Curated OER
Plankton of Tyson Lagoon
In this plankton key activity, students use drawings of phytoplankton and zooplankton to identify macro- invertebrates, diatoms and algae from a pond water sample.
Curated OER
The Food Chain Game - A Lesson in Ecosystems
Students are divided into three groups, herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores which receive a certain number of lives. Once in their ecosystem (outside or the gym), the carnivores chase and eat either the herbivores or omnivores, the...
National First Ladies' Library
How Do Flowers Get Their Names?
Students study Carolus Linnaeus and his classification system of plants. They examine the origin of both both common and scientific names of flowers. They speculate how their favorite flowers came to be named and brainstorm about the...
Curated OER
Get Ready, Get Set, Hibernate
Learners match each body part or idea from a work bank about methods of animal adaptations for winter survival. They observe as the first one, food is covered with the whole class before completing the rest of the diagram. They discuss...
Curated OER
Plant and Animal Changes
Second graders listen as the book, "What Do Animals Do In Winter?" is read to the class. They discuss that during the winter, some animals migrate, hibernate, hide, change color, and some make changes in their bodies like growing extra...
Curated OER
Understanding How Potatoes Grow
Second graders make a KWL chart and brainstorm what they need for the project of growing potatoes. They choose one potato and plant it in water or peat moss cups and choose a location in which meets the needs of the plants and make their...
Curated OER
The Human Skeletal System: Inside and Out
Students study bone size, structure and shape. They use various geometrical shapes to make a skeleton and produce a poster depicting the skeletal system and its functions. They arrange the pictures into the five sections, glue on...
Curated OER
Science: Bees: An Interdisciplinary Approach
Students investigate the world of bees and describe their characteristics. by identifying the bees' parts, they demonstrate how these parts function. In the lab, students dissect bees and view the various parts under microscopes. ...
Curated OER
You...Instead of the Onion Skin
Learners observe their own epithelial cells from the inside linings of their cheeks using DigiScope technology. They prepare a slide with both onion cells and epithelial cells and make an illustrated booklet for a PowerPoint presentation...
Curated OER
Structures and Behaviors of Planarians
Students investigate planaria of the phylum platyhelminthes. They use DigiScope technology to observe and describe the structure and movements of planarians.
Curated OER
Ant Arcitecture
Students create pages of a classroom book on the different structures that ants build. They view and discuss a video on ants then, in small groups, research a type of ant shelter. They relate the shelter to the environment in which the...
Curated OER
The Virtual Electron Microscope
Students explore the world of the very small using a Flash plug-in Virtual Electron Microscope. They complete and discuss an activity in which unknown samples are placed under the computer simulated microscope to determine where the...
Curated OER
Cell Study
Students (females) are introduced to the cell. They discuss what a cell is, and students define what a cell is. Students comprehend that all living things are made up of cells. They comprehend that life is defined as something that...
Curated OER
Predator Or Prey?
Students study the concept of predator/prey by researching specific examples of birds. They participate in a concept map/webbing activity to determine different characteristics of birds. They engage in a class discussion about...
Curated OER
How Does a Butterfly Grow?
Students explore the stages of a butterfly. They read and discuss the book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle. They draw a picture of their favorite part and create a graph. They write a letter to Eric Carle and observe a...
Curated OER
Viewing Bacteria
Students investigate the characteristics harmful and helpful bacteria and observe structures within the bacterial cells. They use micro-slide viewers to observe the shapes of various bacteria and the structures within the bacterial cell.
Curated OER
Parts of the Plants
Second graders discuss as a class what they know about plants viewing several pictures of plants as well as a tree poster. They work in groups to observe a flowering plant which is removed from a pot with the soil brushed away and is...
Curated OER
Bats About Stellaluna
Students, after listening to Janelle Cannon's picture book Stellaluna, explore a variety of living things through three distinct activities. They make a list of what they know and want to know about birds and bats. Orally and in writing...
Curated OER
The Forest Community And Ethnobotany Past And Present
Students describe a forest as a living community. They determine members interact, and in many cases, depend on each other for their basic survival needs. They investigate how dependent the Native Americans were on the forest...
Curated OER
Visit to Nature
Learners complete a science journal which contains pages in which they can predict what they think they will see before the field trip, and also pages to write down what they actually do see during the field trip.
Curated OER
Pond Water Web
Students familiarize themselves with the common organisms that live in a pond and discover their importance in a balanced aquatic habitat as they create food webs. They also investigate how an environmental change affects the habitat as...
Curated OER
Lunch
First graders view and sort a display of fruits and vegetables by one characteristic. They listen as the teacher reads the story, "Lunch." Students identify items on the pages as living or nonliving, fruit or vegetable. Using magazines,...
Curated OER
Planting Parts
Each student plants two lima beans in a plastic cup with a paper towel so they can be observed growing. The beans are misted with a spray bottle, and placed in a warm sunny area. Students view the beans each day for the next two weeks,...
Curated OER
From Eggs to Frogs
Third graders receive a small container of tapioca pudding, they are to pretend that it is frog eggs. The students pretend they are birds who see the eggs, and eat some of them. They discuss what would happen if these were really frog...