Curated OER
With Liberty & Top Soil for All
Students compare the basic needs of plants to the basic needs of democracy. In this democracy comparison lesson, students complete a worksheet on what happens to a plant that's not nourished. Students draw a correlation to the basics of...
Curated OER
A Potting We Will Go
Students read A Tree is Nice and It Could Still Be a Tree. In this tree planting lesson, students compare and contrast private property and common resources. Students identify the needs of a tree and follow the directions to plan a tree...
Curated OER
Building a Butterfly Garden
Students examine the habitat and life cycle of a butterfly. In this early childhood lesson plan, students identify the parts of a butterfly, as well as the stages of the butterfly life cycle. Students also plant a garden in which they...
Curated OER
Birth of a Plant From a Seed
Students sow seeds of learning. In this biology lesson plan, students label parts of a dicotyledon seed by function as well as by proper names.
Captain Planet Foundation
Predicting Whether the Weather is Good for the Garden
Can your class predict the weather? Show them how they can come close with a lesson about creating weather instruments, including weather vanes, barometers, wind socks, anemometers, and thermometers. Kids research weather patterns and...
Curated OER
What Makes a Seed Breathe Faster?
Here's a five-star lesson plan in which inquisitors conduct sophisticated experimentation with cellular respiration in plant seeds. Placing seeds in a closed system they measure the amount carbon dioxide produced and relate it to...
Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)
Arctic Smorgasbord
Though the walrus spends roughly one third of its time on land, it eats organisms that live on the bottom of the ocean. The first in a series of five, the lesson uses a variety of plant and animal cards to have scholars build an arctic...
Curated OER
Room to Grow
Learners examine radish plants and compare how they grew based on how closely the seeds were sown. In this life science lesson, students pretend to be growing plants crowded together, then examine how the radishes look based on how much...
Curated OER
Species and Specimens: Exploring Local Biodiversity
Students practice skills essential to all scientific investigation: carefully observing and collecting data. They become field biologists in a series of hands-on activities to collect and identify specimens, and survey and calculate the...
Curated OER
Pollination Power
Second graders study and examine the structure of a flower. For this pollination lesson, 2nd graders observe pollinators in the garden and dissect a flower. Students then plant strawberry plants in the garden and observe the process of...
Curated OER
Carbon Dioxide - Sources and Sinks
Where does all of the carbon dioxide come from that is supposedly leading to climate change? Earth science pupils test animal, plant, and fossil fuels as sources in this investigation. Using an indicator, BTB, they are able to detect the...
Curated OER
Mealworms
Crawl into the world of the darkling beetle with this scientific investigation. Watch as the insects move through the larval, pupal, and adult stages of life, recording observations along the way. Discuss the necessities of life as young...
Nuffield Foundation
Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria in Root Nodules of Leguminous Plants
Fixin' to add a great resource to your plans? Scholars perform an experiment to investigate nitrogen-fixing bacteria from plant roots. Along the way, they learn about the concepts of symbiosis and mutualism.
Curated OER
Growing Vegetable Soup
Students use children's literature in order to think about the concept of creating a garden. This is done through conducting simple research about types of plants that could be grown in the area and how to care for them. Then the garden...
Desert Museum
Daisy Ecology
Here's a fine lesson that combines poetry with life sciences. Learners carefully listen to a poem that's all about a food chain. As the poem is read, learners name the producer, the herbivore, the carnivore, and the omnivore. Lots of...
Kenan Fellows
Let's Learn About Stewardship and River Basins
What does it mean to be a good steward? Middle school environmentalists learn to care for their state's waterways through research, a guest speaker, and poster activity. Groups must locate and learn more about a river basin and the human...
Curated OER
Four Seasons From Laguna Pueblo
Pupils study seeds and spring planting. They plant corn, chili, watermelon seeds in a local field and then invite a farmer to come to discuss the preparation, caring and planting of seeds in a field.
Curated OER
Unit on Developing a Basic Understanding of Plants
Fifth graders study the parts of a plant, their life cycles, and how to care for them in this unit.
Curated OER
A Growing Market
Learners research plants and the bedding plant industry and then make a list of materials they need to plant seeds. In this planting lesson plan, students then plant their seeds, chart their progress, and write what they have learned.
Curated OER
Just Bee-Tween Flowers!
Learners 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
Contribution to the Beautification of Parma
First graders participate in beautification project in their local area. In this community service lesson, 1st graders plan and prepare a flower planting project for a low income area of their city. They practice arranging flowers in...
Curated OER
Planting Seeds of Philanthropy
Students explore the importance of maintaining a democracy through philanthropic actions. In this character education lesson, students discover what the Japanese internment camps were, and why they were an infringement on personal...
Curated OER
It's (Not) Just a Bug: Simulating Invasive Insect Predation on a Plant Population
Students reflect on challenges that face farmers in cultivating crops, including insects. They then simulate how crops are affected by native and non-native insect populations and the options farmers have to protect their crops. Finally,...
Curated OER
The Effects of Environment on Plant Growth: Selecting Seeds for Survival on a New Planet
Fifth graders conduct experiments to compare seed germination and plant growth rates. They construct a hydroponic plant unit and a lighthouse. They care for the plants for a month and collect data for graphs. They write a report.