Science Matters
Lotusland
It's time for a field trip! Scholars take their new-found knowledge of adaptations and seed dispersal on a field trip to a local botanical garden. They gain an up-close look at how ecological interdependence works in a distinct...
Curated OER
Earth: Our Big Blue Marble
Students investigate Earth and its resources. For this Earth, space, and nature lesson plan, students collaborate to design presentations on the Earth, its cycles, and how humans have impacted the planet. Images, diagrams, and background...
Curated OER
Just Bee-Tween Flowers!
Students examine the major plant and bee parts and the interdependency between bees and fast plants. They observe and record the stages of growth of fast plants, take photos of the plant's life cycle, and cross-pollinate plants.
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
Life Cycles
Students identify and explain the parts of a flower and their role in the life cycle of flowering plants. In this online plant biology lesson, students explore the processes of pollination, seed dispersal, and germination. Extension...
Curated OER
Tree Cycles
Fourth graders investigate the life cycle of a tree by researching the Internet. In this plant life lesson, 4th graders observe The Life of a Tree website and discuss the life of a tree from sprout to death. Students create a...
Curated OER
Rosa Parks Community Garden
Pupils explore gardening and nutrition in the Rosa Parks Community Garden. They work in stations to discuss food choices, the life cycles of plants, and mini-composting. After starting in one station, they rotate to try each activity.
Curated OER
Quick-Change Flip Book
Students create flip books that illustrate the growth and change of a plant or an animal as it goes through its life cycle.
Curated OER
Hatching Chickens
Students observe and care for eggs and chickens. In this life cycles lesson, students recall facts about chickens and how they hatch. Students read the article Hatching Eggs in the Classroom and observe the life cycle of the chicken in a...
Curated OER
The Monarch Watch
Students collect and examine the life cycle of monarch butterflies. They also tag butterflies and release them as part of a nation-wide project to study monarch butterfly migration.
Curated OER
Let's Make a Compost Cake
Learners create a compost cake. In this gardening and decomposition science lesson plan, students review and describe the "nutrient cycle." Learners create a compost pile, measure and record the dimensions and temperature of the pile,...
Curated OER
Water
Students conduct a series of investigations on the unique properties of water. For this general science lesson, students explain what causes water's surface tension. They explain the different stages in the water cycle.
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Seed Diversity
Learners explore agriculture by researching different seeds. In this seed identification lesson, students collaborate in small groups to analyze a package of different seeds. Learners utilize a magnifying glass to examine each seed...
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The Salmon Stream and Vegetation
Students explore the ecosystem and food chain by researching Pacific Salmon. For this fish habitat lesson, students discover the life cycle for salmon, where they spawn and what they eat to survive the harsh elements. Students...
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In the Company of Wild Butterflies
Students discover the life cycle of a butterfly and explain the different stages. In this exploratory lesson students watch a video and create insect art and they will get an opportunity to view live specimens of butterflies.
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The Biological Carbon Cycle
Students learn about the biological carbon cycle. In this carbon cycle lesson, students access the web site and mouse over the diagrams to follow the carbon cycle. They read about what happens to humans and plants during this cycle.
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Rainforest Deforestation and the Water Cycle
Students create terrariums (mini rainforests). They observe and discuss the life processes that occur in their terrariums and how changes in these processes affect the plants and organisms inside. They collect and graph data and present...
Curated OER
Pond Ecology
A lab activity is a great way to incite thoughtful questioning and scientific processes. Pupils will collect organisms with a Petri dish, make observations, sketch the organism, ask questions, then attempt to identify the specimen...
Wilderness Classroom
Pollution
Educate scholars on pollution—air, water, and land—with a series of lessons that begin with a thorough explanation of each type. Learners then take part in three activities to reinforce the importance of reducing pollution. They...
Curated OER
Costa Rican Food Chain
Discuss the animals and plants in the rainforest food chain using this lesson. Learners talk about and do research on the top predators from the Costa Rican region and create a model of one of them in class. They also make a visual model...
Curated OER
Making Field Journals
Students follow a bookmaking format to create a book and use it as a garden journal. For this science journal lesson, students follow book making directions to create a garden and science journal.
Curated OER
Super Seeds Super Grains
Students explore the life cycle of plants. In this agricultural instructional activity, students discover the two ways that seeds germinate. Students dissect seeds and record data. Resources are provided in French and English.
Curated OER
Garden in a Glove
Students observe the life cycle of a plant in a glove. In this life cycle lesson plan, students read and discuss the life cycle of a plant. Students then plant seeds in a clear plastic glove and record their observations.
Curated OER
What's Growing? Lesson Plan
Students study the life cycle of plants by growing a seed in a paper cup. They record observations of the changes they see. When the plant sprouts, they plant it in soil in a paper cup. Next, they continue to draw and date their...