Curated OER
Rock On! Featuring the Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic Trio!
Get your classroom rocking with this four-lesson earth science unit. Through a series of shared reading activities and hands-on investigations, young geologists learn about the three types of rocks and the unique properties of each.
Curated OER
What's in Wetland Soil?
Young scholars examine the organic and inorganic components of soil. In this environmental science instructional activity, students identify the factors that influence soil formation. They collect soil samples, conduct tests, and analyze...
Curated OER
Investigating Soil
Students investigate soil contents. In this soil lesson, students gather samples of soil and record their findings on a graphic organizer. After analyzing the material in the soil, students illustrate the layers they found.
Curated OER
ExplorA-Pond: 5th Grade Soil Erosion
Fifth graders visit a pond or a stream and find areas of the shoreline with vegetation and without. They pour buckets of water down each and observe the effect plants have on soil erosion. They draw and record results in a lab booklet.
Curated OER
Investigating Planetary Soils
Learners study soil characteristics and identify properties of soils from different parts of the solar system. For this soil lesson students divide into groups, read soil descriptions, test and record soil samples.
Chymist
Landfills and Recycling
Examine the nature of landfills through experimentation. Scholars build miniature landfills and monitor changes over a six-week period. Observations allow individuals to draw conclusions about the different types of trash and their...
NASA
The Case of the Wacky Water Cycle
Join the tree house detectives in learning about the processes of the water cycle, water conservation, water treatment, and water as a limited resource.
Curated OER
Growing Learners: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Investigating Plants and Flowers
Engage young scientists in these inquiry-based lesson ideas to spring into learning about nature.
S2tem Centers SC
Seasons
Winter, spring, summer, and fall—take the learning of the seasons beyond the elementary level to the middle school classroom. Curious learners begin by watching videos about the seasons and the rotation of planet Earth. Then, they...
Curated OER
How Can You Test Your Soil?
Students investigate chemicals in soil samples. In this soil science lesson, students test local soil to measure the pH, nitrate, phosphate, and potassium content.
Curated OER
Soil Sample Lab
Students test the pH of soil samples they collected from the field trip. In this chemistry lesson, students differentiate acids and bases. They write a lab report about the experiment.
Curated OER
Soil Conservation
Learners examine soil conservation. In this agricultural management lesson plan, students study how to use good practices for soil conservation. They discuss the Dust Bowl and poor land management from the 1940's to infer how we can be...
Curated OER
Nitrogen Cycle-Stream Side Science
A thorough background and nitrate sampling lab sheet are provided to share with your young scientists. After discussing the nitrogen cycle with the class, you will break them into small groups and show them how to use their inquiry...
Curated OER
A Hidden Beauty
Expose the beautiful mystery of bulbs as young botanists learn all about these fascinating plants. They glean information from a short text before observing actual bulbs (consider an onion), and comparing their findings with predictions....
Center Science Education
Paleoclimates and Pollen
Demonstrate for your earth scientists how plant pollen of the past has become part of sedimentary deposits, providing clues about ancient climates. Then give them simulated sediment layer samples to analyze for different types of paper...
Desert Museum
Daisy Ecology
Here's a fine lesson plan that combines poetry with life sciences. Learners carefully listen to a poem that's all about a food chain. As the poem is read, learners name the producer, the herbivore, the carnivore, and the omnivore. Lots...
NASA
Is It Alive?
Determining whether or not something is living can be more difficult than it seems. Put your young scientists to work defining their own criteria to identify life, then work with three samples to see if they are alive or not.
Curated OER
Rocks and Soil: What is the Land Made of?
Students identify rock classifications and rock cycles. In this rocks and soils lesson students complete experiments on rocks and how they are symbols in the Bible.
University of Wisconsin
Designing a Rain Garden
Now it's time for all of the data collected in previous lessons to be applied to the design of a rain garden. This resource can only be used as part of the greater whole, since learners will need to rely on gathered knowledge in order to...
Curated OER
Scientific Root Words, Prefixes, and Suffixes
It's hard to imagine that anything was missed on this five-page list of science roots, prefixes, and suffixes! Listed in alphabetical order, all are included in a single, two-column list. This may be especially useful for advanced...
Curated OER
Keeping Soil in Its Place - Slip Slidin' Away
Learners experiment to show rain drop splash and splash erosion. In this erosion lesson, students complete 3 experiments showing splash erosion and methods for controlling soil erosion. They complete a number of worksheets, learn...
Curated OER
What's in the Soil?
Second graders create stratified soil levels using pictures. In this earth science lesson plan, 2nd graders identify "artifacts" from 3 historic eras and divide them into 3 soil levels. Then they draw their own multi-level soil profile...
Curated OER
Take the Lead — Get the Lead Out
High schoolers research about the physiological effects of prolonged lead exposure. In this chemistry lesson plan, students investigate the lead content of different paint, soil and water samples. They analyze data trends and share their...
Curated OER
Soil Sample Lab 2
Students examine each soil sample and record observations. In this biology lesson, students design an experiment to test soil flow rate. They write a lab report about the experiment.