Physical Science Lessons

NEW! Circuits And Electromagnets-A Total Inquiry Investigation

In this special lesson students must complete a series of 4 challenges after being given the objective and a few materials. Your job is stay back and let them figure things out. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Atomic Model-Change Over Time

Bring history alive with a fascinating look at how the model of the atom has changed over the past 100 years. Scientists like Dalton, Thomson, Rutherford, and Bohr make huge discoveries that force these changes. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Circuit Boards

Perhaps the cheapest and most effective way to teach series and parallel circuits. Students build a series and parallel circuit from cardboard, aluminum foil, paper fasteners, and recycled lights. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Interactive Question Asker

Looking for a cool way to review a chapter and touch back on how circuits work? This lesson does double duty. All you need is file folder, some foil, a battery, light, and some wire. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Build A Simple Electric Motor

It's true-when you build something yourself you understand it much better because you've seen the parts come together and you see how they interact. As this lesson shows, electric motors are not hard to build or understand. Pick up a couple of rolls of magnetic wire (18-22 gauge) beforehand and have students cut their own 105 cm-long piece before assembling. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Energy Consumption

See how well students can classify the power consumption of 21 common household items with this handout. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Newton's Laws and Rocketball

In this lesson students won't have a chance to get scared of Newton's 3 laws. First, they will write a definition of each law in their own words. Then they'll get to observe Newton's 3 Laws of motion cause a ping pong ball to become like a rocket. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Method Of Heat Transfer Quiz

Is it conduction, convection, or radiation? This 10 question quiz (which doesn't have to be used as a quiz) gives straightforward examples and illustrations that you can also review and teach with. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Magnetism-Decode Encrypted Statements

Give students this puzzle without any help whatsoever and 2 things will happen- 1. students will learn 5 important things about magnetism, and 2. you will learn which students can rise to a challenge and find a way to get it done and which complain about why it can't be done. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Forces- Drop Test

Send this handout home with students for them to find out for themselves which drops faster- a heavy or lightweight object. Almost all will be surprised with the results. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


States of Matter

Lessons don't come much easier than this- students observe a burning candle and write observations. Then let their own comments and observations lead them into what a solid and liquid is, and how they might change from one into the other. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Electricity-Watts, Wire, and What it Costs

In this activity students will compare the Wattages of different devices, learn how to wire a home (on paper, at least), and then calculate the annual cost of several devices around their home. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Electromagnets-6 Mini Investigations

In this lesson students discover 6 amazing properties of electromagnets with their own hands. They will assemble, disassemble, and make changes to a working electromagnet. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Interactive Notes-Electricity

In this set of interactive notes students will: 1.move a ping pong ball in an unusual way, 2.light up a fluorescent tube, 3.observe ice on conductors and non-conductors, and 4.light a Christmas tree light bulb. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Interactive Notes-Magnetism

In this set of interactive notes students observe: 1.a paper clip quietly defying gravity, 2.some things can and cannot be magnetized, 3.a room full of bar magnets just "happen" to all turn exactly the same way, and 4.iron filings reveal invisible magnetic lines of force.Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint

What are Interactive Notes?


Solids Liquids, & Gases-Build, See, & Compare

Trying to teach the states of matter without anything to aid the imagination doesn't do enough to help students fully understanding how the atoms behave in each state. In this lesson, test tubes and split peas will make it feel like a mini-lab instead of another boring reading day. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Interactive Notes-States Of Matter

In this set of interactive notes students will: 1.produce a gas by combining a solid and liquid, 2.observe a flapping penny powered by hot water, 3.use an ice cube to create cloud 9, and 4.discover Brownian motion using water and food coloring. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Candlelight Journey Though The 3 States Of Matter

Teaching the states of matter doesn’t have to be difficult. It can indeed be easy and even pleasant, as this activity demonstrates. Lesson Notes


Energetic Atoms-Heat 'Em & Speed 'Em

Being told a 50 foot-long trash bag will float if it is filled air and heated by the sun is not that exciting. But take students outside and let them see this for themselves, and you’ve got an amazing lesson! Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Dunking Duckies-Endless Expansion And Contraction

Days like today will remind students why they like science. And for good reason- the dunking duck is fascinating to watch and simple to understand. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Interactive Notes-Forces

In this set of interactive notes students observe: 1.a ping pong ball become a rocket, 2.a strong-willed penny does something we've never noticed before, 3.a marble is faced with the choice of a lifetime, and 4."flippy boards" help us understand roller coasters better. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Interactive Notes-Heat Transfer

In this set of interactive notes: 1.an ice cube helps us understand why cold things are cold and hot things are hot, 2.the hottest and coldest things in the room demonstrate conduction, 3.a swirling purple stream shows convection, and 4.radiation explains a puzzling question. Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Interactive Notes-Why Is The Sky Blue?

In this special set of interactive notes: students create a progressively thickening "atmosphere". At first it's so thin that's it's nearly non-existent (like the moon's). As it becomes thicker, all light is choked and has no direct path through (just like Venus). Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Interactive Notes-Light And Water

In this set of interactive notes students observe that: 1.money disappears, but then 2. it comes back doubled, 3.a pencil loses control of its lower half, and 4.a top-secret message can only be decoded with your students help! Lesson Notes

Get Handout and PowerPoint


Interactive Notes-Sound

In this set of interactive notes students observe that: 1.a child's toy illustrates what sound waves look and act like, 2.a piece of foam gives a coat hanger its voice, 3.a vacuum stifles the ring of a bell, and 4.the term "pitch" and "frequency" are explained using tuning forks. Download Lesson

Get Handout and PowerPoint




Ready for your students to learn with their hands AND minds?

Pick up the Student Handouts and PowerPoints for these lessons.



Buy the Physical Science Pack and you get all 25 COMPLETE Physical Science lessons. Includes all:
  • Notes and
  • Handouts and
  • PowerPoints
for these Interactive Physical Science Lessons.

CD-ROM

$34.00

Free Shipping on all CD's

Or, Download Now
Add to Cart

$16.00

(26 MB)



About the "Interactive Science Teacher"
My name is Bill Wilkinson (students just call me "Mr. W") and I love teaching science! In the 15 years I've taught one thing has remained constant- ALL students learn better when their their hands and minds work together.

Currently my title is Science Liaison for Vigo County Schools in Terre Haute, Indiana, where I teach daily in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade classrooms in several different middle schools.

I am proud to say that every lesson on this site is an original that I really did with real students. Only lessons that achieve a rich balance of natural curiosity, science standards, content, and appeal to all students are good enough for this site.

The Wilkinsons in the Rockies last summer-check out the 3,000 year-old pines behind us!


Also available...

View Cart

The Really Big Special

You get the Notes, Handouts, and PowerPoints for ALL 72 Lessons: General, Physical, Chemistry, Life, Space, and Earth Science.

On CD-ROM

$55.00

($119 value. Free Shipping)
Or, Download Now (70MB)
Add to Cart

$26.00

($49 value)

BONUS! As an added thanks, you'll also get all 8 of my Special Reports for FREE when you choose the download or CD-ROM (add'l $40 value).

Each Special Report is like a mini-workshop that will help you simplify your life, increase student responsibility, please parents, and never forget anything again (yes, it's possible).


 

Home General Physical Earth Space Chemistry Life FAQ Contact

Copyright © 2010 Interactive Science Teacher, LLC. All rights reserved. Site Map