Teacher resources · Grades 1–6
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31 results
“light”
Grade 1 · Physical Science
Light Helps Us See
Can you see a toy in the dark? Compare the same object with the light off and on. Then find things that make their own light.
35 min · ~6 min prep · 6 materials
Grade 1 · Physical Science
Shadows & Light Direction
Move a flashlight around the same object. Observe how a shadow changes when the light comes from a new direction or distance.
35 min · ~8 min prep · 6 materials
Grade 1 · Physical Science
What Happens When Light Hits Materials?
Keep one light setup fixed, test four materials, and use the observed light patches as evidence.
35 min · ~10 min prep · 7 materials
Grade 1 · Physical Science
Communicating with Light & Sound
Use flashes, taps, and simple patterns to design a signal that sends information across a distance.
35 min · ~7 min prep · 4 materials
Grade 1 · Life Science
Plants Respond to Light: Which Way Will a Plant Grow?
Use a sequence of plant observations to notice that a growing plant can bend toward a light source, then plan a simple fair test that changes only the direction of light.
37 min · ~10 min prep · 5 materials
Grade 4 · Physical Science
Light Reflection & Vision
Build a source → object → eye model to explain vision, then use a mirror target investigation to show that changing mirror orientation changes the direction of reflected light.
45 min · ~10 min prep · 6 materials
Grade 6 · Earth Science
The Water Cycle: Driven by Sunlight and Gravity
Build and revise a multi-pathway model of water moving among ocean, land, living things, and atmosphere; distinguish solar-powered phase changes from gravity-driven flows.
50 min · ~12 min prep · 5 materials
Grade 1 · Life Science
Nocturnal & Diurnal Animals: Who Is Active When?
Use repeated picture observations to compare animals active mostly in daylight with animals active mostly at night, then use time-of-day evidence to identify an activity pattern.
37 min · ~8 min prep · 4 materials
Grade 1 · Space Science
Sun, Moon & Stars: Patterns in the Sky
Use repeated sky observations to notice patterns in the Sun, Moon, stars, day and night, and the amount of daylight at different times of year.
35 min · ~10 min prep · 4 materials
Grade 2 · Life Science
What Do Plants Need to Grow?
Plan and carry out a simple investigation to determine whether plants need sunlight and water to grow.
40 min · ~10 min prep · 6 materials
Grade 4 · Physical Science
Codes & Information Transfer: Patterns That Send Messages
Design, test, and compare pattern-based codes that use light, sound, cards, or two-symbol sequences to transfer information accurately across a distance.
50 min · ~10 min prep · 5 materials
Grade 4 · Physical Science
Energy Transfer
Use observations as evidence that energy can move from place to place through sound, light, heat, and electric currents.
45 min · ~10 min prep · 8 materials
Grade 4 · Space Science
Moon Phase Modeling: Why Does the Moon Seem to Change Shape?
Use a light-and-ball model to explain why the Moon's visible illuminated part changes as the Moon orbits Earth, and test common phase misconceptions.
50 min · ~10 min prep · 5 materials
Grade 1 · Life Science
Plant Parts & Their Jobs: Roots, Stems, Leaves & Flowers
Look closely at a whole plant, connect roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits to useful jobs, then use observations from a simple stem-water investigation as evidence.
38 min · ~10 min prep · 6 materials
Grade 1 · Physical Science
Sound & Vibrations: How Sounds Are Made
Tap, pluck, watch, and listen. Notice that vibrating materials move back and forth and can make sound. Then observe that sound can make other materials vibrate.
35 min · ~8 min prep · 9 materials
Grade 1 · Life Science
The Five Senses: How We Observe the World
Use sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste as safe sources of information, and practice telling an observation from a guess.
35 min · ~8 min prep · 5 materials
Grade 4 · Life Science
Ecosystem Modeling: What Happens When One Population Changes?
Build and revise a simple ecosystem model, then use evidence to predict how a change in one population can affect connected organisms.
50 min · ~10 min prep · 5 materials
Grade 5 · Space Science
Earth’s Rotation, Shadows & Sky Patterns
Analyze shadow measurements and sky records to identify daily and seasonal patterns, then support careful claims with graphed evidence.
55 min · ~10 min prep · 4 materials
Grade 5 · Life Science
Food Webs: Matter & Energy in Ecosystems
Build and read food webs to trace how matter and food energy move through an ecosystem. Use arrows carefully and make predictions from direct feeding relationships.
55 min · ~10 min prep · 7 materials
Grade 5 · Space Science
Why Does the Sun Look So Bright?
Use a controlled model and relative-distance evidence to explain apparent brightness.
55 min · ~8 min prep · 3 materials
Grade 6 · Life Science
Cell Structure & Function
Use microscope observations and cell models to explain how cell structures support the jobs a cell must do, then compare evidence from plant and animal cells.
52 min · ~12 min prep · 7 materials
Grade 6 · Life Science
Ecosystem Interactions & Resource Availability
Analyze aligned organism, resource, and population records while keeping explanations calibrated to the evidence.
55 min · ~12 min prep · 5 materials
Grade 6 · Life Science
Ecosystem Relationships: Competition, Predation & Mutualism
Compare evidence from woodland, tide-pool and desert examples to identify and predict recurring ecological interaction patterns across different ecosystems.
55 min · ~10 min prep · 4 materials
Grade 1 · Life Science
Seed to Seedling: How Germination Begins
Observe bean seeds over several days, compare damp and dry setups, and use visible changes to explain what helps germination begin.
40 min · ~12 min prep · 7 materials
Grade 2 · Life Science
Pollination & Seed Dispersal
Observe what moves, test a seed model, and explain how pollen and seeds travel in different ways.
42 min · ~8 min prep · 6 materials
Grade 4 · Physical Science
Electricity & Simple Circuits
Build and test simple circuits, use a bulb as evidence of a complete path, and investigate which tested materials can bridge a gap.
52 min · ~12 min prep · 9 materials
Grade 4 · Physical Science
Energy Conversions: Design a Device That Changes Energy
Trace energy through simple devices, distinguish transfer from conversion, and design or refine a device that changes energy from one form to another.
50 min · ~12 min prep · 6 materials
Grade 4 · Life Science
Plant & Animal Structures: Form Fits Function
Use diagrams and evidence to explain how internal and external structures help plants and animals survive, grow, behave, and reproduce.
50 min · ~10 min prep · 5 materials
Grade 5 · Life Science
Where Does Plant Growth Come From?
Use mass evidence and models to argue that plant-growth materials come chiefly from air and water.
55 min · ~8 min prep · 4 materials
Grade 6 · Life Science
DNA, Genes & Chromosomes: How Traits Are Inherited
Model how genes are organized on chromosomes, compare sexual and asexual inheritance, and explain conceptually how mutations can alter proteins and affect traits.
55 min · ~12 min prep · 5 materials
Grade 6 · Life Science
Inside Cells: Food Molecules & Usable Energy
Use a cell-level particle model to explain how organisms rearrange food matter and transfer energy for life processes without creating atoms or energy.
55 min · ~12 min prep · 5 materials