Free Physical Science Teacher Lessons
The Physical Science Book includes all the resources and materials teachers need to lead exemplary science lessons. The Lesson Plan places all the important information for the module on one screen. Teacher Guides and Teacher Explains are available in both written and video formats so you can prepare at school or on the go. Click on the excerpts from the Video Teacher Explains to see how they support your teaching as well as your students’ learning.
Free Energy Sources Teacher Lessons
Energy is available for plants and animals from many different sources. Even people need energy to live, work, grow, and play. This module guides students as they begin to identify energy. It also introduces three familiar sources of energy used every day: electricity, food, and sunlight.
Core Concept
Energy, from a variety of sources, is used every day in many different ways.
Essential Vocabulary
energy, battery, electricity, generate, manmade, natural, rechargeable, renewable, source, sun
Free Light Energy Teacher Lessons
Light energy is energy that can be seen and used to see the matter around us. It can be manmade or natural, like the light from the sun. In this module students are introduced to the characteristics and properties of light energy, its uses, and various sources of manmade and natural light.
Core Concept
Light energy is energy that can be seen and is generated by natural and manmade sources.
Essential Vocabulary
light energy, generate, manmade, natural, opaque, reflect, reflection, shadow, surface, transparent, wave
Free Heat Energy Teacher Lessons
Heat energy is energy that can be felt. Heat energy can be natural, like the heat we get from the sun, or manmade. In this module students explore the properties and characteristics of heat energy, its uses, and various sources of manmade and natural heat.
Core Concept
Heat energy is energy that can be felt and moves from hot to cold by conduction and radiation.
Essential Vocabulary
heat energy, conduction, conductor, contact, degree, insulator, radiate, radiation, temperature, thermometer, transfer, wave
Free Sound Energy Teacher Lessons
Sound energy is energy that can be heard, but only when matter is present to carry the vibration. This module introduces students to the properties and characteristics of sound energy, how it is generated, and why sounds are different.
Core Concept
Sound energy travels in waves and can be described by volume and pitch.
Essential Vocabulary
sound energy, generate, matter, particles, pitch, require, vibrate, volume, wave
Free Electrical Energy Teacher Lessons
Electrical energy is energy that is used to run appliances and tools. Electricity is generated at power plants from renewable and nonrenewable energy sources before it travels through power lines to all of the necessary locations. In this module students explore the various uses of electricity and the energy sources used to generate electricity.
Core Concept
Electrical energy is made by humans at power plants by converting renewable and nonrenewable sources into electricity.
Essential Vocabulary
electrical energy, electricity, convert, fossil fuels, generate, nonrenewable, power lines, power plant, renewable, transport
Free Energy Transformations Teacher Lessons
Energy is everywhere, and it is used to accomplish many different things, while transforming from sunlight to food and from electricity to heat, light and sound. This module guides students through an exploration of energy transformations in living and nonliving systems.
Core Concept
Energy can be transformed from one form to another as it is used by living and nonliving things.
Essential Vocabulary
transformation, transform, convert, electrical energy, energy flow, generate, heat energy, light energy, nonrenewable, renewable, sound energy
Free Materials and Mixtures Teacher Lessons
Everything around us is made up of something, often a collection of different things. This module guides students as they begin to identify the different materials everyday objects are made of–specifically wood, plastic, metal and cloth–and how mixtures can be made by combining different objects and materials.
Core Concept
Everything around us is made up of different materials and can be combined to make mixtures.
Essential Vocabulary
mixture, substance, texture, unchanged, combine, sorting, separate, characteristics, material, composition
Free Observing Matter Teacher Lessons
Describing matter correctly and accurately is an important skill for communicating scientific information. In this module, students are introduced to qualitative observations (those made using their senses) and quantitative observations (those made using tools to measure a numerical value).
Core Concept
Matter has properties that are described using qualitative and quantitative observations.
Essential Vocabulary
properties, senses, qualitative, quantitative, observe, describe, measure, tools
Free States of Matter Teacher Lessons
Anything on Earth that has mass and takes up space is matter. This module introduces students to solids, liquids and gases, the three most common states of matter on earth, and the unique properties used to characterize each phase.
Core Concept
On Earth matter is found most commonly in three different phases: solid, liquid and gas.
Essential Vocabulary
solid, liquid, gas, definite, container, vibrate, particles, unique, phase, volume
Free Changes in Matter Teacher Lessons
Matter can change in many ways; some changes alter the appearance, while others create new and different matter. In this module, students explore chemical changes and physical changes, including phase changes, of matter.
Core Concept
Solids, liquids and gases can undergo changes based on the physical and chemical properties of the matter.
Essential Vocabulary
physical change, chemical change, freeze, melt, evaporation, condensation, alter, reversible, properties
Free Location and Perspective Teacher Lessons
Describing the location of an object accurately is an important skill for effective communication. In this module students explore spatial relationships and the vocabulary used to describe the location of items from multiple perspectives.
Core Concept
The location of an object can be identified from multiple perspectives to determine motion.
Essential Vocabulary
location, perspective, around, left, middle, over, right, under
Free Motion Teacher Lessons
Fast or slow, objects, people, animals, liquids, and even gases move. In this module students begin to describe and learn to measure motion, a change in position.
Core Concept
Motion is a change in position and can be measured by distance and time.
Essential Vocabulary
motion, circular, distance, friction, measure, position, surface, time, zigzag
Free Force Teacher Lessons
Opening a door, closing a lid, or skipping to school – each action requires just the right push or pull. This module guides students as they explore force, a push or a pull. It includes gravity and how much of a push or a pull is needed to move various objects over a distance.
Core Concept
Force, a push or a pull, is needed to change the position of an object.
Essential Vocabulary
force, attract, friction, gravity, mass, pull, push, surface, work
Free Magnets Teacher Lessons
Magnets of all shapes, sizes and strength are used every day – holding up art projects on the fridge, sorting debris in landfills, and keeping high fashion jewelry fastened. In this module students explore the characteristics of magnets and the different materials they attract.
Core Concept
Magnets come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be used to move objects made of iron.
Essential Vocabulary
magnet, magnetic, attract, bar magnet, ring magnet, horseshoe magnet, force, iron, poles, repel
Free Simple Machines Teacher Lessons
Work is made easy with simple machines; they reduce the force needed to move an object over a distance. This module introduces the six types of simple machines — lever, pulley, wheel and axle, wedge, screw, and inclined plane — as students explore what a simple machine is and how simple machines work.
Core Concept
Simple machines are used every day to make work easier by reducing the force needed to move an object over a distance.
Essential Vocabulary
simple machine, work, force, motion, reduce, inclined plane, lever, pulley, screw, wedge, wheel and axle
At this early level, students can learn to put a name and a reason behind concepts such as gravity, energy, friction, and perspective. In fact, physical science taught in a developmentally appropriate way is perfect for the youngest students. That’s because children naturally learn by experiencing the world around them.
