Teacher Resources
Lesson Plans for Teachers to Explore Science Education
To access the lesson plans, please complete the linked Google Form for each plan. This information helps us know who is benefiting from our products. Upon completion of the form, you will be redirected to the lesson plan. If you have lesson plans you’d like to share on this page, email Branna Riding at briding@discoverygateway.org.
Electricity and Magnetism
Recommended Grade(s): 5th and 7th
Teacher demonstrations and student activities that introduce the basic concepts of electricity and magnetism. Conductors and resistors are also defined and students can do an activity to sort various materials into the two categories.
Reaction Time Lab Extended
Recommended Grade(s): 5th and 6th
Student lab that reinforces the basic concepts of physical and chemical changes. Students choose their own experiment to perform and determine if they observe a physical or chemical change based on the evidence checklist. This is a good follow-up to Discovery Gateway’s Reaction Time visit.
A Taste of Geology
Recommended Grade(s): 4th
Three student activities using various foods that help highlight the differences between igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rock types. This includes a short post-lesson evaluation for the teacher to gauge student understanding.
Nature’s Own Currency
Recommended Grade(s): 4th, 5th
Multiple activities to help students understand energy, where it comes from (fossil fuels, solar, wind, etc.), and how circuits work.
So Hot Right Now
Recommended Grade(s): 6th
Students will apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer. This activity will help students to investigate the movement of heat between objects by conduction and insulation.
Earth’s Changing Surfaces
Recommended Grade(s): 4th, 5th, 7th
This is an outline of a science outreach program, complete with “assembly” portion for the instructor and student activities. Topics covered include: Erosion, weathering, uplifting, deposition, volcanoes, and earthquakes
