Resources for Educators
U of T Engineering Outreach has created a database of online resources that connect directly to the Ontario Ministry Science Curriculum. This database will continue to grow and can be used freely as a means of supplementing and supporting online and in-class science education for grades 1-8.
Grade 1
Structures and Mechanisms: Materials, Objects, and Everyday Structures
Basic expectations for this strand:
- assess the impact on people and the environment of objects and structures and the materials used in them
- investigate structures that are built for a specific purpose to see how their design and materials suit the purpose
- demonstrate an understanding that objects and structures have observable characteristics and are made from materials with specific properties that determine how they are used
Resources
- Great link to a variety of activities on material classification for young kids:
Understanding Matter and Energy: Energy in Our Lives
Basic expectations for this strand:
- assess uses of energy at home, at school, and in the community, and suggest ways to use less energy
- investigate how different types of energy are used in daily life
- demonstrate an understanding that energy is something that is needed to make things happen, and that the sun is the principal source of energy for the earth
Resources
- Full, highly detailed lesson on sunlight and energy:
Note: Clarendon Learning provides free, fully articulated science lessons but requires you (the teacher) to sign up for a free membership
Grade 2
Structures and Mechanisms: Movement
Basic expectations for this strand:
- assess the impact on society and the environment of simple machines and mechanisms
- investigate mechanisms that include simple machines and enable movement
- demonstrate an understanding of movement and ways in which simple machines help to move objects
Resources
- Activity linking the lesson above to incline planes with examples of their use in daily life:
Understanding Matter and Energy: Properties of Liquids and Solids
Basic expectations for this strand:
- assess ways in which the uses of liquids and solids can have an impact on society and the environment
- investigate the properties of and interactions among liquids and solids
- demonstrate an understanding of the properties of liquids and solids
Resources
- Explore material properties by making your own recycled paper!
- Full short lesson explaining the characteristics of different states of matter:
Grade 3
Structures and Mechanisms: Strong and Stable Structures
Basic Expectations for this strand:
- assess the importance of form, function, strength, and stability in structures through time
- investigate strong and stable structures to determine how their design and materials enable them to perform their load-bearing function
- demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of structure, strength, and stability and the factors that affect them
Resources
- Lesson explaining the relationship between stability and strength using a "jello earthquake":
Understanding Matter and Energy: Forces Causing Movement
Basic expectations for this strand:
- assess the impact of various forces on society and the environment
- investigate devices that use forces to create controlled movement
- demonstrate an understanding of how forces cause movement and changes in movement
Resources
- Full lesson explaining how cars are built with efficiency of movement in mind:
- Activity illustrating the above principals of cars and movement that lets kids test simple vehicular designs at home:
Grade 4
Structures and Mechanisms: Pulleys and Gears
Basic expectations for this strand:
- evaluate the impact of pulleys and gears on society and the environment
- investigate ways in which pulleys and gears modify the speed and direction of, and the force exerted on, moving objects
- demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles and functions of pulley systems and gear systems
Resources
- Full lesson examining pulleys and the ways in which they convey a mechanical advantage:
- Activities related to the above lesson on pulleys:
Understanding Matter and Energy: Light and Sound
Basic expectations for this strand:
- assess the impact on society and the environment of technological innovations related to light and sound
- investigate the characteristics and properties of light and sound
- demonstrate an understanding of light and sound as forms of energy that have specific characteristics and properties
Resources
- This is a full, interactive digital lesson on light:
Grade 5
Structures and Mechanisms Forces Acting on Structures and Mechanisms
Basic expectations for this strand:
- analyse social and environmental impacts of forces acting on structures and mechanisms
- investigate forces that act on structures and mechanisms
- identify forces that act on and within structures and mechanisms, and describe the effects of these forces on structures and mechanisms
Resources
- Full lesson focused on renewable vs. nonrenewable energy. Build your own windmill:
- Full lesson examining how a variety of simple machines are used to convey mechanical advantage:
Understanding Matter and Energy: Properties of and Changes in Matter
Basic expectations for this strand:
- evaluate the social and environmental impacts of processes used to make everyday products
- conduct investigations that explore the properties of matter and changes in matter
- demonstrate an understanding of the properties of matter, changes of state, and physical and chemical change
Resources
- Another fun state of matter lesson that using oobleck slime as an experiment focus to illustrate the different states of matter:
Grade 6
Structures and Mechanisms: Flight
Basic expectations for this strand:
- assess the societal and environmental impacts of flying devices that make use of properties of air
- investigate ways in which flying devices make use of properties of air
- explain ways in which properties of air can be applied to the principles of flight and flying devices
Resources
- Airplanes in Society
Understanding Matter and Energy: Electricity and Electrical Devices
Basic expectations for this strand:
- evaluate the impact of the use of electricity on both the way we live and the environment
- investigate the characteristics of static and current electricity, and construct simple circuits
- demonstrate an understanding of the principles of electrical energy and its transformation into and from other forms of energy
Resources
- What is Electricity?
Grade 7
Structures and Mechanisms: Form and Function
Basic expectations for this strand:
- analyse personal, social, economic, and environmental factors that need to be considered in designing and building structures and devices
- design and construct a variety of structures, and investigate the relationship between the design and function of these structures and the forces that act on them
- demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between structural forms and the forces that act on and within them
Resources
- Structures Unit, Lessons, activities, exercises, and handouts with a very global theme
Understanding Matter and Energy: Pure Substances & Mixtures
Basic expectations for this strand:
- evaluate the social and environmental impacts of the use and disposal of pure substances and mixtures
- investigate the properties and applications of pure substances and mixtures
- demonstrate an understanding of the properties of pure substances and mixtures, and describe these characteristics using the particle theory
Resources
- Separating Mixtures - Recycling Challenge Activity. In this lesson, students create a device or tool
to sort recycling at their school, reducing the strain on their municipal recycling facility. Students will need an assortment of materials that are common in homes, including cardboard and plastic bottles- Lesson Plan: https://education.sciencenorth.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Gr-7-Separating-Mixtures-Lesson-Plan.pdf
- PPT: https://education.sciencenorth.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Gr-7-Separating-Mixtures-Presentation.pdf
- Handout: https://education.sciencenorth.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Gr-7-Separating-Mixtures-Handout.pdf
Grade 8
Structures and Mechanisms: Systems in Action
Basic expectations for this strand:
- assess the personal, social, and/or environmental impacts of a system, and evaluate improvements to a system and/or alternative ways of meeting the same needs
- investigate a working system and the ways in which components of the system contribute to its desired function
- demonstrate an understanding of different types of systems and the factors that contribute to their safe and efficient operation
Resources
- Physics of Roller Coasters
Understanding Matter and Energy: Fluids
Basic expectations for this strand:
- analyse how the properties of fluids are used in various technologies and assess the impact of these technologies on society and the environment
- investigate the properties of fluids
- demonstrate an understanding of the properties and uses of fluids
Resources
- Bernoulli's Principle
- Physics of Fluids
- Full Lesson: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/fluids