Teaching Guide Search

This lesson plan introduces students to Katherine Clerk Maxwell along with the primary colors of light and color mixing in light.

Students will learn about Elmer Imes's experimental work on spectroscopy and how it was a turning point in modern applied physics.

Students will learn about optical physicist and Bell Laboratories alumni Anthony Johnson, while also exploring the phenomenon of total internal reflection.

Students will learn about spectra, their connection to atomic absorption and emission, and how astronomer Margaret Huggins contributed to early spectral photography.

Students will learn about the physicist Albert Baez, including his research, ideals, and efforts at improving international scientific education.

In this lesson, students will learn about Nobel Laureate, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (known as Chandra), his influence in astrophysics, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and the history of black holes.

In this two-part lesson plan, students will learn about the debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois over African-American education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century and about the life of Edward Bouchet, the first African-American to receive a Ph.D. in Physics in 1876.

Students will learn about the life of Abdus Salam, the first Muslim Physics Nobel Laureate. Students will also learn about the four fundamental forces.

This lesson plan introduces multiwavelength astronomy and engages students with the compelling story of Dr. France Córdova.

Students will research the lives and work of some notable African American inventors and then create an invention or patent of their own.

In this lesson students will be learning about the life and work of Fred Begay, also known as Fred Young and Clever Hunter, the first Native American to earn a PhD in physics.

Students will learn the story of Marietta Blau a Jewish nuclear physicist who was forced to leave her home in Austria upon its annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938.

Students will learn about the role of African Americans played in the Mahanattan Project as scientists, technicians, and workers by exploring the biographies of several of these individuals.

Students will learn about the significance of scientific writing, the significance of two writers from the early eighteen hundreds, and will practice writing themselves. 

Students will learn about the significance of scientific writing, the significance of two writers from the early eighteen hundreds, and will practice writing themselves. 

In this lesson plan, students will learn about the “West Computers” or “West Area Computers” – a group of African-American women who worked as “human computers” at NASA Langley Research Center from the 1940s onward. Students will practice using scientific notation and calculations as if they were computers at NASA Langley Research Center. 

Students will explore Eunice Foote's discovery of the greenhouse gas effect and the context in which she conducted her research. By the end of this lesson, students will connect Foote’s unequal treatment to her work as a suffragette, fighting for women’s rights. Students will write their own version of the Declaration of Sentiments.

By examining oral histories and historical photographs, students will learn about the history of the Manhattan Project and how many women contributed in various capacities.

Students will learn about Leona Woods Marshall Libby, who worked on the Manhattan Project and afterward had a successful and diverse career as a research physicist, while also discussing the value of interdisciplinary research.

Students will learn, through research and debate, about the conflicts that can arise between astronomical and local communities over the construction of observatories.

Students will read a real paper that was submitted to the Royal Society by Hertha Ayrton in 1911 and will learn about the connection between science and the development of technology. 

Students will learn about the incredible life and accomplishments of Lise Meitner, one of the most important physicists during the 20th century, by reading about her critical role in the discovery of nuclear fission and contributions to the science of atomic and nuclear physics.

In this two-part lesson plan, students will learn about the life of theoretical physicist Dr. Sylvester James Gates, Jr. and string theory, his field of research.

Students will learn about Maria Mitchell and her work in observational astronomy.

Students will learn about the life and career of female astronomers through their own words.

Students will learn about the history of women's colleges and their role in physical science education by exploring several key institutions that offer physical science degrees.

Students will investigate four historical case studies of physicists who some historians and physicists have argued should have won a Nobel Prize: Arnold Sommerfeld, Lise Meitner, Chien-Shiung Wu, and Satyendra Nath Bose. With each Case Study, students examine the historical context surrounding the prize that year (if applicable) as well as potential biases inherent in the structure of the Nobel Prize committee and its selection process. Students will summarize arguments for why these four physicists should have been awarded a Nobel Prize in physics, as well as potential explanations for why they were not awarded the honor.

In this lesson students will learn about the life and work of Victor Blanco.

This teaching guide introduces the law of inertia and highlights the contributions of scholars during the Islamic Golden Age.

By examining oral histories and historical photographs, students will learn about the lives of African Americans who worked at the secret city built for the Manhattan Project in Hanford, Washington.

Students will be immersed in the state-of-the-art lab of Laura Bassi, an 18th century experimental physicist. They will learn about Bassi and perform simple experiments on subjects Bassi and other scientists were exploring at the time, including static electricity, surface tension, and light refraction. They will record their observations in lab notebooks and graduate from the “Laura Bassi Experimental Physics School” with diplomas.

In this lesson, students will learn about Eunice Newton Foote’s 1856 discovery of the Greenhouse Effect of carbon dioxide. Students will recreate her experiment in the lab to learn about the Greenhouse Effect.

In this lesson, students will learn about Eunice Newton Foote's 1856 discovery of the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide, the historical context she performed her research in, and the implications of her discovery on climate and global warming. Students will watch a video replicating her experiment and learn the science behind the greenhouse effect. At the end of the lesson, students will explore the implications of the greenhouse effect for climate change and other related fields.

This lesson focuses on the life and work of Émilie du Châtelet. Students will repeat a simpler version of du Châtelet’s own experiment to learn about gravity, understanding that gravity pulls objects down, and that it pulls heavier objects down with more force than lighter objects.