Middle School Lesson Plans

• Force and Motion
  1. "Maple Seed" Helicopters (K-9)
  2. Paper Rockets (K-9)
  3. Floating (K-9)
  4. Rocket Pinwheel (K-12)
  5. Aviation (1-8)
  6. Simple Machines (1-12)
  7. Projectiles (3-8)
  8. Air ...What Gives? (3-12)
  9. The Ringer (3-12)
  10. Vectors (3-12)
  11. Flying Objects (3-)
  12. Simple Machines (4-8)
  13. A Satellite's Centrifugal Force (4-8)
  14. Displacement (4-8)
  15. Buoyant Force (4-8)
  16. Bubble-ology and Bernoulli (4-9)
  17. Finger Boomerangs (4-9)
  18. Flying Tube (4-12)
  19. Flying Wing (4-12)
  20. Four-Wing Paper Boomerang (4-12)
  21. Hot Air Balloon (4-12)
  22. Match Stick Rocket (4-12)
  23. McEagle Styrofoam Glider (4-12)
  24. Newton Car (4-12)
  25. Ping Pong Ball Curves (4-12)
  26. Rocket Car (4-12)
  27. Soda Pop Can Hero Engine (4-12)
  28. Wooden Helicopter (4-12)
  29. The Flight Platform (6-8)
  30. Newton's Third Law of Motion (7-8)
  31. The Center of Mass (7-8)
  32. Straight Line MOtion in Two Parts (7-9)
  33. Stress and Strain (7-9)
  34. Spacecraft Speed and Acceleration (7-12)
  35. The Human Pendulum (7-12)
  36. Determining a Spring Constant (8-12)
  37. Force and Energy (9)
  38. One Two Three Isaac Newton and Me (9-12)
  39. Gravitational Pull - Weight Watchers and Revolutions (9-12)

• Properties of Matter
  1. Rock Candy (K-9)
  2. Bubbles (K-9 )
  3. Diamonds (K-9)
  4. Bumps in the Night (K-9)
  5. Bernoulli Theorem Aeronautics (K-12)
  6. Crystal Growing (1-12)
  7. Radioactive Decay Curve (1-12)
  8. Polystyrene Containers (3-12)
  9. Building a Psychrometer (3-12)
  10. Radioactive Decay/Half-Life (3-12)
  11. The Motion of Molecules in Water (4-7)
  12. Air and Its Characteristics (4-7)
  13. Comparing Densities of Different Liquids (4-8)
  14. Playing with Polymers (4-9)
  15. Hot Air Tissue Paper Balloon (4-12)
  16. Temperature Variant Liquid Crystal Road Warning Sign (4-12)
  17. Air Movement (5-8)
  18. Surface Tension (5-8)
  19. Discovering Liquid Crystals (6-8)
  20. Understanding Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystals (6-8)
  21. Density (6-8)
  22. Density in Relation to Float and Sink (6-8)
  23. The Ranque-Hilsch Tube: Thermodynamics Displayed in a Vortex (6-12)
  24. Movement of Substances Across the Plasma Membrane (6-12)
  25. Air: Demonstrating Its Presence and Effects (6-12)
  26. Tasty Solution (7-9)
  27. Bubbleology Mickey Mouse Style (7-9)
  28. Aliens on Tour (7-12)
  29. All the News (7-12)
  30. Houses in the Desert (7-12)
  31. Come Fly with Me (7-12)
  32. Matter, Properties, and the Periodic Table (8)
  33. Elements Compounds, and Reactions (8)
  34. Visual Models of Solutions and Concentrations (9-12)
  35. Using Liquid Crystals to Relate Cooling Time to Specific Heat for Various Materials (9-12)

• Changes
  1. It's Eating Away at You (K-8)
  2. Bouncing Eggs in Science (K-8)
  3. Creating Water in the Desert (K-12)
  4. Ice Cream Social (3-7)
  5. Liquid Nitrogen Fun! (4-12)
  6. Chemical Changes (6-8)
  7. Exethermic and Endothermic Physical and Chemical Changes as Measured by Cholesteric Liquid Crystals (7-9)
  8. Ice Cream In A Bag (8-9)
  9. The Drinking Bird (9-12)

• Magnetism
  1. Magnetic Lines of Force (K-8)
  2. Static on TV (K-9)
  3. Introduction to Magnets (K-12)
  4. Magnetic Fields and Bermuda Triangles (8-12)

• Energy
  1. Making Cold (K-9)
  2. Solar Energy Experiment (3-8)
  3. Roller Coasters in the Classroom (4-8)
  4. Science Safari: Energy Resources (4-9)
  5. Antacid Tablet Race (4-12)
  6. Downhill Discoveries (5-8)
  7. Measuring Calories (5-8)
  8. Kinetic Energy and Work (5-12)
  9. Let's Make Waves (6-8)
  10. Energy Sources and Options (7)
  11. Give Me Energy (7-8)
  12. Potential Energy (7-9)
  13. The Science of Solar Cells (7-12)
  14. What's Wrong with Nuclear Power, Anyway? (7-12)
  15. Sunlight, SunHEAT! (7-12)
  16. Power in the Tubes (8)
  17. Energy (8)
  18. Heat Absorption (8-9)
  19. A Simple Device to Measure Solar Radiation (8-12)
  20. Solar Cells (9-12)

