Students create a model biome. In this ecology lesson, students use materials to create a model biome. There is an extension activity that allows students to write about plants and animals and their specific biome.

Students create a desert biome to understand the abiotic and biotic factors of that biome. In this desert biome lesson plan, students include elevation, precipitation, temperature, plants, and more.

Get out the goggles and conduct a simple experiment to model and explore the harmful effects of acid rain (vinegar) on living (green leaf and eggshell) and non-living (paper clip) objects. Young chemists observe and describe the harmful...

Fifth graders apply the concepts they know regarding mass, volume and density in the previous activities to design a boat. Student teams must make a boat which can travel the waters of the Amazon Rainforest. Each group makes a...

Put a new twist on your collection of optical illusion activities. Affix the linked printable spiral to a drill, record player, or some other rotating tool. Have learners stare at the spinning disk for only 15 seconds and then look away....

Students explore how different materials (sand, gravel, lava rock) with different water contents on different slopes result in landslides of different severity. They measure the severity by how far the landslide debris extends into model...

Learn about defensible space and renewable resources with a lesson about forest fires. After exploring the ways that humans have impacted the environment, kids conduct mock interviews about differing points of view in the conservation...

Explore the amazing temperate rainforest of the Pacific Northwest. Your class starts by investigating the animals and plants of the Northwest, specifically Washington, and then research an animal population common to the area. In small...

Fifth graders explore the causes of earthquakes and the various types of fault lines through a variety of hands-on demonstrations using prepared cakes. They record their observations in their science journals.

Learners examine electrical contacts, solar cells, and rechargeable batteries and compare and contrast the characteristics of a solar cell to a rechargeable battery in a hands-on activity. Students complete a worksheet as they...

Students build an understanding of the properties of liquids and research the immiscible properties of different milks through group experiments. In this immiscible liquids experiment, students investigate what happens when certain...

Students explore how mass affects speed in this hands-on physics experiment. In this mass and speed instructional activity, students fill a baby food jar with water and leave a second jar empty. They roll the 2 jars down a ramp to...

Students are introduced to the concept of photosynthesis. As a class, they brainstorm a list of what they already know about plants and individually grow a plant on their own in the classroom. They record their observations daily and...

Students, through group activities, explain the important scientific, social/historical and aesthetic values of a prairie habitat. They analyze the impact of humans on prairieland and solve a problem regarding potential development of a...

The purpose of this unit is for students to engage in thinking about the links between science and art. We want to provide students with the opportunity to see original artifacts related to natural occurances.

Get your young scientists excited about geology through the study of dinosaur tracks! They will use their power of observation to learn how tracks are made and use critical thinking strategies to suggest a scenario in which they were...

Learners discuss what makes a healthy and balanced meal, and then they make them out of clay. They use hand building techniques, radial design, and their knowledge of healthy foods to create unique mini-sized meals for a wall display. 

Reading comprehension and note-taking skills are practiced as young ecologists embark on this journey. Explorers visit a website where they will read about three ecosystems that are in danger. They use interactive programs to build a...

  Students create their own butterfly garden and follow a participation plan to ensure that everyone will have a hand in the garden.  In this gardening lesson, 5th graders log their progress with their garden by taking photos,...

Perfect for summer camp, an after school program, or your classroom, these instructions will make tie-dying a breeze! Simple instructions and helpful images make tie dying a fun and easy project. Tip: Have learners predict the outcome of...

Work on research procedures in this lesson plan, which prompts writers to collect and evaluate information pooled from a number of sources. They work in teams to collect information about crocodiles from different sources. They compare...

Students comapre and contrast the lifestyles of the people of the Applachian region with their own community through in-class discussions, creative projects, hands-on activities, food preservation, homemade remedies, home construction,...

Students explore the relationship between leaf packs in streams and macroinvertebrate populations. They experiment with hand exposure to stream macroinvertebrates in natural leaf packs and then make leaf packs of their own. The...

students participate in hands-on activities to discover the different types of fossils. Using teacher-provided materials, they make models of cast and trace fossils. After writing essays describing how traces are formed, students plan a...