5th Grade Laboratory (by date, oldest first)

FOUR "mini" labs -or shortened activities- to reinforce or introduce concepts to students. I call these activities “mini labs” because they are simple activities that do not take the whole class period. They are also activities that are safe for use in the classroom and do not have to be done in a lab or with any specialty equipment or materials. I often use these demonstrations to lead into new content, that way as we cover material I can refer back to the things that my students have experienced first hand.

This particular lab focuses on introducing the following concepts:

Matter Takes Up Space

Two Substances Form a Mixture

Density and Volume

Change of State

(Indirectly the Properties of Matter)

Includes: teacher information, materials list, procedures, helpful tips for facilitating the activities and student handouts/lab sheets

Materials needed for these Mini Labs:

Balloons, Cups, Water, Sugar, Clay, Small Bowls, Paper Towels, Stopwatch, Chocolate Coated Candies

2 "mini" labs that will help students observe and make connections to compounds and mixtures. The first introduces students to the concept of mixtures. The second shows the concept that not all liquids act alike so conclusions can be drawn about how materials interact when put together.

These short activities reinforce or introduce concepts to students. I call these activities “mini labs” because they are simple activities that do not take the whole class period. They are also activities that are safe for use in the classroom and do not have to be done in a lab or with any specialty equipment or materials. I often use these demonstrations to lead into new content, that way as we cover material I can refer back to the things that my students have experienced first hand.

Distance learning or need a digital copy to assign?

• No problem! This activity now includes a Google Slides option! Ready to go, no prep needed from you!

Three Forms of Use Included

1. Printable PDF
2. Google Slides

Materials Needed

Mixed Substances Mini Lab

Materials Needed:

Cup

Cornstarch

Water

Stir stick or Spoon

Oil and Water Mini Lab

Materials Needed:

Food Coloring

Water

Jar with a lid (baby food jars are great for this)

Vegetable Oil

Stir stick or spoon

Dish Soap

One "mini" lab that will help students observe and make connections that all objects have energy, even when they are not moving.

Materials Needed

Plastic Bowl

Sand

Assorted rocks and pebbles

Ruler

These short activities reinforce or introduce concepts to students. I call these activities “mini labs” because they are simple activities that do not take the whole class period. They are also activities that are safe for use in the classroom and do not have to be done in a lab or with any specialty equipment or materials. I often use these demonstrations to lead into new content, that way as we cover material I can refer back to the things that my students have experienced first hand.

Distance learning or need a digital copy to assign?

• No problem! This activity now includes a Google Slides options! Ready to go, no prep needed from you!

Three Forms of Use Included

1. Printable PDF
2. Google Slides

Can be used to support NGSS: MS-PS3

3 "mini" labs -or shortened activities- to reinforce or introduce concepts to students. These are simple activities that do not take the whole class period. Each activity is meant to help support the following concepts.

• Organism specialization
• Stored energy in plants/producers
• Specialized reproduction of fungi

Packet comes with the following:

Organism races: Teacher Guide & Student Handout (MS-LS1-2)

Plant Stored Energy: Teacher Guide & Student Handout (MS-LS1-7)

Fungi and Spores: Teacher Guide & Student Handout (MS-LS1-4)

Materials needed per group set up:

Organism Races: 20 paper clips, 2 pieces of paper, 1 pencil

Plant Stored Energy: Potato pieces, celery pieces, pear pieces, 3 clear plastic cups, iodine solution, eye dropper

Fungi and Spores: Fresh mushrooms (store bought) sharp knife, clear plastic cup, white paper, hand lens

MS-LS1-7: Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and ways parts of cells contribute to the function.

MS-LS1-7: Develop a model to describe how food is rearranged through chemical reactions forming new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as this matter moves through an organism.

MS-LS1-4 : Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.

One "mini" lab -or shortened activity- to reinforce or introduce concepts to students. I call these activities “mini labs” because they are simple activities that do not take the whole class period.

This particular lab focuses on the observation of two chemical changes and reinforces or introduces the signs that a chemical change has taken place.

Includes: teacher information, materials list, procedures, helpful tips for facilitating the activities and student handouts/lab sheets

Materials Needed:

Graduated cylinder

Water

2 clear plastic cups

2 eye droppers

Iodine solution

Cornstarch or Potato Starch

Spoon

Vitamin C tablet (Orange Juice Concentrate can be subbed)

MS-PS1-2: Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.