• Sound
  1. Wave Motion (1-12)
  2. Car Horns (4-9)
  3. Speed of Sound (4-12)
  4. Musical Tube (4-12)
  5. Seeing Sound & Sonar (7-8)
  6. Ringing Rod Demo Lesson Plan (7-12)
  7. Understanding Waves (8)
  8. Visualization of Sound (9-12)

• Electricity
  1. Thunder (K-9)
  2. Taking Apart Electrical Appliances (1-12)
  3. How Smart Are You About Electricity, Batteries and Conductors? (3-8)
  4. Make Your Own Burglar Alarm (4-9)
  5. Electricity (5-12)
  6. The Peltier Effect: Reversible Electromagnetic Thermodynamics (6-8)
  7. How Will Changes in Voltage Affect the Clarity of a Twisted Nematic LCD? (8)
  8. Communication - Vibration, Electronic Signals, and Electromagnetic Radiation (9-12)

• Light, Color, & Optics
  1. Fish Tank Optics: Learning How Light Travels (K-9)
  2. Making Paint (K-9)
  3. Three D (4-9)
  4. Illusions (4-9)
  5. Compact Disks (4-9)
  6. The Light Tour (4-10)
  7. Magic Mirror Box (4-12)
  8. Using Bubbles to Learn About Light Interference (4-12)
  9. Polarized Light (4-12)
  10. Lenses (5-8)
  11. Liquid Crystal - Colorful Calibration (6-8)
  12. What's the Frequency, Roy G. Biv? (6-9)
  13. Making a Pinhole Coffee Can Camera (6-12)
  14. Properties of Light (6-12)
  15. Auroras: Paintings in the Sky (6-12)
  16. Refractive Index: A Gateway to Understanding Liquid Crystals (7-12)
  17. Laws of Reflection (7-9)
  18. Now You See It, Now You Don't (7-12)
  19. The Electromagnetic Spectrum (7-12)
  20. How Far Does Light Go? (7-12)
  21. Looking at Light (7-12)
  22. Selective Reflection: Cholesteric Liquid Crystals as Spectral Filters (8-9)
  23. Optical Images (9-12)

• Earth
  1. Visual Model of the Planet Earth (3-9)
  2. As the World Turns (4-9)
  3. Understanding Time Zones (4-12)
  4. Spaceship Earth (5-7)
  5. Earth's Crust (7)
  6. Core (8)
  7. Probes, Exploration & Application (8-12)
  8. Measure the Earth (9-12)
  9. Eratosthenes Finds Diameter of Earth! (9-12)

• Sky & Atmosphere
  1. The Greenhouse Effect in a Jar (K-8)
  2. Weather Facts (3-9)
  3. Model of the Greenhouse Effect (4-9)
  4. The Cloud in the Bottle (4-12)
  5. Altering Climate in the Classroom (4-12)
  6. Collecting Weather Data (7)
  7. The Greenhouse Effect (7-9)
  8. A Greenhouse Gas in a Bottle: Carbon Dioxide as a Factor in Global Warming (7-12)
  9. What Color Is the Sky (7-12)
  10. Bringing the Greenhouse Effect Down to Earth (9-12)
  11. Weather and Waves: Meteorology and Oceanography Data from Buoys and Satellites (9-12)

• Space Exploration
  1. How Satellites See (3-8)
  2. Rockets (3-8)
  3. Spinning Satellites (4-8)
  4. The Satellite Delay Relay (4-8)
  5. Flight Paths of Orbiting Satellites (4-9)
  6. NASA's Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) Satellite Dataflow Demonstration (4-12)
  7. Altitude Tracking (4-12)
  8. Balloon Staging (4-12)
  9. Liquid Bottle Rocket (4-12)
  10. Pencil Rockets (4-12)
  11. Assignment Spacelab (5-8)
  12. Newton in Space (5-8)
  13. Fixing the Galileo Spacecraft's Communications Antenna (5-8)
  14. Choosing a Landing Site on Prehistoric Earth (5-8)
  15. Eyes in the Sky (6-12)
  16. Communication Blocks for Space Science (7-12)
  17. Spectra from Space (9-11)
  18. The EUVE Orbit (9-12)
  19. The Great Satellite Search! (9-12)
  20. Tethered Satellites (9-12)
  21. Design a Communications Antenna for a Planetary Spacecraft (9-12)
  22. Physics Lab Rockets (9-12)

