keys, and Web links are included. This is Lesson 3 in Understanding Light, part of IMAGERS, Interactive Media Adventures for Grade School Education using Remote Sensing. The website provides hands-on activities in the classroom supporting the science content in two interactive media books, The Adventures of Echo the Bat and Amelia the Pigeon. (View Less)

Students are introduced to classification through progressive activities. Initially, the teacher models the task by classifying buttons. Students then devise a classification scheme for paper clips. Subsequent activities use objects brought from... (View More) home or the playground by students. The objects are assigned to two categories: natural or human-made, then classified as solid, liquid, gas or a combination. Simple bar graphs are used throughout to compare classification data. (View Less)

In this lesson, students explore the visible light spectrum using a flashlight and red, blue and green theatrical gels or cellophane. They also record data on a worksheet, and learn about mixing wavelengths of light. A student worksheet, data sheet,... (View More) answer key, assessment, and Web links are included. This is Lesson 1 in Understanding Light, part of IMAGERS, Interactive Media Adventures for Grade School Education using Remote Sensing. The website provides hands-on activities in the classroom supporting the science content in two interactive media books, The Adventure of Echo the Bat and The Adventures of Amelia the Pigeon. (View Less)

This is a hands-on lab activity about evaporation. Learners will conduct experiments to observe the process of evaporation. They will then describe the process of evaporation, and the general water cycle, through discussion and pictures. Background... (View More) information, common preconceptions, a glossary and more is included. This activity is part of the Aquarius Hands-on Laboratory Activities. (View Less)

This is a hands-on lab activity about the chemical composition and conductivity of water. Working in groups, learners will: conduct an experiment involving the process of electrolysis, prepare an experiment to better understand the process of ion... (View More) exchange, discuss and research the "softness" and "hardness" of water, and use the periodic table to identify elements and learn their characteristics. Background information, a glossary and more is included. Materials needed for each student group include a 9-volt battery, two electrodes (e.g. copper strips, or two #2 pencils sharpened at both ends), electrical wire and glass beakers or ceramic saucers. This activity is part of the Aquarius Hands-on Laboratory Activities. (View Less)

This activity has two purposes: challenge the learner to develop a procedure for investigating a research question and to learn more about factors affecting the dynamics of air in motion. It demonstrates that warm air and cold air differ in weight... (View More) and this difference affects air's vertical movement in the atmospheric column. Resources provided to students for this challenge include a homemade balance beam made of wood, two paper bags, a desk lamp, paper clips, tape and a thermometer. The resource includes background information, teaching tips and questions to guide student discussion. This is the chapter 8 of Meteorology: An Educator's Resource for Inquiry-Based Learning for Grades 5-9. The guide includes a discussion of learning science, the use of inquiry in the classroom, instructions for making simple weather instruments, and more than 20 weather investigations ranging from teacher-centered to guided and open inquiry investigations. (View Less)