One "mini" lab that will help students observe and make connections that particles in matter move faster at high temperatures than at low temperatures

These short activities reinforce or introduce concepts to students. I call these activities “mini labs” because they are simple activities that do not take the whole class period. They are also activities that are safe for use in the classroom and do not have to be done in a lab or with any specialty equipment or materials. I often use these demonstrations to lead into new content, that way as we cover material I can refer back to the things that my students have experienced first hand.

Distance learning or need a digital copy to assign?

• No problem! This activity now includes a Google Slides options! Ready to go, no prep needed from you!

Three Forms of Use Included

1. Printable PDF
2. Google Slides

Materials needed:

-Two cups

-Hot water

-Cold water

-Eyedropper

-Food Coloring

-Colored Pencils

These mini-labs are great to introducing students to NGSS and SEPs! Perfect for that first or second week of school!

This assignment is a great intro and refresher into middle school science. It includes a wide range of activities that everyone will enjoy. Perfect for introducing students to NGSS based science.

Includes:

• Instructions and tips for each activity
• Instructions and example of what to put on each Nearpod Activity Slide
• 8 interactive, engaging activities that require
• Link to student worksheet

I used it for grades 6-8. It was perfect for our 6th graders because some of them had never had a designated science course before. It was perfect for our 8th graders, because it really made them think what science really is all about. Each SEP takes about 20-30 minutes! It encourage students to work together and is great for setting those group work expectations early in the year.

Activity summaries:

1. Group/class discussions on what science actually is
2. A simple experiment students can do with very little set up
3. Developing your own model
4. Creating a CER using a funny commercial
5. Graphing data that the students collected
6. Solving riddles using math
7. Engaging in an argument where there may or may not be a correct stance
8. Nice chill activity at the end to show what the students learned

Looking for a ready to go made lesson for ocean density and salinity? This activity include:

• slides presentation to present to students.
• lab/demonstration directions for students and teachers
• handout for student lab worksheet

Great for homeschool or school setting! Videos are included!

Tennessee State Standards

• 6.PS3.4 - Conduct an investigation to demonstrate the way that heat (thermal energy) moves among objects through radiation, conduction, or convection.
• 6.ESS2.1 - Gather evidence to justify that oceanic convection currents are caused by the sun’s transfer of heat energy and differences in salt concentration leading to global water movement.
• 6.ESS2.3 - Construct an explanation for how atmospheric flow, geographic features, and ocean currents affect the climate of a region through heat transfer.

NGSS - Middle School

• MS-ESS2-6 - Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates.

These mini-labs are great to introducing students to NGSS and SEPs! Perfect for that first or second week of school!

This assignment is a great intro and refresher into middle school science. It includes a wide range of activities that everyone will enjoy. Perfect for introducing students to NGSS based science.

Includes:

• Instructions and tips for each activity
• 8 interactive, engaging activities that require no student devices
• Link to student worksheet

I used it for grades 6-8. It was perfect for our 6th graders because some of them had never had a designated science course before. It was perfect for our 8th graders, because it really made them think what science really is all about. Each SEP takes about 20-30 minutes! It encourage students to work together and is great for setting those group work expectations early in the year.

Activity summaries:

1. Group/class discussions on what science actually is
2. A simple experiment students can do with very little set up
3. Developing your own model
4. Creating a CER using a funny commercial
5. Graphing data that the students collected
6. Solving riddles using math
7. Engaging in an argument where there may or may not be a correct stance
8. Nice chill activity at the end to show what the students learned

Test your density skills with this fun gummy bear lab!

This resource is a science driven, easy to use pack to use when investigating all things pumpkin! Pumpkinology is a great way to incorporate kindergarten science standards in a fun, fall themed way.

Cut off the top of a pumpkin and let them scoop out the insides to count seeds, estimate how many counting cubes tall is a pumpkin, how many paperclips will it take to fit around the pumpkin? Will the pumpkin sink or float? What is the life cycle of a pumpkin? Color or use tissue paper to produce a tear art version to create their very own pumpkin.

I use this resource in my classroom on October 31st as part of our fall party! We investigate all things pumpkin and the grand finale is when we carve a face on the pumpkin, add in baking soda, vinegar and green food coloring to make the pumpkin explode (outside of course)! This is a day your students will remember for years to come!

Teachers can use it as a:

• Halloween party and make each investigation a station
• Week long investigation of pumpkin attributes
• Science project to let little learners estimate what they think will happen
• Fall fun pack
• Lesson on the life cycle of a pumpkin

Happy pumpkin investigating!

Interested in more pumpkin or fall kindergarten resources?

