BASIS Lesson Plan Archive
Explore the range of science experiences that scientists have brought to students in past BASIS lessons.
Kindergarten
Earth Science
- All About Volcanoes (Reuter 11-12)
- Let it Snow! Transitional Kindergarten (CRS 14-15)
- Planet Protectors! Resource Use and Conservation (ESPM adoption of Colston 11-12, Updated 14-15)
Life Science
- Animals Around the World(Domingo 06-07)
- Build-a-Bug (Bayer scientist adoption of original Entomology Student Organization 07-08)
- Germs and Your Body (Alber Group 08-09)
- Sensing the World Around Us (Neuroscience adoption of Anatomy Enrichment 14-15)
Physical Science
- Buoyancy: Who Sank the Boat?(Bioengineering 09-10)
- Hidden Colors (Abby Knight 11-12)
- Sink or Float: Experiments in Buoyancy(CRS 11-12)
- What's in a Color? (Cal Bioengineering (10-11)
First Grade
Earth Science
- Clouds, Clouds Everywhere (Bayer-CRS 11-12)
- The Water Cycle (BioE 15-16)
Life Science
- All About Seeds (Okrent, Shurlach, Jones 07-08)
- Animal Body Structure and Habitats (Williams 11-12)
- Ask a Tree How Old It Is (DeChant 06-07)
- Botany on Your Plate (UC Botanical Gardens 11-12)
- Botany on Your Plate, Spanish Version (Clorox 12-13)
- Curious Critters (Ocen and You/Cynthia Cudaback 12-13)
- Can You Feel Your Heart Beat? (Anatomy Enrichment Program 13-14)
- Roots, Seeds, and Stems - Putting Plants Together (Anton, Laurie, and Tania 10-11)
- Science and the Beanstalk (Schawel 08-09)
- Teeth & Skulls! (IB Grad Students 14-15)
- Turtles & Tortoises (Barnett and Begum 05-06)
- You Are What You Eat: How Diet Shapes Teeth (Atteholt 09-10)
Physical Science
- Does Air Really Exist? (Held 07-08)
- Exploring States of Matter (Sarpong Group 08-09)
- Mysterious Liquids (Tilley Group 08-09, Adapted 14-15)
- Sailing Clips, Pepper Fish, Penny Drips: Buoyancy and Surface Tension (Fatehi 07-08)
Second Grade
Earth Science
- Fossil Formation (Alice & Mel 11-12)
- Fun With Fossils (Batavia 08-09)
- Oceans Are For Everyone! (Ocean Society of Berkeley 15-16)
- Soils: The Ground We Stand On (Minda and Olivia 11-12)
- Soil Isn't Dirty (Ryals 06-07)
- Soils Are Diverse! (Kari & Gavin 14-15)
Life Science
- Biodiversity in Insects (Bennett 07-08)
- Butterflies (Levinson 06-07)
- Good Germs, Bad Germs (Shapira 14-15)
- Plants and the Environment (Plants: Kevin, Candice, Jules 10-11
- Plant Life Cycles (Plant and Microbial Biology, 11-12)
Physical Science
- Balloon Rocket Cars (Bayer scientist adoption of original Chemical Engineering group 08-09)
- Exploring Magnets (CRS Staff 13-14)
- Gears in Motion (MEGSCOV 11-12)
- Hear All About It!-Sound (Ashmi, Jisella 12-13)
- How to Make Things Fly (Smythe 06-07)
- Magnets are Sweet (SEED: Brian 10-11)
- Making the Band (BGESS group 08-09)
- Simple Machines- the Application of Forces (Rahmany, Marukami 12-13)
- Sounds and Music (EECS: Matt Spencer 13-14)
- Waves (Johnson 10-11)
- Which Falls Faster (Zenz 06-07)
Engineering
- Egg Drop Challenge (Stanford University Alternative Spring Break 12-13)
- Marshmallow Challenge: A Tower Building Adventure (Venugopalan 12-13)
- Materials and Structures (SECO 14-15)
Third Grade
Earth Science
- Global Warming (Alivisatos Group 07-08)
- There are Days and Seasons (Turn, Turn, Turn) (Pepe & Vandenbroucke 08-09)
- Pictures in the Sky (Lum, Abdnour 12-13)
- Where Do All The Stars Come From? (Astronomy, 14-15)
Life Science
- Adapting to Survive: Predators and Prey(Integrative Biology 14-15)
- Aquatic Adaptation (Merzlyak 04-05)
- Eye didn't know that (Dr Interns: Sohee 13-14)
- Genetics: What makes us different (Jillian & Louisa 14-15)
- Learning About Our Guts is a Must(Anatomy Enrichment Program 13-14)
- Natural Selection in Predators and Prey (Hammond 11-12)
- No Bones About It: How Skeletons Work (Anatomy Enrichment Program 13-14)
- Oil Spills! (Burch, Cherk, Cho, Nuccio, Whiston 07-08)
- Plants Adapt to Their Environments (Plant and Microbial Biology Graduate Students 14-15)
