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Aquatic Habitats
(Grades 2–6)
The investigations in Aquatic Habitats help students gain insight into many of the big ideas of science that permeate not only the biological sciences, but all scientific disciplines, including systems and interactions, stability within systems, and patterns of change. |
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Bubble Festival
(Grades K–6)
The free exploration of Bubble Festival allows children to learn some important things that may be difficult for us to anticipate, label, or even detect at the time. In “Bubble Measurement” for example, the approaches of your students will depend on background and experience. While one student may focus on the concept that a bubble can be measured, another may notice a relationship between circumference and diameter. |
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Bubble•ology
(Grades 5-8)
Bubbles are not only captivating, colorful, and fun to make, they are also excellent demonstrations of scientific phenomena. Some of the topics introduced in GEMS Bubble•ology are: light and color, aerodynamics, chemical composition, surface tension, and technology. |
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Chemical
Reactions
(Grades 6–8)
Chemical Reactions for Grades 6-8 is an exciting and motivating first encounter with chemistry. Chemicals in a resealable bag bubble, change color, and produce gas, heat, and an odor. Watch student excitement build as the plastic bag they hold gets hot and inflates with gas, and its bubbling contents change color while they watch. |
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Color
Analyzers
(Grades 5–8)
The GEMS Color Analyzers unit engages students in fascinating investigations that effectively challenge commonly held misconceptions and lead to a fuller understanding of the nature of light and color. Students construct and use a tool called a color analyzer to observe phenomena that are normally hidden from view. |
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Crime Lab Chemistry
(Grades 4–8)
Drawing on students’ interest in and enthusiasm for solving mysteries, GEMS
Crime Lab Chemistry provides multiple experiences for students to strengthen their inquiry skills and abilities, and to convey important scientific concepts, methods, and techniques. |
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Discovering
Density
(Grades 6–8)
In GEMS Discovering Density, students learn about density through a series of challenges with liquids that form colorful layers when poured together. Density is introduced as a property of liquids that can be used to predict which liquids will float on top of other liquids. Once students understand density as a property of liquids, they can then generalize the concept to solids. |
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Earth, Moon and Stars
(Grades 5–8)
The activities in this unit guide students into using the sky to answer their questions about the Earth, Moon, and stars. They improve their thinking skills, such as observing, measuring, recording, map reading, using models to explain observations, and inventing their own models. Students gain deeper understanding and appreciation of the Earth and its relationship to the Sun, Moon, stars, and gravity. |
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Electric Circuits
(Grades 3–6)
Although electric appliances are a part of everyday modern life, may people have little or no idea, or wrong ideas, about how electricity works. GEMS Electric Circuits for Grades 3-6 provides repeated experiences and open-ended opportunities for students to explore basic and more advanced concepts in electric circuits. |
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Environmental Detectives
(Grades 5–8)
Who does not enjoy solving a mystery? Scientific investigation is about gathering evidence toward the solution of the mysteries of the natural world. GEMS Environmental Detectives challenges students to solve an environmental mystery involving a watershed that includes forests, a city and town, a coast, three rivers, a lake, and a pond. |
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Fingerprinting
(Grades 4–8)
GEMS Fingerprinting offers “fingers-on” activities that invite students to investigate the similarities and variations of fingerprints. As crime lab scientists, they seek to solve a fictional mystery –“Who Robbed the Safe?” |
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Global Warming and
the Greenhouse Effect
(Grades 7–8)
Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect is designed to help you communicate the basics about global warming and the greenhouse effect to your students. Through a variety of laboratory activities, simulations, and discussions, your students will learn answers to questions such as: What is the greenhouse effect? In what way does the Earth’s atmosphere act like a greenhouse? Has global warming been observed yet? If we decide that global warming is something to worry about, what can we do about it? |
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Plate Tectonics: The
Way the Earth Works
(Grades 6–8)
Plate Tectonics: The Way the Earth Works engages students in numerous hands-on activities that provide them with a fuller understanding of important elements of the theory and study of plate tectonics. The activities in this guide present students with opportunities to act as scientists gathering evidence from various parts of the world about volcanoes, geologic time, and the processes that form the Earth’s crust. |
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Schoolyard
Ecology
(Grades 3–6)
Schoolyard Ecology brings together a combination of science and mathematics skills as students compile information and construction concept about the environment. Students work in teams outdoors to sample, record, and analyze information about organisms and conditions in the yard, and then return to the classroom to share and interpret their findings. |
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Space Science
Sequence
(Grades 6–8)
GEMS® Space Science Sequence for Grades 6–8 allows students to build on the key space science concepts learned in GEMS®
Space Science Sequence for Grades 3–5 as they explore the solar system and beyond through the use of models, hands-on investigations, peer-to-peer discussions, reflection, and informational student readings. In this Sequence students investigate how the Sun affects Earth, why there are seasons, the solar system, and what is beyond the solar system in 4 flexible units. |
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Stories
in Stone
(Grades 4–8)
By examining actual specimens of the Earth’s crust, students learn about basic processes that have shaped and transformed the Earth over billions of years. Working in small groups, students use a boxed set of 10 prenumbered rock and mineral samples to learn how rocks and minerals differ, then classify the samples. |
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Terrarium
Habitats
(Grades K–6)
Terrarium Habitats offers students the opportunity to explore a world of earthworms and insects, seeds and plant roots, tunnels and burrows that can be found beneath the surface of the ground. Students explore soil—it’s colors, textures, odors, and the tiny familiar living things that it contains. Students observe living animals such as earthworms and pillbugs and them add them to their terrariums. The observation continues as the students begin to notice things that are changing in their terrariums. |
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