Curated OER
Landforms All Around
Students create a "Landform Dictionary". They develop an overlay map and participate in hands-on activities to identify the key characteristics of landforms. They discuss the plant and animal life of these areas. Handouts for the lessons...
Curated OER
Plankton
Learners explore the attributes of plankton. In this plankton lesson, students read This is the Sea That Feeds Us and discuss food chains. Learners discover the differences between phytoplankton and zooplankton as they examine the...
Curated OER
WET Science Lesson #3: Comparison of Aquatic and Terrestrial Plants
Elementary life science explorers compare and contrast aquatic and terrestrial plants (elodea and soybeans) in a Venn diagram. Some background information is provided to support direct instruction, and general instructions are provided...
Curated OER
The Extraordinary Life of the Alaskan Tundra
Learners investigate the characteristics of the tundra on the North Slope of Alaska. They conduct Internet research, develop a chart of the types of vegetation, plant growth, and fauna found on the tundra, identify examples in their own...
Curated OER
Transportation
Students read about various modes of transportation for people, plants, and animals. In this transportation lesson, students read information about the transportation modes for people plants, and animals using water and land. Students...
Curated OER
Algae Experiments
Students describe the characteristics of algae. In this biology instructional activity, students perform a series of experiment to explore algae. They investigate the basic things algae need to survive.
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WONDERFUL, WATERFUL WETLANDS
Learners list characteristics of wetland and describe the functions of a wetland.
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Nonvascular Plants
In this nonvascular plant worksheet, students compare the characteristics of bryophyta, hepatophyta, and anthocerophyta. This worksheet has 8 fill in the blank and 3 multiple choice questions.
Curated OER
California Regions
Students explore and compare and contrast the four main regions of California: mountains, coast, central valley, and desert. students use pictures and research to describe how regions vary in land use, vegetation, wildlife and climate.
Curated OER
Centipede or Millipede?
Students discuss millipedes and centipedes in terms of their classification as arthropod. Using a diagram, students categorize and compare and contrast the characteristics of millipedes and centipedes based on their discussion of...
Curated OER
Eggshell People
Students observe grass growth. For this agricultural lesson, students use empty eggshells and fill them with soil and grass seed. Students record eggshell "hair growth" on a chart.
Curated OER
Not Just For A Baby's Bottom
Eighth graders investigate the presence of talc in the geologic record. The different characteristics of talc is covered. The lesson includes background information for the teacher.
Curated OER
Sludge
Students become familiar with the idea that sludge is a waste product but can also be a resource, depending on its characteristics and how we manage it. They read information and answers questions on a worksheet imbedded in this plan.
Curated OER
Birds of Wisconsin
First graders explore the job done by ornithologists. They role play identifying the characteristics that make a bird a bird. They discuss what makes each bird species unique. Students are introduced to Wisconsin's most common and rare...
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Lewis and Clark
Ninth graders study the plants and animals Lewis and Clark discovered on their expedition. There is a plant illustrator, a plant recorder, an animal illustrator, and an animal recorder. They research the plants and animals and the ...
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Prairie Find Outdoors
Students take a field trip to a local prairie. Using identification books, they identify various forbs and grasses in the prairie. As a class, they discuss the importance of forbs and grasses to the ecosystem and review the various types...
Virginia Department of Education
Biomes of the World
Incorporate knowledge about biomes and ecosystems in multiple ways while encouraging creativity. Emerging ecologists collaborate and perform research to complete a graphic organizer about various biomes of the world. They conclude the...
Curated OER
Whose Home Is This?
After reading a short and informative paragraph on animals and their environments, learners look at pictures of four animals, and write a short description of how each one has adapted to its environment. A suggested activity is that each...
Virginia Department of Education
Heat Loss from a Fur-Insulated Animal
How do animals adapt to weather changes? Provide your class with the ability to understand adaptations and body temperature as they participate in this hands on experiment, using fake fur and hot water. Pupils collect data and analyze...
Curated OER
Prairie People
Eighth graders interview a person who explains the lifestyles of people who lived on the prairies in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. They examine how today's lifestyles impact the environment and write up what they learned.
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Soil Scrolls
Third graders examine soil samples and explore the what happens in each layer of the subsoil. They work in cooperative groups to create a scroll that shows what takes place in each layer, and discuss why much of the activity is in the...
Curated OER
How Does Your Soil Stack Up?
Young scholars examine the soil in their local area and create a soil profile. They record observations in the field and the classroom. They create their own display of the soil profile as well.
Curated OER
Dynamic Wetlands
Students construct and observe a model of two different types of wetlands. In this wetlands lesson plan, students create a model of a wetland with constant drainage and a wetland that maintains a well-saturated soil. Students observe and...
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Backyard Habitats
Learners identify habitat elements. They create a habitat in a backyard, on a balcony, at a workplace, or in a schoolyard and provide the four basic requirements of wildlife survival (food, water, cover, and places to raise young). They...