- Survival Strategies and Adaptation in Insects (Hadjistylli 06-07)
- Support and Protect! Our Skeletal System at Work (Anatomy Enrichment Program 14-15)
- Synesthesia and You (Synesthesia Association: Ben 13-14)
- The Hunger Games: Animal Adaptations for Survival (Integrative Biology Graduate Students 14-15)
- The Skin You're In (Anatomy Enrichment Program 13-14)
- The Spice of Life: Variation Within Species (ESPM 14-15)
Physical Science
- Dry Ice Explorations (Clorox: Day of Science 13-14)
- Energy and Energy Conversion (Groves Group 07-08)
- Energy: The Currency of Science (Goldman 09-10)
- Energy, Energy Conversion and Efficiency (SEED group 08-09)
- Gak! The Science of Combining Substances (Muller Lab 15-16)
- Heat Transfer: It's so cool! (ChemE 11-12)
- Renewable Energy & Climate Change (Chemistry 15-16)
- It's just a phase! (ChemE: Heat Conduction 13-14)
- Light and the Electormagnetic Spectrum (Adam and Mariana 10-11)
- Light and Waves (Schlegel 08-09)
- Light Can Heat Too (Muren 07-08)
- Lights! Colors! Vision! (Neuroscience 15-16 adapted from Steedman 06-07)
- Liquid Explorations with BLISS Volunteers (BLISS 10-11)
- Matter: A Periodic Puzzle (Selle, Ngo 12-13)
- Melting, Freezing and More! (Frechet Group 08-09)
- Oobleck (Ellie Jung 10-11)
- Oobleck (SACNAS 14-15)
- Open Scope: Build Your Own Scope (Bioengineering 12-13)
- Optics and Light (Venugopalan 09-10)
- Picture-Perfect Solar Energy (Alivisatos 09-10)
- Properties of Matter that Matter (Bertozzi 09-10)
- Reaction Reasoning (AXE Group 06-07)
- Solids, Liquids and Gases (Klein 04-05)
- States of Matter: Sublime Suds to Ice Cream Science (Francis 09-10)
- State of Matter (SECO 13-14
- Things That Glow (Raymond Group 06-07)
- What is Color and how do we see it? (Colleen Kirkhart 11-12)
- Where does Energy Come From? (SEED 09-10)
Engineering
- Robots that Run (EECS: Matt Spencer 13-14)
Fourth Grade
Earth Science
- Dirt: Making Dirty Water Clean (Palucis 07-08)
- Plate Tectonics (Moschetti 04-05)
- Snack Tectonics (USGS: Leslie and Kathryn 13-14)
Life Science
- California Food Webs (Integrative Biology, 15-15)
- Cells and Microscopes (PMB 15-16)
- Composting Communities (Peter Beernik 10-11)
- Food Webs Alive! (Entomology Student Organization 08-09)
- Play With Your Food (Clif Bar Team 14-15)
- Microbe-Body (Edge Group 08-09)
- Microorganisms: Good or Evil? (Doudna-Cate Group 08-09)
- Microbes in Action (PMB 13-14)
- Survival on the Playground (Vos 09-10)
- Why do animals migrate? (Frank 11-12)
- Worms and Compost (Wong 08-09)
- Worm Compost: Turning Waste into Soil (Steven Hall 11-12)
- Wildland Fire (Kramer 12-13)
- Zombie Apocalypse! (Taylor 15-16)
Physical Science
- Can Your Eyes Fool You? (Psychology 14-15)
- Electricity, Magnetism, and the Wall Socket (Matt Spencer 10-11)
- Energy: The currency of Science (Dan Goldman 13-14)
- Engineering Catapult Challenge! (CRS Staff: Jon 13-14)
- Global Warming and Renewable Energy (Engineers for a Sustainable World 14-15)
- Having Fun With Magnets (Rahmany, Marukami 12-13)
- Poles Apart: Electro-Magnetic Attraction & Repulsion (Jackson 09-10)
- Seeing is Believing (Neuroscience 14-15)
- Sticky Balloons and Static Electricity (Paulick 08-09)
- Squishy Circuits (Cusumano 12-13)
- Squishy Circuits (EECS 14-15)
- What is Renewable Energy (Ostfeld 11-12)
- Zap, Crackle and Pop: Static Electricity Everywhere (Jackson 08-09)
Fifth Grade
Earth Science
- 3rd Grape from the Sun (Nicholas McConnell 10-11)
- Air Pressure and You (Combs 09-10)
- Air Pressure: Invisible, Powerful, Mysterious (Jackson 08-09)
- Albedo of Ice and Snow (LBL 15-16)
- Clouds Everywhere (Closser 11-12)
- Fluid Densities and Ocean Currents (adapted from SEED) (Philips and Ho 11-12)
- Follow the River to Clean Waters (Penny 11-12)
- Global Ocean Currents and Fluid Densities (SEED group 09-10)
- The Power of Air Pressure (Bouvier-Brown 07-08)
- Water in our Atmosphere: Make it Rain! (Cohen Lab 12-13)
- We Love Gravity! (Lehr, Hidrobo 12-13)
