Designing Activities for K12

How to create questions and worksheets to productively guide students' exploration of the simulations. Focused on K12.

Teacher Tips

Creating PhET Interactive Simulation Activities: PhET's Approach to Guided Inquiry. A one-page guide of best-practices in creating guided inquiry activities.

Activity Design Guidelines for K-12 Math. An overview of activity sheet and lesson design strategies that the PhET team has found works well in math classrooms.

Activity Sheet Design Guidelines for Elementary and Middle School. A detailed overview of design strategies that the PhET team has found to promote effective student engagement with worksheet activities.

How can I design an effective in class worksheet for PhET? Tips for writing guided activites that support student learning.

Exemplary, annotated activities for elementary and middle school

      Developed in collaboration between PhET team members and master teachers. Links will bring you to the activity page, and additional documents listed are in PDF form.

• Build a Molecule, plus annotated activity
• Density, plus annotated activity
• Gravity and Orbits, plus annotated activity
• Ramps, plus annotated activity plus teacher guide
• Forces and Motion in 1D
• Sugar and Salt Solutions

View additional teacher-contributed activities at our Activity Database.