Elementary schoolers make and use bar graphs to picture information. They learn how choosing the right scale for a bar graph can help make a persuasive argument. This is a terrific lesson on graphing which should excite your kids. There...

Fourth graders apply concepts of Newton's Laws in scientific inquiries. Use this lesson to have your charges test and identify the characteristics of objects that make them easier or harder to push. After a teacher-led demonstration,...

The lever is an everyday simple machine. Youngsters learn the principles of levers and explore their many uses. Groups of pupils perform a simple lab where they lift objects with a fulcrum while placing the load in a variety of...

Students practice mirroring human moves by performing a dance in class.  In this physical education lesson, students utilize different spaces around them to perform a dance expressing their full motion.  Students cooperate in...

This is a terrific resource for practicing the scientific method or for examining the claims of different sunscreens when learning about electromagnetic radiation. You may have to improvise, however, as it was written to accompany a...

The cultivation of rice around the world is the focus of this interesting agriculture and social studies lesson. Learners discover the places in the US and around the world where rice is grown. The lesson has many engaging activities in...

Students identify the stage of the butterfly's life cycle. In this life cycles instructional activity, students create a KWL chart about monarch butterflies. Students observe monarch caterpillars in an aquarium and identify the various...

Fourth graders take a closer look at the foods they eat and the nutritional value of each. This activity helps them see why foods are grouped together the way they are and what types of nutrition are provided by these food groups. They...

Learning about nutrition and how to eat healthy foods is very important for kids these days. Here is a lesson plan, designed for 4th graders, that teaches these important skills. Pupils plan nutritional meals by using the USDA's Food...

Students explore the steps involved in the formation of metamorphic rock as they prepare a cookie receipe. As part of the process, sedimentary rocks are created and changed through heat to a metamorphic cookie.

Students identify the five senses. In this biology lesson, students participate in an experiment and use their five senses to identify various substances.

Students explore weather instruments. In this weather instructional activity, students make rain gauges, anemometers, and barometers following the instructions given in the instructional activity. Students set up a weather station using...

Elementary schoolers engage in a game of logical reasoning called Secret Sort. A Venn diagram is used as a way to sort objects. This resource would be a great way to introduce the Venn diagram (maybe the most famous, and most-useful...

Elementary schoolers explore how making different rectangular shapes with the same perimeter has an affect on the area of those shapes. Learners use the worksheet embedded in the plan to design their own skateboarding track. They use...

Track down the Cyberchase episode that this lesson is associated with. Using a worksheet that is embedded in the plan, learners must find the next two numbers and shapes (a double pattern). Once these have been discovered, pupils try...

Students explore the properties of magnets by designing a device that can move as far as possible using only magnets to move it, and design a machine that will stay in motion for the greatest period of time.

Students explore the drawings of Rube Goldberg to design and construct a simple machine. They discuss simple machines, and using various materials and toy parts, design and construct a "Rube Goldberg" style machine to ring a bell.

Students attempt to design the tallest structure that they can with the given materials which are wooden dowels and rubber bands. They discuss the physics of their structure and how they would improve it the next time they built a...

Students use materials found at a resource table to design simple devices that will house instruments to take water samples from a tub of water. They design 3 instruments, each varying in density so that one will float, one will hover...

Students build and test structures that can best withstand earthquakes. They create their structures from playdough, cornstarch, grape-nuts and popsicle sticks and place their structures on a "shake table."

How many yellow Skittles® come in a fun-size package? Use candy color data to construct a bar graph and a pie chart. Pupils analyze bar graphs of real-life data on the Texas and Massachusetts populations. As an assessment at the end...

Take a field trip to observe Koalas, absolutely! Budding scientists become familiar with the Koala's position in the food chain. They answer questions based on what they see and draw a food chain explaining the Koalas position. Tip: A...

Students create a solar water heater. In this solar energy lesson, students conduct an experiment to determine which colors absorb more radiant heat. Students investigate the relationship of heat loss to insulation. Students then create...

Students study water conservation. In 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...