Curated OER
The Circle of Life: Food Chain
Students develop a flow chart using computer software to show a food chain combination. For this food chain lesson, students are first read The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry, then they create a story map of the story. ...
Curated OER
Animal Research Pamphlet
Fourth graders perform research on an animal of choice. The reading of a novel is done prior to the research in order to establish context for the lesson. The use of the library for research is a key skill for this lesson.
Science Matters
Mighty Microorganisms
How can you tell if a microorganism is helpful or detrimental to an ecosystem? Learners inspect slides or pictures of microorganisms and record their observations to...
Curated OER
Investigate Science Using Crayfish
Young scientists discover the importance of scientific investigation by observing live crayfish. They carefully observe the patterns of crayfish in different environments. Then they discuss their conclusions and define what all living...
Science Matters
Oh Heron
Two teams—the environmentalists and herons—play four rounds of the game, Oh Heron. Using hand symbols to represent food, shelter, and water, players locate their match to produce more herons while those unmatched decompose.
Curated OER
Exploring Marine Ecosystems in the Caribbean and Maine
Students compare the marine habitats of Maine and the Caribbean using temperature, tides, ocean currents, latitude and longitude. In this marine ecosystems instructional activity, students analyze maps to complete graphic organizers that...
Curated OER
Ocean Life Mural
Students conduct Internet research on ocean life, view pictures of sea life, and create a class ocean life mural.
Curated OER
Life Cycles
Young scholars are introduced to the concept of life cycles and identify the growth order and different stages attained by various animals. They view slideshows and video of butterflies and frogs as they change through the various stages...
Curated OER
Plants Alive! How Plants Grow and Move
Students explore how plants move in response to the environment. In this plant lesson, students engage in three different experiments to investigate how plants grow and move. Resources available in English and French.
Curated OER
The Journey of the Pacific Salmon
Students examine the journey of the Pacific salmon. In this salmon species lesson, students review the stages of the salmon life cycle and conduct an experiment to determine how the water and habitat changes during each stage.
Curated OER
Eureka! I’ve Got an Idea!
Students explore many inventions and inventors. In this science activity, students collaborate as they research inventors and their times in order to compile information to build an informative Web site.
Curated OER
A Day in the life of...
Students read about and study insects--their distinguishing characteristics, habitats, camouflage methods, defense mechanisms, etc. They draw pictures and write a story from the viewpoint of an insect and share their pictures and stories...
World Wildlife Fund
Bar Charts & Pie Charts
Learn about life in the Arctic while practicing how to graph and interpret data with this interdisciplinary lesson plan. Starting with a whole group data-gathering exercise, students are then given a worksheet on which they analyze and...
Curated OER
Round and Round-The Water Cycle
Students explore the water cycle. In this earth science instructional activity, students work in small groups to read various books on the water cycle and take notes on chart paper. Students share their notes and teach a younger audience...
Curated OER
A Cat's Life
Students construct a timeline of a panther's life. Students decorate their timeline with illustrations and words, or they can choose to have it orally read to the class. Students use the computer to construct their time-lines. Students...
Curated OER
Butterfly Round-Up
Students classify the characteristics of butterflies and moths moths. In this life cycle lesson, students identify butterflies and moths common in the state of Iowa as well as their characteristics. Students then learn the proper...
Curated OER
Forest Life- Wood Bug Study
Examine wood bugs and their habitat. Learners gather wood bugs and examine their bodies. Then discuss their body parts and how they help them survive. They also predict where they think wood bugs live to then graph the class results.
Teach Engineering
Water Power
Young hydrologists observe a waterwheel which helps them investigate the transformations of energy that occur when the blades of a hydro-turbine are turning. They work together in pairs and pretend to be engineers who are building a new...
Curated OER
Levers and Wedges in the Human Body
Students identify the various parts of the body that serve as wedges and levers, identifying the fulcrum for each body lever. They bite into carrots and apples to analyze how their jaws and teeth work, then complete three worksheets that...
Curated OER
Images of Science
Students understand the diversity of science, both in terms of the work and the people engaged in the work. They learn that some scientists and engineers use huge instruments (e.g., particle accelerators or telescopes), and others use...
Curated OER
Life Cycles
Fourth graders explore life cycles. They examine pictures of the various stages of life cycles and put them in the correct order. Students match pictures of eggs to the correct parents. They discuss the importance of knowing the life...
Curated OER
The Life and Times of Guy Fawkes
In this Guy Fawkes worksheet, students cut apart 8 sentence strips; each tells an event in the life of Guy Fawkes. Students put them in the right order, paste them on a paper, and illustrate each event.
Curated OER
The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
With The Great Kapok Tree, by Lynne Cherry as the hook learners discuss the rainforest, the animals that live there, and conservation efforts. Then, students write a letter to the man in the story asking him not to cut down the Kapok...
Curated OER
Let's Go Fact Fishing!
Students work in pairs to research animals in the ocean. They use the Internet, encyclopedias, and resource books to complete an information sheet with a photo of the animal and three facts. They present their mini-reports to the class.