Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Find an Animal! Find a Book!

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students identify the themes of different books by classifying their genre.  In this genre lesson plan, students examine a specific animal by reading both a nonfiction and fiction book about the species.  Students compare the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Desert Plant Detectives

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Learners examine and categorize plants in their own schoolyard desert garden and then observe other plant areas of their schoolyard.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

All in the (Insect) Family

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students participate in a series of activities in order to explore the diversity of insects. They explore how insects are grouped and categorized.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Science Vocabulary And Categorization

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore and examine scientific language and categorization as related to commonly known plants and animals. They hypothesize about a specific plant or animal, how it was scientifically named, what concepts and vocabulary is...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Classification

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders design a classification system to categorize animate and inanimate objects. They discuss the advantages of grouping things as they classify buttons, leaves, shells.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

School Yard Park/Ecosystem

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders observe and categorize different sections of a park and it's ecosystem. In this categorizing lesson plan, 5th graders collect different facets of nature from a nearby park (without disturbing the ecosystem). They map,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Marshland Ecosystem

For Teachers K - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

School Site Ecosystem

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders are introduced to the concept of ecosystem; specifically, the interrelationships among plants and animals within an ecosystem, and their relationships to the environment in which they live and interact.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scavenging the Sandy Shore

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students explore oceanography by examining a beach. For this living things lesson, students define the terms abiotic and biotic and practice identifying living and non-living things that have been previously found on a beach. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Air Quality and Transportation

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders study about air pollution and the effects it has on our Earth. Students tally cars on a sheet that has been categorized as follows: One person in car, two persons in car, or three or more persons in car. Students go to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

From Curiosity Cabinet to Museum Collection

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Learners study binomial nomenclature and museum-based research. They create a curiosity box, label the objects in their curiosity box , develop a classification scheme for the objects, and create a database of all objects collected by...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Circle of Life

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine how the different organisms living in an ecosystem affect one another. In groups, they research a specific ecosystem and present their findings to the class based on the type of organisms found in it. To end the...