Captain Planet Foundation
Predicting Whether the Weather is Good for the Garden
Can your class predict the weather? Show them how they can come close with a lesson about creating weather instruments, including weather vanes, barometers, wind socks, anemometers, and thermometers. Kids research weather patterns and...
Captain Planet Foundation
Help a Sister Out: Garden Companions
Explore Native American gardening traditions with a lesson on companion planting. Based on the concept that certain crops grow better when planted near other specific crops, kids research the gardening method with background links and by...
Captain Planet Foundation
Adopt-A-Plant
Note the way that plants change during the season by adopting a plant on your school campus. After your class chooses their plant, they research the plant's needs, how it differs from other plants, find ways to support their plant's...
Captain Planet Foundation
Frog Garden Party! Toads and Triangles in the Math Garden
It's frog party time! With frog banners, frog juice, and a triangle hunt, your garden party is sure to be both entertaining and educational. The instructional activity connects geometry, earth science, and delicious snacks to teach kids...
Captain Planet Foundation
Energy Flow in the Garden
How can you tell what an owl has eaten? Study the food chain and flow of energy in an ecosystem by dissecting an owl pellet and noting the bones found inside. Additionally, the lesson plan includes a game about consumers and producers...
Captain Planet Foundation
Rotting Away
What happens at the end of a plant's life cycle? Show kids the natural way that plants show that they're decomposing, as well as the importance of compost, with a lesson about living organisms. After reading Log Cabin by Anne Schreiber,...
American Chemical Society
Temperature Affects Dissolving
Stir chocolate drink mix into hot and cold water to see if there is a difference in how quickly it dissolves. Number three in a six-lesson unit on dissolving, this installment investigates the effect of temperature. If you consult the...
Exploratorium
Disappearing Act
Crafty critters are camouflaged to escape predators, and crafty science pupils can construct a camouflage demonstration. They work with a partner to show that as a camouflaged animal moves, it becomes more visible.
Exploratorium
Pupil
Give pupils a magnifier, a mirror, and a flashlight so that they can examine their own pupils. As they shine a light on their eyes, the light is shone on how this structure dilates and contracts to control how much is allowed into the...
Exploratorium
Afterimage
To illuminate how afterimage occurs, create a star, square, or other geometric-shaped light for learners to look at for 30 seconds. Then, have them explain what they see as they shift their focus to a blank wall. A full explanation of...
Staten Island Zoo
The African Savanna
Are you thinking about taking your class to the local zoo? Kids of all ages love visiting exotic animals in order to learn about biodiversity, habitat, and animal adaptations. Here is a 44-page activity guide that provides educators with...
SeaWorld
Animal Migrations
Here is a fabulous set of activities for your young scientists. Each lesson contains map, hands-on, and game activities that will help the class understand why and how animals migrate from one place to another. First they'll examine the...
Curated OER
Ladybugs, Ladybugs, Ladybugs
Those lovely ladybugs are so cute, and so very useful! Use a short unit to explore insect anatomy, the ladybug life cycle, and the help ladybugs provide organic farmers. The unit is comprised of four short thirty-minute lesson plans that...
Curated OER
My Insect Report
Is your class writing a report on insects? If they are, you have to check out this great set of worksheets. It provides a well-scaffolded system they can use to organize their research findings in order to compose a well-structured...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Arthropods
No need to be crabby! Here is a resource that teaches your class about the characteristics of arthropods and provides stunning photos of several of them. In addition to the superb slides and their informative accompanying captions, the...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Animal Adaptations
Physical and behavioral adaptations are discussed by two teen girls as monarch butterflies flutter by. They also describe the process of natural selection. With colorful animation and relatable teen language, learners are sure to adapt...
Scholastic
Study Jams! The Senses: Tasting
Mmmmmmm, here is a tasty little slide show to use when introducing upper-elementary learners to the sense of taste. Photographs and detailed computer images accompany explanatory text about how the taste buds and the nose send signals to...
Baylor College
Heart and Lungs
With a partner, youngsters measure their pulse and breathing rates, both at rest and after running in place for a minute. While this activity is not novel, the lesson plan includes a large-scale classroom graphing activity and other...
Baylor College
Dust Catchers
In class, your emerging environmentalists construct dust catchers. They take them home for a week or two, and then bring them back into class to examine under a magnifier. From this activity, they learn what makes up dust and that...
Baylor College
Food Webs
Explore various ecosystems from around the world as your class discovers the interdependence of all living things. Using the provided sets of ecosystem cards, young scientists work in small groups building food webs to demonstrate the...
Baylor College
There's Something in the Air
Clever! In order to compare indoor and outdoor dispersal rates for the movement of gases and particles through air, collaborators will participate in a classroom experiment. Set up a circular grid and set students on lines that are...
Baylor College
Activity and Exercise
Leave it to the classic jump rope to get your class excited about physical activity! Your class will begin by discussing the benefits of jumping rope as a form of exercise and learning a few different types of jumps. Then in groups of...
Baylor College
Can Nutrients in Water Cause Harm?
Ecology candidates culture pond water organisms over a few days time, then they experiment to find out how increasing nutrients affects the population. As part of a unit on water, this exploration gives your class an understanding of how...
PBS
Creating a Butterfly Garden and Habitat
This complete set of instructions for creating your very own butterfly garden and habitat is so cool! With some seeds and the handy resources in this activity, you and your class will be able to determine which type of habitat is best...