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Best of Middle Grades Science Activities

Posted 10/09/2020 by Erick Archer

The ScienceNspired.com website is an excellent resource for any science teacher looking for lessons and content that can be used either in person or online. The colorful and engaging simulations help bring the concepts to life for students by enabling them to test variables and challenge their own ideas. Take a look at some of the best middle grades science activities below. These are just a few of the many activities available for free with your TI-Nspire™ CX Premium Teacher Software or TI-Nspire™ CX or TI-Nspire™ CX II graphing calculator. Don’t have the software? Click here to get started.

1. Skills of Science: Building and Interpreting Graphs
This is a great activity to help students learn about using graphs to represent the results of experiments and observations. It’s a great resource for students new to graphs or who need a little review.

Screenshot from the Building and Interpreting Graphs activity
Screenshot from the Building and Interpreting Graphs activity.

Earth and space science topics

2. Earth’s Surface: Earth’s Lithosphere — Ring of Fire
This activity takes students on a journey around the Pacific Rim and the infamous “Ring of Fire.” Students will plot locations of earthquakes and volcanos to see if any pattern emerges.

Screenshots from the Ring of Fire activity
Screenshots from the Ring of Fire activity.

3. Earth’s Water: Fresh Water — The Water Cycle
Students will explore all components of the water cycle in this straightforward simulation. In addition, they can change global temperatures to see the effect on ocean levels.

Screenshots from The Water Cycle activity
Screenshots from The Water Cycle activity.

4. Space: Lunar Phases — It’s Just a Lunar Phase
It’s hard to study the phases of the moon in a couple of class sessions when it takes about a month for the moon to cycle. A great alternative is to use a simulation. It’s Just a Lunar Phase will enable students to observe the positions of the moon relative to Earth and the sun over months, as well as observe each of the phases.

Screenshots from It’s Just a Lunar Phase activity
Screenshots from It’s Just a Lunar Phase activity.

Life science topics

5. Cells and Heredity: Cells — Cell-ebrating Life
This is a great introduction to cells and organelles. Students take a voyage into both animal and plant cells and get an in-depth look at the organelles within. They will see similarities and differences between both cell types.

Screenshots from the Cell-ebrating Life activity
Screenshots from the Cell-ebrating Life activity.

6. Ecology: Biodiversity — Some Like It Hot
Your students will dive head first into this virtual aquatic ecosystem to observe effects of temperature and pH changes on the diversity of fish.

Screenshots from the Some Like It Hot activity
Screenshots from the Some Like It Hot activity.

7. Classification of Life: Needs of Living Things — Photosynthesis in Plants
Students will explore the relationship between the visible light spectrum and photosynthesis in this illuminating lesson. Students control the wavelength of light with a clicker, and they can see how the stomata in a leaf respond. They may be surprised by what they find.

Screenshots from the Photosynthesis in Plants activity
Screenshots from the Photosynthesis in Plants activity.

Physical science topics

8. Forces and Motion: Kinetic and Potential — Energy Skate Park (MG)
Students will experiment with kinetic and potential energy of a virtual skateboarder on an adjustable half-pipe. They can then see how things change when gravity changes, such as on the moon or on Jupiter.

Screenshots from the Energy Skate Park activity
Screenshots from the Energy Skate Park activity.

9. Properties of Matter: Atoms and Molecules — Build an Atom (MG)
Students will use a simulation that allows them to build atoms with virtual neutrons, protons and electrons. Based on their components, they will observe the stability of their new creations, as well atomic mass and numbers.

Screenshots from the Build an Atom (MG) activity
Screenshots from the Build an Atom activity.

10. Energy: Heat Absorption and Color — Color and Heat
This simulation lets students pick the color of a virtual plate attached to a thermometer. When students shine a light on the plate, the thermometer records the amount of heat energy absorbed by the plate color.

Screenshots from the Color and Heat activity
Screenshots from the Color and Heat activity.

About the author: Erick Archer is a Market Strategy Manager at Texas Instruments and works with science and STEM teachers in the implementation of TI technology. He is also a former high school science teacher, father of two sons, married to his high school sweetheart and LOVES baseball.

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