Curated OER
Singing for the Animals
Students examine the correct attitudes and poster for a concert. In this "Singing for Animals" instructional activity, students created charts to diagram information about the homeless animals they were singing for. Students used correct...
Curated OER
Sailing, Sailing
In this sailing lesson, youngsters read The Wreck of the Zephyr, and attempt to predict the outcome of the story. They draw a picture of a sailboat, identify its characteristics, and write their own fictional sailing story.
Curated OER
Where Are the Dinosaurs?
Students explore the concept of extinction by studying dinosaurs. In this extinction lesson, students watch dinosaur video clips or complete a puppet finger play about dinosaurs. Students may then complete a dinosaur diorama or a...
Curated OER
Puffin Patrol
Bird diversity and the majestic puffin are the topics of today's lesson. Children discuss and look at images of puffins, and then they use felt to put a puffin body together. After that they talk about what and how puffins eat. They get...
Curated OER
Folktales and Ecology: Animals and Humans in Cooperation and Conflict
Story elements such as conflict, character analysis, resolution, and moral are discussed and charted as elementary children read folktales involving animals. An element of science is also introduced as learners discover what a keystone...
Curated OER
The Solar System
Are you starting a unit on the solar system? You can use this PowerPoint for a great introductory lesson. These 13 slides include basic facts about the planets in our solar system. Tip: Peruse the Internet and add some real photos...
Curated OER
Introducing Recycling
Learners study environmental issues of excess garbage and learn about recycling. In this recycling lesson plan, students discuss recycling and read a story about too much garbage. Learners write a persuasive essay about the importance of...
Curated OER
Capturing Light: The Science of Photography
Students create their own cameras to understand how artists use light to capture an image in a photograph. In this light lesson plan, students use tape, wax paper, rubber bands, and more to create their cameras.
California Academy of Science
Energy: A Day in My Life
If only we could harness the energy of fifth graders, our energy problems would be over! The class discusses where different forms of energy come from and how we use them. They complete a chart of the activities that they do daily...
Curated OER
Baggie Science
Students observe and describe a chemical reaction. For this chemistry lesson, students record observations of the materials they will be using, then follow a written procedure to perform the experiment in a baggie and record their...
Curated OER
Octopus Lesson Plan
Students read about the octopus and create an octopus out of ink and a deflated balloon. In this octopus lesson plan, students discuss the different defense mechanisms of the octopus and use the ink to demonstrate what happens if the...
Curated OER
Classifying Plants and Insects
Art and science come together in a activity based on Flower Still Life by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder. Learners classify plants and insects in the painting by color, leaf shape, size, reproduction, and season of...
Curated OER
The Science of Color
Students use the scientific method to explore how to make different colors with paint. They problem solve ways to darken and lighten colors without using black and white paint. Students hypothesize how to create new colors, and describe...
Curated OER
Science: Animal Body Parts
Students examine animal vocabulary words and identify which animals have those characteristics. In small groups, they play an animal card game involving more vocabulary words. Students continue to drill on terms by completing...
Curated OER
Creative Activities for the Sciences
Students expand their creative outlets. In this science lesson, three ideas, including videos, are presented to help get students motivated to think creatively and express themselves.
Curated OER
Power Up!
Students explore energy sources. In this science lesson, students complete an interactive activity in which they choose the energy sources they will use to power a city. Students discuss renewable energy options.
Curated OER
Vibrant Volcanoes
Students explore volcanoes. In this science lesson, students discuss the characteristics of volcanoes and view a video segment about a volcano. Students examine plate tectonics.
Curated OER
Elementary Article: What's a Short Circuit?
Students read an article about short circuits. In this science reading comprehension lesson, students read about short circuits and study the diagram to learn more about electricity and energy.
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Planetary Distances on the Playground
There's no need to stay inside; get out of the classroom and create a scaled map of the solar system on your playground field! In collaborative groups, scholars identify the distance between the sun and other planets, place planet...
Sprite Box
Lightbot Jr 4 Coding Puzzles
Learning how to write computer code has never been so much fun! Given control of their very own robots, children create simple programs in order to solve a series of challenges and develop their problem solving skills.
Curated OER
Creatasaurus
Upper elementary children still are intrigued by dinosaurs. Here is a dinosaur lesson that is geared toward their age group! The learners consider a list of prefixes and suffixes. Using the list, they can analyze the names of their...
Curated OER
Initial Fraction Ideas Lesson 7: Overview
Third graders recognize that the larger the denominator of a fraction, the smaller the piece you have. In this fraction lesson, 3rd graders compare fractions and order them from largest to smallest. Students complete an exercise...
Curated OER
Wildlife Conservation I
Focusing on the wildlife in their area, learners identify endangered and threatened species and what these animals need to survive. While this lesson involves animals in the Long Island area, it could be adapted for use with any area.
Curated OER
Poetry for the Elementary Classroom
Use Shel Silverstein's poem "Batty" to introduce poetry to young readers. This instructional activity is not formatted well, but the plan does suggest learners memorize a poem, recite the poem individually, and then recite the poem as a...