Children gain first-hand experience with Native American agriculture while investigating the life cycle of plants with this engaging experiment. Focusing on what the natives called the Three Sisters - corn, beans, and squash - young...

Before Google, before Sillicon Valley, before the Gold Rush, the San Francisco landscape was a biome filled with grizzly bears, mule deer, tule elk, coyotes, gray fox, gophers, and moles. To explore the early days of yesteryear, kids...

Hydrology hopefuls learn about their local watershed. Through discussion and online interactives, they see that their habits affect the water supply. The lesson concludes with a pledge to filter out bad water usage habits. It makes a...

Turn your young scholars into young tree-tectives with this fun science investigation into the life of trees. To begin, a class volunteer gets dressed up in a tree costume as the different parts of trees are introduced. Then, the...

What's life like aboard an ocean exploration vessel? Junior oceanographers examine the important role of communication in ocean research in lesson two of a five-part series from NOAA. The materials introduce the class to life on...

Working in cooperative groups, young scientists research and report on how undersea volcanic activity may benefit marine ecosystems. There are many links to websites that you can use to stimulate curiosity or for pupils to use for...

Every year we discover new planets including more than 1,000 in 2016 alone. Will we ever find life on another planet? The lesson includes two activities to help scholars understand this concept. First, they analyze the temperature range...

This life science vocabulary list and definitions will be useful when teaching a parent and offspring unit. Some nice ideas are included in the plan about the word origins, word structure and definition testing methods. There is also a...

Have your class build their vocabulary bank by studying life science terms. Basic terms like organism, cell, unicellular, and vertebrate are included on the definition sheet provided. Demonstrate how to identify different life science...

Practice defining words that have to do with plant life cycles.  The list included here is mainly for structural units, but could be used to review their relevance and the process of the life cycle.

How many times have you traveled around the sun? Aspiring astronomers grasp what a year is and they differentiate between orbit and rotation by walking around the sun right within your classroom. Place a lamp in the center of the room to...

Young scientists know it is hotter along the equator, but why is it also rainier? Through the process of completing two experiments and a worksheet, scholars discover the answer is the intertropical convergence zone. First, they...

The bowhead whale of the Arctic region is of great importance to the people that live there. Your class will brainstorm all they know about this wonderful whale and create an informational video, which they will share with the children...

There is a specific zone, or distance from a star, that a planet must be in order to have water in a liquid form. The activity demonstrates how flux density depends on its distance from the source. A photovoltaic cell gets power to...

How do you know there is air? Can you see it, smell it, feel it? To begin the investigation, learners watch a video and discuss what they know about air and the atmosphere. Then, they participate in five different hands-on, inquiry-based...

Your pupils may believe that you and their parents are the oldest things in the universe, but surprise! There are elements of the universe that are even older. Elementary scientists create a class timeline to demonstrate the...

Your class sets up a mini water cycle model to examine the process. Then they watch an animation, following a water molecule through the cycle. A well-developed lab sheet guides learners through the lesson and a PowerPoint presentation...

Young scientists find out what makes amphibians such unique and interesting animals in this simple life science lesson. After looking at pictures and discussing the characteristics of amphibians, learners complete a series...

What's it like to be a deep-sea explorer? Tap into the imaginations of your fifth and sixth graders with a vivid lesson, the second part of a six-part adventure. Learners close their eyes and submerge themselves in an expedition aboard...

When the sun's rays can't reach the producers in a food web, where does all the energy come from? Extreme environments call for extreme food sources. Young scientists investigate creatures that appear to get their energy from methane...

Begin with a demonstration of exothermic reactions and discussion of chemosynthesis. Your aspiring oceanographers research vent communities and then craft a mural of a vent community. This is a terrific method of introducing learners to...

Mini-marine biologists use Scholastic Explorers website to learn about declining numbers of leatherback sea turtles and dusky dolphins. They fill out a K-W-L chart and observation journal worksheet, which are both provided in the lesson...

Through a fishing simulation, environmentalists discover consequences of over fishing. Afterward, they discuss how the activity relates to the impact of real-life commercial fishing. They also consider sustainability in the fishing...

Young scientists roll up their sleeves and get a little dirty in this three-day earth science investigation. Following the scientific method, children monitor the growth of algae in pond water samples in order to determine...