Top 10 Most Popular Science Topics in Classroom

Check out the top 10 most popular science topics on the Legends of Learning platform and games you can use to teach them in your Classroom.

1. Effects of Temperature and Pressure on State

 

Effects of Temperature and Pressure on State

Summary of concepts covered: A substance’s state of matter is an extrinsic property that can be changed by its environment. Physical conditions like temperature and pressure affect the state of matter. Both temperature and pressure can be measured, and state changes can be observed.

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The game Galaxy Scape is the best to teach this concept

2. Atoms and Elements

 

periodic table atoms and elements

Summary of concepts covered: Everything in the universe is made of atoms. Atoms are the smallest units of matter, and the different types of atoms make up different elements. They can exist on their own or bonded together in molecules.

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Try out DocDuck, one of the best games available to review Atoms and Elements.

3. Parts of the Cell

parts of the cell

Summary of concepts covered: Cells contain specialized structures, called organelles, that perform specific functions.

Prokaryotic cells, like bacteria, do not have many organelles, while eukaryotic cells have defined organelles.

All cells have a semi-permeable cell membrane that lets them absorb nutrients and get rid of waste.

Nuclei, mitochondria, ribosomes, rough and smooth ER, the Golgi apparatus, and lysosomes are all covered!

Cosmic Cells is your get-go instructional game to make this topic easy and fun for your students!

4. The Sun, Moon, and Stars: Patterns of Apparent Motion

 

 sun, moon, and stars

Summary of concepts covered: From day to day, the sun and stars will not appear in the exact same part of the sky due to the Earth’s revolution around the sun.

These patterns of apparent motion allow us to predict where the Sun, Moon, and stars are at any given time, using drawings, 3D models, and computer models.

Help your students understand the movement of the celestial bodies in the sky with Camp Star

5. Role of Sunlight and Gravity in the Water Cycle

role of sunlight and gravity in the water cycle.

Summary of concepts covered: On Earth, water can exist as a liquid, a solid (ice), or a gas (water vapor). It changes between these states of matter when it gains or loses energy. In the water cycle, this energy comes from sunlight.

While sunlight is the energy source, the greatest force propelling the water cycle is gravity. Gravity is the force of attraction between two objects, and Earth’s gravity pulls matter downward, toward its center. It pulls precipitation down from clouds and pulls water downhill.

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6. Conservation of Matter in Chemical Reactions

chemical reactions

Summary of concepts covered: During a chemical reaction, atoms are rearranged, but they are not created or destroyed.

The substances entering the reaction are called reactants, and the resulting substances, with new chemical formulas, are called products.

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7. Temperature, Thermal Energy, and Particle Motion

 

Water particle motion

Summary of concepts covered: Temperature measures the average kinetic energy of the particles in a substance.

Thermal energy measures the total kinetic energy of the particles in a substance. The greater the motion of particles, the higher a substance’s temperature and thermal energy.

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8. Weathering and Erosion

 

weathering and erosion

Summary of concepts covered: Aside from plate tectonics, moving water (including ice) causes the most significant change to the earth’s surface.

Weathering (including physical and chemical) is the process of breaking down rock that is not moving. Erosion is when water actually transports rock and sediment from one place to another.

9. Sound Waves

Sound waves

Summary of concepts covered: Waves are disturbances that transfer energy from one place to another. Sound waves are a type of mechanical, longitudinal wave.

Longitudinal waves cause matter to contract and expand, known as compression and rarefaction. Matter vibrates as sound passes through it.

10. Gene Mutations

gene mutations

Summary of concepts covered: DNA contains the genetic blueprint of all living things. It comes in double helix-shaped strands, which look like twisted ladders.

The ladders’ rungs are made up of two kinds of nucleotide pairs: adenine and thymine, and cytosine and guanine. During cell division, DNA replicates itself, but it sometimes makes errors.

Most of these errors are fixed during the process, but the ones that aren’t may become gene mutations.

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7 Go-To Sites for Science Resources

Teachers like you are constantly searching for new science resources and content to diversify their lessons and engage students.

Browsing the internet is a great way to find science resources, but with so much content available, it’s easy to spend hours searching. In fact, some teachers dedicate five to seven hours a week just to finding the right materials.

If you’re looking for more than just games, start your search here. These seven curated sites can help streamline the process and guide you to quality resources faster.

1) Share My Lesson

Share My Lesson is a fantastic database of science resources, featuring lessons from early childhood through high school. As the name implies, teachers log on and share their own lessons and resources. To date, those total more than 420,000, including more than 11,000 for middle school science alone! They’re all free, and searchable by grade and standards.

2) Teachers Pay Teachers

You’ve probably heard of Teachers Pay Teachers by now. Much like Share My Lesson, TpT hosts lessons crowdsourced from educators. Boasting an even bigger library of more than 2.8m resources, some free and some paid, it’s a fantastic tool for bringing together the genius of teachers everywhere. When you’re searching, you can sort by grade, subject, resource type, and price, or check out the trending topics on their homepage.

Teachers Pay Teachers hosts science resources for teachers everywhere.

3) University of Cincinnati Libraries

The UC Libraries STEM Education page links to a bunch of juicy STEM content across the web. These include science websites, lesson plan libraries, student research databases, educational videos, curriculum resources, and much more. Dig into this wealth of material, vetted by a major research university.

4) Teaching Ideas

Teaching Ideas is a British site that lists an eye-popping amount of resources for teachers. Along with science, teachers can find inspiration for English, “maths” , computing, art, music, history, PE, you name it — so go ahead and share it with your non-science colleagues! If you’re looking for lesson plans, projects, videos, or games, it’s all here, with a search functionality and many levels of filtering.

5) Tes

Tes is an education giant, claiming “the world’s largest online community of teachers” with almost 8 million registered users. Like Share My Lesson and TpT, Tes hosts a marketplace where teachers can share all kinds of resources, free and paid, from pre-K through high school. Their marketplace also features a bunch of discussion forums, as well as resources for exploring the teacher job market (focused on the UK). They also publish a magazine, and publish tons of education-related news. Talk about a go-to education site!

Tes has thousands of science resources, from lesson plans to news articles.

6) Legends of Learning Science Games

Legends of Learning is an award-winning game-based learning platform designed to boost student engagement and improve test scores through interactive, curriculum-aligned science games. With a library of over 2,000 expertly crafted games, teachers can seamlessly integrate engaging, standards-aligned content into their lessons—whether in the classroom or at home.

Every game on the platform is carefully selected based on user reviews and educational value, ensuring a balance of fun and learning. Designed to captivate students, support teachers, and empower districts, these games make science more accessible and enjoyable.

Ready to explore the best of the best? Here are 10 top-rated science games that combine immersive gameplay with real learning outcomes, helping students grasp complex scientific concepts while having fun!

7) Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative

Out of the University of British Columbia, CWSEI mainly focuses on research related to science pedagogy in higher education. However, their site lists a wide variety of resources, including tools that can be used in the classroom, but also a plethora of reference books and articles for everything you want to learn about education. The Initiative’s stated goal is to build “a more scientifically literate populace… able to make wise decisions, informed by scientific understanding, about other complex issues” — a mission we can all get behind!

If you’re looking for new science resources, this list is a good place to start. These websites complement the depth and breadth of the thousands of science games and assessment items teachers find on the Legends of Learning platform.


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