Elementary and Middle School (K-8) Activity Browse



Search for activities specifically designed for K-8 education. Refine this search by either clicking on the terms in boxes to the right or typing a term into the search box below. Activities include a description, background information, and necessary student documents.




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Physical Science
Intermediate (3-5)

Results 1 - 20 of 123 matches

Mentos and soda eruptions- lessons on explosive volcanic eruptions part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
Students participate in a popular experiment with Mentos candies and soda. This helps them learn about the scientific method, gas saturation, bubble nucleation, and explosive volcanic eruptions.

Air Is Matter part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This is a series of investigations about air and its properties. How air exists all around us, and things it is capable of doing.

Demonstrating Climate Change and the Water Cycle to Fifth Grade Students part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
Demonstration of the greenhouse effect and its role in climate change, discussion of the phases of water and the water cycle, and a hands-on experiment to investigate the role of temperature in phase changes of ...

Hot Wheelin' with Speed, Acceleration, and Data Graphs part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a lab investigation where students observe, record, and gather data on the speed, acceleration, constant speed, and average speed of toy cars. This activity allows for futher investigation of speed, time, and distance of objects to calculate speed and acceleration.

Newton's Second: Having A Ball With Motion part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a field investigation where students design and test a gravity ball launcher, record their observations, and share their findings in the large group setting.

Shrinky Dink Chemistry part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a hands-on activity where students learn about polymers and the science of plastics, while making shrinky dinks.

Investigating Liquids: Color Changing Milk part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This experiment is a lab activity in which students will learn how different liquids react when put together.

Charles' Law and Ivory Soap part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a 2 part lab activity where students record properties of various bars of soap, and make models of molecules as they are cooled or heated. Students develop a new experiment changing one variable.

Why is the Sky Blue? part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This hands on lab helps explain why the color of our sky/upper atmosphere appears blue in color. Students will be able to simulate how light from the sun is scattered by our atmosphere to create blue light.

Mixtures, Solutions and Saturation: Testing Household Materials part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a laboratory extension where students test and collect data on two kitchen materials in the categories of solubility, saturation, chemical reaction and weights. Thus, giving students opportunity to reinforce skills already learned.

Introduction to Open and Closed Electrical Circuits part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Students will act out open and closed circuits and is followed by individual journal writing and a class discussion.

Investigating Sounds: Identifying Vibration, Pitch, and Volume part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Students will investigate how sounds are made and changed, record their findings in their journal, share these findings with the class, and develop further questions about sound.

Physics of Sound: How does length affect pitch? part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is an investigation where students use tools to determine how the length of a sound source affects its pitch.

Mystery Powders: An Introduction to Physical and Chemical Properties part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
In this classroom guided inquiry lesson, students will complete a serious of tests using five different mystery powders. Student will develop hypotheses, make observations, and draw conclusions about what each powder is and the physical and chemical reactions that occur when heat, water, iodine, and vinegar are added to each substance.

The Nature of Sound with a Slinky part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a classroom lesson on how a slinky relates to sound waves and how sound waves relate to the human ear.

Newton's First Law (Inertia) part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a classroom investigation where students gather information from observing Newton's first law, develop a definition of Newton's first law and force, and apply to real life situations.

Chromatography: Who Wrote the Note? part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This lesson has students solving the mystery of a note by conducting chromatography. They will test different washable markers and see that different marker colors are made up of various pigments. They will compare and contrast the note chromatography with other chromatography results from a variety of markers.

Sponge Lab: Experimenting With Absorption part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity allows students to brainstorm investigable questions, conduct an experiment, and communicate the results related to our invertebrate animal study; specifically sponges and absorption. (Lesson is based on an original activity from "Porifera's Porosity", Holt Science and Technology - Animals, Holt, Rinehart, and Winston 2002, pages 50-51.)

The Reflection of Light part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is an investigation where students experiment with reflection using plane mirrors.

Investigating Newton's 3rd Law: Coin Flick part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a structured inquiry for students to observe how Newton's 3rd law of motion which states that to every action there must be an equal reaction. By flicking a set # of coin into a row of coins they will observe the force of the impact being passed along until the last coin flies off when no other coin prevents it from moving.