The Earth and Sky in a 24 Hour Day part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This is an indoor and outdoor activity where students understand the distance the earth is from the sun. The students understand that the earth rotates on it's axis once in a 24 hour period thus providing us with day and night.

Investigating Rotation: Why Is There Day and Night? part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This is a classroom activity in which students will observe, question, and investigate the relationship between the sun and the earth and how that relationship causes day and night.

Evaporation: Investigating factors that affect it part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is an investigation regarding evaporation and the factors that affect it.

Investigating Evaporation: Determine the variables that affect the rate of evaporation. part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is an investigation where students gather information about the rate of evaporation, interpret their findings, and apply this knowledge to the water cycle.

Alternative Energy Resources part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a cooperative learning experience investigating alternative energy resources.

Investigating Static Electricity: Creating Lightning on a much smaller scale part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a guided exploration of how static electricity works and how it relates to lightning.

Investigating the Geologic Time Scale: Creating posters to Display Trends in Geologic Time part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This observational inquiry activity involving careful descriptions of rocks and fossil including age will be used to create a scalar accurate geologic time scale. Students will observe and learn that the geologic time scale was created based on changes in fossil, rock, and atmospheric changes.

Investigating topography caused by Glacial Lake Agassiz and glacial river Warren in the Big Stone Lake area. part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a field investigation where students will observe the topography of Big Stone Lake and generate questions about the history of this area.

Investigating Factors that Influence Weathering of Monuments in a Cemetery part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
In this field activity students will discover some of the factors that influence weathering of rock by making observations, asking questions and completing an investigation of their own design in a local cemetery.

What sizes are the planets and how do they move around the sun? part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection

Measuring and recording the weather around us using a science notebook in second grade. part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a field investigation where students measure, record and describe weather conditions using common tools (rain gauge, thermometer, and barometer). They will compare their observations to Weather.com (online) and the local newspapers to compare their findings, and record these observations.

Thematic Obsevational Drawing Ideas for Primary Students part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This is a thematic chart of items a teacher can easily find to create a weekly Observational drawing exercise.

Investigating Macroinvertebrates: How Clean is Our Lake? part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This 3-part lesson begins with a field activity beside a lake or stream where students collect and identify macro invertebrates. During the second and third portions of the lesson, students conduct research to answer questions that they have regarding the macro invertebrates that they have identified and then based on the types of macro invertebrates found make a general determination of the cleanliness of the lake.

Investigate Effects of an Oil Spill part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a classroom chemistry lab where students will test different cleaning methods that could be used in oil spills. They will see the effects how oil spills damage animals and the environment.

Investigating Weather: A House of Seasons part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a classroom activity where students will create a collage of pictures based upon precipitation/water during each season.

Determing the health of an acquatic ecosystem by identifying macroinvertebrates part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This lab activity allows students to indetify macroinvertebrates and determine the health of an acquatic ecosystem.

Soil vs. Rocks part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This lesson will extend the learning on rocks with the Foss kit, Pebbles, Sand, and Silt to include soil. Students will perform the soil sifting activity like the one designed for rocks in the Foss it. Through their work, students will complete a Venn diagram of soil and rocks as a class.

Experimenting with Angular Diameter and Distance (study of Outer Space) part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This is an activity on apparent sizes and apparent angles, related to understanding how distance affects what we observe in outer space (the sun, moon, stars, or planets).

Going Through A Phase: The Changing Patterns of Our Moons Appearance part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is an investigation of the Earths Moon phases and its position in the sky.

Minnehaha Falls: Observing Changes in Nature through Drawing and Writing part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
The activity is a field trip to Minnehaha Falls where students will observe and record their findings in a science notebook.