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Lesson Plans for Teachers

Free STEM related activities for K-12 Educators

Below you will find activities and free lesson plans that support classroom learning.

Name Grade Subject Description

Chromatography Flowers

K-5th grade STEM In this activity, students will make observations while conducting chromatography using simple household items. This activity can be adapted to become an experiment where students control for different variables or to become an art project in which students can create colorful chromatography flowers.
Salt Crystal Snowflake K-12th grade STEM In this activity, students will create a paper snowflake that glimmers with salt crystals. The activity could be used as a discussion starter for lessons about solutions, crystallization, evaporation, or saturation.
Fizzy Melting Snowman K-12th grade STEM Build an indoor snowman and see how it can still “melt” with the help of chemical reactions rather than a temperature increase. The activity could be used as a discussion starter for lesson on acids, bases, chemical reactions, acid/base reactions, and decomposition reactions.
Marshmallow Igloo K-12th grade STEM Students will create an igloo made from just marshmallows and toothpicks. This engineering activity could be use for problem solving, special reasoning, or geometric concepts.

Looking for more lesson plans?

The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) provides dozens of free lesson plans to help your students embrace STEM education.