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Excellent activity for grades five and up.  "Students work as teams in mission control and aboard a spacecraft as they test their decision making skills and solve problems during this innovative, inquiry based, space-themed science and math simulation." This activity could meet MANY science standards and math standards including the Design Process, The Nature of Science, and Reading for Literacy in Science.  For the purpose of this assignment, I am assigning it to: 6.2.4  With regard to their size, composition, distance from the sun, surface features and ability to support life, compare and contrast the planets of the solar system with one another and with asteroids and comets.  6-8.RS.1:  Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science texts.   6-8 RS.3:  Follow precisely a multi-step procedure when carrying out experiments or taking measurements.

Roughly every other year, the Challenger Center in Brownsburg gets a grant and invites us to visit for free. Unfortunately for your cohort, we went last year, but I'll invite you back next year if they get another grant. We usually go on a Saturday morning and IT IS AWESOME! I love being in Indianapolis with these fabulous resources available.

Adaptions: You can adapt this lesson for ELL or special needs students by pairing them in groups and assiging each person in the group a task...the ELL and Special Needs students could draw the pictures or record information while they learning about matter by other group members without pressure/anxiety. Extensions: You can extend this activity to younger greades by using something other than candles. For example, you can use an ice cube, watch it melt, and over time chart the level of water and have the students explain what happenes to the water and the state of matter it has turned into. 6.1.2 Explain the properties of solids, liquids and gases using drawings and models that represent matter as particles in motion whose state can be represented by the relative positions and movement of the particles. 6.1.3 Using a model in which matter is composed of particles in motion, investigate that when substances undergo a change in state, mass is conserved.

This is a familiar activity!  This fun activity teaches students about harnessing potential and kinetic energy!  Very good for students who need to learn or like to work in teams!  Also would be fun on a family night.

Students will discuss and understand how to apply potential or kinetic energy to power a simple device (in this case, a yoyo.)   Standard 6.4.1 Working in groups, allow students to experiment with yoyos, a marble rollercoaster, etc.  Follow activity guidelines. Gifted students could design an amusement park (to be used in school.)   ELL's pair with a gifted student who can assist them with this project.  

6.4.2 Construct a simple device that uses potential or kinetic energy to perform work. Activities 2 and 3 Sticky Note: This would be a great addition to a math lesson as well if the students were required to create, maintain, and balance a budget for creating this machine.

Children are formed into groups to 'invent' a pretend machine that smashes marshmallows. Each child plays the role of a cog or part of the machine to move the marshmallow along. Children then read the story Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, a machine that digs its way to a happy ending, and recognize how technological devices affect our lives.

Children will use and describe processes of science and design technology to build and test simple wheel and axle devices made of disposable cups.

From the DNR / State of Indiana, this website provides many links to educational programs offered by DNR and our State Forestries.  In particular, I like the free tree seedlings for Indiana third graders.  I could see this one "gift" developing into a unit on conservation of resources.  Specifically, standard 3.2.6:  Describe how the properties of earth materials make them useful to humans in different ways.  Describe ways that humans have altered these resources to meet their needs for survival.  We could discuss the lumber industry, and how it benefits human-kind.  Moving on from there, we can discuss how to replenish the supply.  

3.OA.6 Understand division as an unknown-factor problem. For example, find 32 ÷ 8 by finding the number that makes 32 when multiplied by 8.

This is a fun activity that gets students up and moving around and can show them how math is a part of the world in surprising ways.

6.SP.1 This game is a realy good way to connect social studies and math. You could also have them do state capitals as well. Lots of options.

Interesting activity! It reminds me of a Jeopardy question because it seems like they often ask for names of states that begin with a certain letter.

CCS: 6.EE.2 What I love about this game is that it explains the magc trick. Once you ahve them follow the instructions and they all get the answer that you told them they would get them hooked. Everyone always wants to know how you did that, and by explaining the steps you can introduce them to variables in a fun and captivating way.

Students will practice comparing and ordering integers by writing two different integers in a box.  The player's partner must ask yes or no questions about the integer such as; "are both of your numbers positive?" or "Is your second number greater than 10?"

Print all pages on cardstock and laminate. Students use pattern blocks to recreate the images. K.G.6: Compose simple shapes to form larger shapes. Sticky Note: This would be great to use in an ELL classroom as a way of using vocabulary such as "above", "below" etc and color so that it becomes a following the instructions game where the person is telling you where to put your pattern block. In this case the picture would be the key and the child could make the shape on a blank table.

4.NS.6: Test predictions with multiple trials. I would put the limitations in less words with visuals to show what the different things mean to make it clearer for all participating. I would also take the competition aspect out of it (limitations 5-7)and use it simply as a group activity. Sticky Note: This would be great to use with younger kids by making the distance shorter that the balloon had to travel and making the material list shorter. It would be a great way of graphing as well: graph the length of of each trial for each team.

2.DP.4-6: Select a solution to the need or problem. Select the materials to develop a solution. Create the solution. Do not use the scoring, just the activity. I would extend time frame to twenty minutes: 10 to brainstorm solutions and 10 to complete their structure Sticky Note: This would be easy to manipulate for younger students by changing it from a cantilever structure to creating the highest structure with a certain number of materials. It could also be manipulated for older students by changing the materials to less obvious choices.

2.1.1. Observe, describe and measure ways in which the properties of a sample of water (including volume) change or stay the same as the water is heated and cooled and then transformed into different states. Sticky Note: This would be a great beginning activity to describe the 3 states of matter. Also could be manipulated to be turned into a math activity where students = different fraction lengths (12 kids =1 whole...what would 6 kids equal, etc.)

3.2.6 Describe how the properties of earth materials make them useful to humans in different ways. Describe ways that humans have altered these resources to meet their needs for survival. Sticky Note: This would also be a great activity to attach to fractions because you have to be able to understand fractions to put the ingredients in the correct places. It could also be used in younger grades where groups are making one together or the class creates one together and discusses our responsibilities to keep the earth clean.

Use bouncing golf balls to understand the relationship between potential and kinetic energy.

Help students to understand what goes on in a tornado by creating one of your own!  This is a common severe weather phenomena that happens in Indiana and should be combined with safety procedures on the topic.