Ray Byle

This is a hands-on activity in which students work in small groups and create series and parallel circuits. The worksheet guides them as they work through increasingly more complex circuits. You will have to drag them away from the equipment because they like it so much. Lots of experimenting going on outside of the directions. Equipment needed includes small gauge wire, light bulbs, batteries, solar cells and DC motors. These can be purchased from school supply companies like Kelvin, and u

This is an outdoor ecology project that can be done at school or home over several weeks. Students select an area outside and do a number of activities which they record in a journal or log. The project is designed to connect students to the local outdoors and teach them how ecosystems function. Activities like leaf and insect collections can be adapted to all grade levels. Other activities like drawing food webs and food chains, a soil study and population study are included.

This is a short 20-30 minute activity that gets students out of their seats and moving around the room. Students must first estimate metric measurements of various things around the room, then get up and measure them. They must be able to use a meter stick with the meter, centimeter, and millimeter units as well as a scale and graduated cylinder for mass and volume. This works well if students work in pairs.