Fall Tear Art Bundle

October Write the Room Math - Real World Pictures

November Write the Room Math - Real World Pictures

Build Your Own Haunted House

Check out my other listings here and don't forget to follow my page for additional resources and earn TeachShare credits by leaving a review for Keeper of Kinders!

Simple machines have been the building blocks of more complex machines throughout the years. The gear is one of the most fundamental of the simple machines. Gears can help transfer power, increase or decrease speed and/or power, and change the direction of movement by simply working together.

Your students can experience gears through this activity as they build FOUR different gear sets .

1. Understanding how connected gears affect direction.

2. Compound Gear Train - gear input and output on the same side of a wall

3. Reverted Gear Train - input and output gears on same plane, but not directly connected

4. Large Gear Train - demonstrates Mechanical Advantage and directions of gears

Student Friendly! Easy to follow build directions!

ZIP File includes Student Handout and Teacher Answer Key

Here's a LEGO robot that I designed using the LEGO NXT robotics kit. It's a quick build for a single class period activity! SIX EASY STEPS!! The beauty of a quick build like this is a quick break down and put away at the end of class!

Students will use a chair, a board and car with interchangeable wheels (like a LEGO or K-Nex car) to examine the affects of the inclined plane. Students will run experiments, collect data, and do mathematical calculations including mechanical advantage to complete the activity.

The Packet includes:

Materials List

Procedures Instructions

Data Collection Table

Debrief Sheet

Here's a 10-15 day set of activities for introducing the LEGO Mindstorms Robots!

In this packet, you get:

* SEVEN Robot activities!

* An EXCEL Activity creating a multiple line graph.

* Programming challenges from basic to hard.

* Build Guide for "Reece's Runner" Robot

* Robot Challenge Design Plans

I use this as a 10-day Module in my classroom.

THis VIDEO Project helps students to answer, "Where will I ever use this?" The project encourages students to look at how they use Math in their daily lives - at home, at school, on the ball field, where ever they go. They gather pictures of math related items and create a short video explaining how they use math with each item. My students have alway found this so enlightening... fun, too!

This scientific method can be used for any grade! It helps students work through a note taking process and practice putting the scientific method in order for the steps and through examples. Students can also create their own experiment to practice putting the steps in order!

This is great for visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners! After this, students can create and practice these steps through an experiment!

What's included:

• Guided Notes
• Vocabulary Words with visuals, definitions, and vocabulary
• Scientific Method Practice
• Scientific Method Review
• Experiment Creator Steps
• Answer Key

Looking to engage your students in an exciting hands-on science experiment? Dive into the fascinating world of earth science with our Stream Table Lab resource.

Watch as your students become geologists in action, simulating natural phenomena right in the classroom!

What you'll get:

• Detailed instructions for setting up and conducting the experiment
• Materials list for easy preparation
• Discussion questions to deepen understanding

Empower your students to think like scientists as they observe, analyze, and draw conclusions from their observations. Spark curiosity and inspire learning with this engaging Stream Table Lab!

Transform the often-dreaded scientific method into an exciting mystery with this engaging worksheet. Students will become young detectives as they investigate the puzzling case of a shrunken plant. By following the steps of the scientific method, students will develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and observational skills.

This resource includes:

• A captivating crime scene photo to spark curiosity
• An evidence log for recording observations and inferences
• A hypothesis section for forming educated guesses
• An experiment section
• A data collection chart for organizing findings
• A conclusion section for summarizing results
• MORE FUN? a detective badge from the Department of Scientific Thinking!

Activity Alert
⭐"Science Skills: Observation, Prediction and Inference" activity**⭐**

⭐Sand & Salt Experiment⭐

PowerPoint

⭐Scientific Method | PowerPoint⭐

Don't forget to share with me how it went with your little ones. I hope it was useful in your classroom.

If you like this product, follow my store -Mettry Teaches- for more.

Engage your 4th graders in an exciting exploration of plants with this dynamic bundle. Packed with interactive activities, students will develop a solid understanding of cell structure and function.

What's Included:

• Plants Reproduction PowerPoint.
• Male & Female Plant Parts Foldable Notes.
• Plant Life Cycle Foldable Notes.
• Animal & Plant Cells Graphic Organizer + Riddle Practice.
• Animal & Plant Cells WANTED (cell detectives)
• Experiment for Scientific Method

Don't forget to share with me how it went with your little ones. I hope it was useful in your classroom.

If you like this product, follow my store -Mettry Teaches- for more.