Colorado Unit Writing Project
Simple Machines
Planning an elementary science unit has never been simpler! These twelve lessons guide young scientists through an exploration of simple machines and their many uses in the real world before asking them to apply their learning in the...
Newspaper Association of America
Cereal Bowl Science and Other Investigations with the Newspaper
What do cereal, fog, and space shuttles have to do with newspapers? A collection of science investigations encourage critical thinking using connections to the various parts of the newspaper. Activities range from building origami seed...
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Adaptations – Designs for Survival
What's the difference between behavioral adaptations and physical adaptations? Learn about the various ways that organisms adapt to their environment with a worksheet about the creatures of the Hudson River.
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
Kaleidoscope
Students explore energy by creating a light project in class. In this kaleidoscope lesson plan, students discuss the properties of light and how mirrors can reflect the energy in different directions. Students view a diagram of light...
Out-of-School Time Resource Center
Nutrition and Physical Activity
Emerging nutritionists explore what it means to be healthy. In the beginning of the unit, your class will examine the five food groups and learn how food gets from the farm to our plates. This leads into the investigation of the...
Curated OER
Egg Structure Project
Students investigate the physical structure of an egg and the functions of the seven parts. They create a diagram and discuss each part of the egg while looking for the information, Complete lesson materials are found at a website listed...
K12 Reader
Waves & Currents
Challenge your young readers with a passage about physical science. After reading about sound waves and electric currents, kids answer five reading comprehension questions about what they have read.
Foundation for Water & Energy Education
What is the Water Cycle? Activity B
Curious physical scientists follow a lesson on the properties of water with this lesson on distillation. They observe a miniature water cycle model that filters dirty water into clean water. These two lessons combined are an enriching...
Curated OER
Why Garden in New York State Schools?
A lovely presentation in which slide after slide outlines the many educational, physical, emotional, and social benefits of gardening in schools. This presentation is meant to be shown to parents, and would be a terrific choice to...
Curated OER
Light Reflections
Students explore light. In this physical science light lesson, students display objects on a projection screen and investigate how light absorbs, refracts, transmits and reflects. Students discuss common features of light based on their...
University of Florida
The Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip
Energize a shared reading of the Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip with this collection of supplemental materials. Whether your looking for discussion questions, reading comprehension worksheets, or writing prompts, this...
Curated OER
Are You Full of Hot Air?
Explore the concept of measuring and recording circumference. In this physical science and measurement lesson, young learners blow up balloons, measure the circumference, and record the data on an interactive graphing website.
Curated OER
Magnificent Magnets
Learners identify the properties of a magnet. In this physics instructional activity, students explore the strength of the magnet by testing out how a magnet reacts to various materials. The various objects the learners test include...
Baylor College
How Much Water Do Humans Need?
Physical or life science learners measure the amounts of water eliminated by intestines and the urinary system, and the amounts lost via respiration and perspiration. In doing so, they discover that the body's water must be replenished...
Curated OER
Conserving Water through Art!
Students study water conservation. For this water conservation lesson, students investigate the scarcity of water and determine reasons for conserving water. Students estimate how much water they use in one day and identify ways to...
Curated OER
Indoor Environment: A Magazine Publication Project
Students demonstrate knowledge of Indoor Air Quality by creating a class magazine. A link to order a free Action Kit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is provided so teachers can build background knowledge. Performance...
Curated OER
Map Puzzles
Students make puzzles from world maps, dramatizing how much of the globe is covered by ocean.
Curated OER
Mixing Oil and Water
Students explore physical science by participating in a class experiment. In this chemistry lesson plan, students discuss what they predict will happen when cooking oil and water are blended together. Students utilize a plastic bottle,...
Curated OER
Hurricanes!
Students access hurricane reports form the national weather service online, and draw hurricane paths. They discuss how hurricanes form and move. The research should be reported in a comprehensive presentation that can be given to a whole...
Prince William Network
Migration Headache
During this game, kids become migratory shorebirds and fly among wintering, nesting, and stopover habitats. If they do not arrive at a suitable habitat on time, they do not survive. Catastrophic events are periodically introduced that...
Curated OER
Aviation, Aeronautics and Aerodynamics
Learners investigate the physics of flight through various experiments. In this physics lesson, students construct different flying objects. They explain the dynamics that make these object fly.
Curated OER
Exercise and Water
Second graders discover the needs of their body by trying different types of aerobic exercise. In this physical education lesson, 2nd graders analyze The Busy Body Book by glancing at the pictures inside and predicting what the content...
Curated OER
Magnets
Second graders classify objects and create hypotheses regarding their magnetic properties. They watch a video about magnets and finally use a magnet to test their hypotheses created earlier.