Curated OER
The Ants Go Marching
Integrate art, math, life science, music, and fun in this beginning addition and subtraction activity. Children kinesthetically represent adding and subtracting numbers to 10; they stand up one at a time as you count forward and sit down...
Curated OER
Butterfly Lesson 2 - Monarch Caterpillar
Students study the Monarch Butterfly life cycle. For this Monarch Butterfly lesson, students examine what happens prior to a caterpillar hatching, how often it sheds its skin, and what the caterpillar goes through when it is...
Curated OER
Pond Life
Students explore pond ecosystems. In this living environment lesson, students observe the local pond and identify the living things they find by drawing pictures. Students observe organisms that were found in the pond by using a...
Curated OER
The Magic School Bus Takes a Dive
Students learn along with Ms. Frizzle's class. In this Magic School Bus lesson plan, students find out how partners can help run a race just as Wanda learns that survival on the coral reef often depends on cooperation.
Curated OER
Sunflower Jigsaw
Students recognize and name the main parts of a flower. In this life science lesson, the teacher leads a discussion about the parts of a plant, then students color and cut out the parts of a planet, then glue the parts together...
Curated OER
Seed Sorting
Students examine and sort seeds. In this life science lesson, students make general observations of a tub of seeds, then develop sorting criteria for sorting the deeds. Lesson includes extension activities.
Curated OER
Eating Plants
Learners identify parts of a plant. In this life science lesson, student groups locate the leaves and fruits on vegetables, then find the roots. Lesson includes extension activities and background teacher information.
Curated OER
Lost Ladybugs
Students study ladybugs. In this life science lesson plan, students collect ladybugs from the schoolyard and explore their characteristics. Students illustrate pictures of ladybugs.
Curated OER
A Zoo Book for All
A visit to the local zoo launches an integrated life science/ language arts research project into the habitat, feeding habits, offspring, lifespan, and other interesting facts about animals. Each group selects two animals to photograph...
Sea World
Whales
A whale of a lesson is sure to intrigue your elementary oceanographers! Learn about the mammals of the sea with a series of activities about whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Kids complete worksheets about the anatomy of a whale, create a...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Shrink Me!
The incredibly shrinking meter—decimeters to centimeters, to millimeters, and now to nanometers! Learners may have a difficult time visualizing particles on a nanoscale. Help them see a little clearer using a well-designed lesson...
Curated OER
Starfish Project: Ceramics
After exploring the wonders of ocean life found in tidal pools, explore ocean life through ceramic art. Kids use texturing and the pinch-and-pull technique to create starfish, just like the ones found at the seashore. Suggested...
US Mint
Desert Dwellers
What can a quarter possibly teach young learners about desert ecosystems? More than you might think. After displaying and discussing the included picture of the Arizona state quarter, the class participates in a series of...
Curated OER
Marine Animal and Plant Adaptations
Students examine nature by creating their own animals. In this animal adaptation instructional activity, students define scientific vocabulary terms dealing with adaptation such as sea stars, sea cucumbers and exoskeleton. Students...
PBS
The Egg
The first stage in the butterfly's life cycle is the egg. Young entomologists discuss why different butterflies lay different eggs and what their eggs look like. Then they use the handouts to make a replica of one type of butterfly egg...
Curated OER
Little Oyster: Ceramic Lesson
Children will love researching and then creating a bottom dwelling mollusk of their own. They watch clips describing the ocean ecosystem and how oysters fit into their environment. Next, they research what oysters eat and how they look....
Curated OER
Monarch Chrysalis
Students examine the last stage of the monarch butterfly. In this life cycles instructional activity, students read the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar and study photos of the monarch life cycle. Students illustrate the third stage of...
Curated OER
Egg to Butterfly
Students examine the life cycle of the butterfly through literature. In this butterfly life cycle instructional activity, students listen to a read aloud of Eric Carle's, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and discuss the life cycle shown in...
Curated OER
See how They Grow: Butterfly
Students view butterflies and participate in a butterfly activity to learn needed vocabulary. In this butterfly life cycle activity, students access prior knowledge of butterflies. Students listen to a butterfly life cycle book....
Curated OER
Observing Trees
Students create a timeline of a tree in a given time span. In this life cycle lesson, students observe one particular tree at the beginning of the year, and continue their observations for several weeks to create a timeline of the...
Curated OER
Life Cycles of Frogs, Dragonflies, And Butterflies
Students explain the similarities and differences in the life cycles of organisms. The lesson begins with a reading of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Curated OER
The Apple Pie Tree
Students read The Apple Pie Tree and discuss the story and talk about what was living in the tree. In this life comprehension lesson, students write the main idea of the book in a few sentences.
Curated OER
Growing Plants in Science and Literature, More Than an Empty Pot
Students read The Empty Pot as an introduction to plants. In this planting lesson, students understand a sequence of events in the book and relate it to the sequence of a plants life. Students grow plants and record information in flower...
Curated OER
Aquatic Life
Students explore aquatic life. In this science instructional activity, students visit an aquatic ecosystem and collect animals found there. Students create a food chain for the aquatic ecosystem.