- Weather in a Bottle (Poon 07-08)
- What's in your Water? - (includes Spanish Worksheet) (Venugopalan 11-12)
- The Wonderful World of Water! (Hannah, Lena & Kurt 14-15)
Life Science
- Bones (Singer 07-08)
- Bones, Muscles, and How We Move (Matt and Alec 10-11)
- Brain Talk! How Brains Communicate (Jocelyn and Greg 15-16)
- Brains - Spiker Box Demonstrations (Neuroscience Graduate Students 12-13)
- Cardiovascular System (Anatomy Enrichment Program 13-14)
- DNA (Peter Coppinger 03-04)
- DNA Discovery (PMB: Jessica Rodrigues 10-11)
- Digestive System (Asha and Leera 13-14)
- Feel Dead Brains (Berkeley Cognitive Science Student Association-CSSA 11-12)
- A Field Trip Through the Digestive System (Ashmi, Jisella 12-13)
- The Healthy Body (SECO 14-15)
- Insect Physiology (Entomology Student Organization 09-10)
- It came from a single cell (Molecular & Cell Biology Graduate Students 12-13)
- Plants Show Their True Colors (Steinbrenner 12-13)
- Please Play with Your Food (Novak 08-09)
- Remember This?: Neurons (Fischer, Olf 05-06)
- Science of Respiration and Blood Circulation (Lee 06-07)
- True Blood, True Science (Bayer 14-15)
- A Whole New World of DNA and Proteins (Bioengineering Graduate Students 12-13)
- Unblock My Heart! (Bioengineering Graduate Students 14-15)
Physical Science
- Acids and Bases: Cabbage Juice Indicator (Lee, Standly 04-05)
- The Big Bang: Stardust and the Elements (Cupp 03-04)
- Carbon Dioxide is all around us! Measuring CO2 with Probes (Derek Vigil 10-11)
- Chalk One Up For Science! pH and Chemical Reactions (Lena & Billy 14-15)
- Chemical Reactions (Asha & Leera 12-13)
- Chemical Reactions (Chemistry: Mercedes 14-15)
- Chemical Workout: Blow It Up! (Maimone Lab Group 13-14)
- Chemistry "Magic": Chemical and State Changes (Juedemann 12-13)
- The Chemistry of Soap (Bergman/Tilley Group 10-11)
- CSI: Chromatography Science Investigation (CRS Staff 12-13)
- Conductors and Insulators (Johnson 05-06)
- Electricity and Food: Glowing Pickles (Garnett 06-07)
- The Elements (Norton 06-07)
- Elements of Life (Killilea 05-06)
- Gak! (Jorge 10-11)
- Glow in the Dark Science (Obermeyer/Mackenzie 11-12)
- Green Polymers (Sarpong 09-10)
- Heat, Temperature, and the Jiggling of Molecules (Chu 08-09)
- Honey, I Engineered Our Food (BioE 15-16)
- How Can You Tell One Gas from Another? (Grass 06-07)
- How to Think Like a Scientist (Bertozzi Group 08-09)
- How to Think Like a (Bayer) Scientist (Bayer adoption of Bertozzi lesson, 10-11)
- Matter (Hoai Ngo 11-12)
- Measuring the World with Vernier Probes (Vigil 09-10)
- Periodic Table Selle, Ngo 12-13)
- Periodic Table of Students (Guillaudeu 04-05)
- Plastics, Recycling & Composting (Chang 15-16)
- Properties of Metals (Bergman Group 08-09)
- Polymer Chemistry: More Than Just Plastics (Alivisatos Group 08-09)
- Polymer Possibilities (BioE 11-12)
- States of Matter (Long Group 15-16)
- The Race to Efficient & Clean Transportation Fuel (SEED 09-10)
- Water You Waiting For? Dive into the wonders of water (WIMS, Naomi Kohen 11-12)
- What is Everything Made Of (Harvey 04-05)
- What's that Smell? (Tsai 09-10)
Engineering
- Green Roofs (15-16)
- Properties of Materials (Nick K. 12-12)
- Protect That Pill! (Bioengineering Graduate Students 14-15
Middle-School
Sixth Grade: Earth Science
- Alternative Energy (SEED 10-11)
- Clipfish (Integrative Biology 09-10)
- Mountain Building (Earth & Planetary Sciences 10-11)
- Vision Whitney Lab (WMS: Whitney Lab 13-14 )
Seventh Grade: Life Science
- A Whole New World of DNA & Proteins (Bioengineering 13-14)
- Clipfish (PMS:Clipfish 13-14)
- MS: DNA (MS: DNA Elaine 13-14)
- See Your Heart in Action: the EKG (Bioengineering 09-10)
- Spring Mechanics (Bioengineering 10-11)
Eight Grade: Physical Science
- Cosmic Rays and Neutrinos (Poon, Detwiler, Loach, Prior 07-08)
- Magnetic Mystery Planets (Fillingim & Yan 12-13)
- Solar Cells (Garnett and Grass 07-08)
- Solar Winds (Fillingim & Yan 11-12)