Young scholars explore simple and compound machines. In groups of four students, they design a compound machine using K'NEX that has a stated purpose and consists of at least two simple machines.

Students are introduced to the water cycle and water movement in soil. In this water cycle lesson, students explore how water moves through the water cycle and discuss water sources, natural reservoirs, soil...

Students identify a diversity of issues related to aquatic organisms and habitats and develop their own opinions concerning some issues involving aquatic life and habitats. They investigate, write and produce a newspaper that features...

The students take a harbor cruise, photograph, and draw shore line features attending to evidence of human impact/consequences, and its cost on marine/land animal habitats vegetation, weather patterns, signs of erosion, and the water...

Students complete a unit on fossils. They read and discuss informational handouts, define key vocabulary terms, answer discussion questions, create a geologic timeline and a timeline of their own life, analyze bones, and create a fossil...

Give pupils a magnifier, a mirror, and a flashlight so that they can examine their own pupils. As they shine a light on their eyes, the light is shone on how this structure dilates and contracts to control how much is allowed into the...

Pupils explore diagrammatic and taxonomic keys and their application in the marine sciences. They sort and classify objects and organisms based on visual attributes.

Students investigate how a tree grows from a seed. In this plant biology lesson, students use potting soil, tree seeds, and a paper cup to observe seeds growing into plants. Students record observations in their science journals.

Students examine how desert plants and animals are adapted to life in the desert. They listen to the book, "Seasons of Saguaro," conduct experiments to demonstrate plant succulence, and create and draw an animal or plant that...

Students use a simple method to collect living microorganisms from natural and/or artificial environments and develop skills in microscopy, observation, drawing, speculation, hypothesizing, oral presentation, and raising questions.

Learners make sets of nautical signal flags and use them to communicate in the classroom.

Young scholars study the amount of potable water on the Earth. In this water lesson, students examine the amount of potable water as compared to all the water on the Earth. They discuss why many parts of the world do not have access to...

Students explore the food chains in a variety of ecosystems and its relationship to the survival of threatened or endangered marine animals or fish in the ocean. The interdependence of the species is investigated in this lesson.

Students study science. In this endangered species lesson, students examine sea turtles and actions that can be taken to help keep them alive. They work in small groups to research different species of turtles and share their information...

Students classify animals based on their physical characteristics and eating habits.  In this animal identification lesson plan, students investigate the life forms shown on a Parisian ceramic basin, and discover ecosystem the...

Students explore the Hawaiian monk seal. In this science lesson, students read about the monk seal and participate in a game in which they answer questions about the Hawaiian monk seal.

Students research their favorite penguin. In this science activity, students research penguins and create a presentation of their findings.

Students engage in an inquiry-based study of the ecology of termites. Through hands-on investigations, they explore the life cycle of termites, the termite's role in the food web, and the unique social structure of termite colonies.

Fifth graders locate information on a specific ocean animal using encyclopedias, nonfiction books, SIRS Discoverer, multimedia encyclopedias, and the Internet. They create an acrostic poem about the ocean animal they have been researching.

Ahoy, matey! Peer through a special telescope to explore the persistence of vision. The telescope has only a thin strip with which to view the world, but as it scans the area, your eye and brain work together to create a complete...

If you are setting up a rotation lab where learners are investigating vision at different stations, this activity can be used to explore depth perception. Setting up a giant needle eye, students attempt to pass a pencil through it with...

Chart your way to an understanding of nanoscale. Using a Google map, learners estimate a radius around their location of 1,000 and 1,000,000 meters. Predicting what 1,000,000,000 meters would look like takes them off the charts!...

Students compare water access in the United States with that of Africa. In this water access lesson, students located Ghana and Kenya on a globe before reading Peace Corps Volunteer accounts of the difficulty of accessing clean water....

Students draw a picture of animal tracks a scientist might find after they read a story about a fox chasing a rabbit. They make up a key to represent the foxes' tracks and the rabbit's tracks.