• Solar System
  1. The Best of the Solar System (6-8)
  2. Relative Distances of Planets Within the Solar System (6-12)
  3. Exploring the Planets (6-12)
  4. Take a Spin Through the Solar System (7-12)
  5. Charting the Planets (7-12)
  6. The Solar System and the Universe (9)

• Astronomy
  1. Mapping Constellations (4-8)
  2. Sunrise - Sunset (4-12)
  3. Luna and Io - A Comparison Study (4-12)
  4. Ice on Venus? (4-12)
  5. Space Astronomy Teachers Guide (5-8)
  6. Exploring Earth from Space (5-8)
  7. Comets of the Past - Threatening Omens and Celestial Spectacles (5-8)
  8. Interplanetary Distance and Travel Time (5-9)
  9. Classifying Galaxies (5-9)
  10. Making a Simple Sextant to Find Latitude (5-10)
  11. Galaxies and the Galactic Time Scale (5-12)
  12. Observational Astronomy with Binoculars and Astrolabes (5-12)
  13. Astronomy-Binoculars and Astrolabes (5-12)
  14. Moon Calendar (6-8)
  15. Simulating the Moon's Surface (6-8)
  16. The Guest Investigator Puzzle (6-9)
  17. Time That Period (6-9)
  18. How Big Is That Star? (6-9)
  19. What's Your Sign? The Science Behind the Zodiac (6-12)
  20. Astronomy (7)
  21. Can You "Gas" What's Happening? - Gas Production in Living and Non-Living Systems (7-8)
  22. Constellation Art (7-9)
  23. Garden Lab (7-9)
  24. The Martian Sun-Times (7-9)
  25. Crashed on the Moon (7-12)
  26. The Black Whole (7-12)
  27. The Big Bang Theory (8-9)
  28. Stellar Temperatures: How Hot Is That Star? (8-9)
  29. Calculating Stellar Travel Times - How Long Would It Take to Travel to the Stars? (8-9)
  30. Astronomy: A Star Party (9-12)
  31. Measuring the Diameter of the Sun (9-12)
  32. Electromagnetic Radiation on Trial (9-12)
  33. Exploring Earth from Space (9-12)
  34. Comet Exploration Debate (9-12)

• Misc.
  1. Dichotomous Key (K-8)
  2. Cause and Effect (K-12)
  3. Toys in Space 2 (K-12)
  4. The Pythagorean Puzzle (K-12)
  5. Cooperation Blocks (K-12)
  6. Creative Activities for the Sciences (K-12)
  7. Beans and Baleen (2-8)
  8. Where Is My Peanut? (2-8)
  9. Sludge Fleas (3-9)
  10. Science and Technology Timeline (3-12)
  11. Circles Minilab (3-12)
  12. Donut Sort (3-)
  13. Science Safari: Art & Music (4-9)
  14. Consumer Testing in the Classroom (4-12)
  15. Stories in the Sky (5-7)
  16. Taking Apart Owl Pellets (5-8)
  17. Potato Chip Classification (5-8)
  18. Science Role Plays (5-8)
  19. Monitoring at What Temperature Seeds Will Germinate Using Liquid Crystal (5-8)
  20. How Science Affects Our Lives (5-10)
  21. Teaching the Periodic Table with Database Software (6-7)
  22. Can Heat Energy from Incandescent Light Bulbs Be Measured Using Cholesteric Liquid Crystals? (6-7)
  23. History of Science and Mathematics (6-8)
  24. Science and Writing (6-8)
  25. Body Temperature of Cold-Blooded Animals and Liquid Crystals (6-8)
  26. Mulch and Temperature (6-8)
  27. Exothermic Reactions Used in Hot Packs (6-8)
  28. Detective Digit and the Slap Happy Computer Caper (6-9)
  29. Connect the (Bio)Dots (6-12)
  30. Measuring Relative Humidity with a Liquid Crystal Sling Psychrometer (7-8)
  31. How Do Concentrations of Household Detergents Affect Phase Change in Lyotropic Liquid Crystals? (7-8)
  32. Metrics (7-8)
  33. PDLC Use in Residential Construction (7-9)
  34. Metric Olympic Games (7-9)
  35. Does Body Temperature Influence Athletic Prowess? (7-12)
  36. Remotely Operated Liquid Crystal Experiment (7-12)
  37. Measuring Distances with Triangulation (7-12)
  38. Vortex Tubes and Liquid Crystals (8)
  39. Applications of Science (8)
  40. Water Quality for Freshwater Organisms (8-12)
  41. Fact or Theory (8-12)
  42. Indy 500 (8-12)
  43. Applications of Science (9)
  44. Reading a Thermometer (9-10)
  45. Mean, Median and Data Graphing (9-10)
  46. Science Show (9-12)
  47. Heat Investigations with a 49 Cents Cholesteric Business card (9-12)
  48. Ancient Math and Science (9-12)
  49. Using Standard Deviation, Part 1 (9-12)
  50. Using Standard Deviation, Part 2 (9-12)