Curated OER
Retelling the Tiny Seed
Here is a very age appropriate idea that can be stretched, modified, or used as is. Learners review plant parts, discuss pollination, read the story The Tiny Seed, and write a retell sentence. Their sentences describe to way a seed...
Curated OER
Dissolved Oxygen Introduction
Students are shown how dissolved oxygen enters the water. They are taught the difference between a water sample that has been exposed to the air and one that has not. Students brainstorm what organisms need to survive. They use dissolved...
Curated OER
What If There's No Light?
students discuss the importance of light and the consequences of living without it. Using a plant as a demonstration, students predict and observe what happens to a plant when it does not receive enough light. In groups, they experiment...
Andrea Mulder-Slater
Happy Accidents Painting
A person can see a lot of different things when he looks at the amorphous clouds. The same is true when you let your watercolor paints do as they please. Little artists create haphazard art with watercolors, then use ink or marker to...
Curated OER
Rain Reasons
Students explore how climatic factors influence the growth of plants. They create an experiment to find how variations in water, light, and temperature affect plant growth and describe how precipitation and geography can affect the...
Curated OER
Desert Habitat
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...
Curated OER
Wetland in a Pan
Students examine wetlands and what the effects of destroying them will do. In this wetland lesson students relate the importance of wetland functions to their own needs.
Curated OER
Water Pollution
Students explore the causes of water pollution. In this environmental lesson, students conduct experiments with natural filtration systems.
Curated OER
Who Needs What?
Learners identify the physical needs of animals and if plants need the same things as animals. They conduct an experiment to see if plants need light and water to grow. They compare the growth of the plants exposed to the different...
Curated OER
Aquatic Ecosystems
Students study ponds and wetland ecosystems and examine the food chains and webs in them. In this aquatic ecosystems lesson students answer questions about the diversity of the flora and fauna in a pond.
Curated OER
Exploring Marine Objects
Students identify the sources of water on Earth. In this life science lesson, students list the different plants and animals that live in the ocean. They explore marine objects in the lab and draw them.
Curated OER
Do You See What I See?
Students hypothesize the role of rocks, soil, and water by observing a terrarium and create a model to explore the water cycle. This is part of a five station set up.
Curated OER
A Walk in the Forest
Students explore interrelationships among plants and animals. Students listen to Where to, Little Wombat? by Charles Fuge, and contribute words and phrases for a classroom animal and plant survival chart. Students take a walk in a...
Curated OER
Pond Succession Mural
Students recognize that natural environments are involved in a process of continual change, and create murals showing three major stages of pond succession. They review the idea of succession (the orderly, gradual, continual replacement...
Curated OER
What Is It?
Play the game of Tag and differentiate between plants and animals. Explore the characteristics of plants. Identify the major parts of plants (e.g., seeds, stem, pistil) and describe their basic functions. Compare the requirements of some...
Curated OER
What Are the Layers of the Rain Forest?
Students investigate the different levels of the rain forest by comparing it to an apartment. In this ecology lesson, students practice using forest related vocabulary words and complete a vocabulary data sheet. Students...
Curated OER
Unique Ecosystems
Fourth graders explain how in any particular environment, some kinds of
plants and animals survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all. They research the ecosystem of which each animal or plant is natively a part.
Michigan Sea Grant
Wetlands
Wetlands may not sound particularly ornate, but they are as important as any habitat! With a hands-on activity, young scientists build a wetland model and observe its many functions in action. They discover the importance of wetlands to...
Curated OER
A Day on the Farm
First graders, with a collection of various art supplies, plant a seed to observe it growing and record specific data on a data record sheet. They create a collage from various magazines of ten different foods farm animals eat and make a...
Curated OER
The Way a Tree Works
Students explore nature by conducting botany experiments. In this plant life lesson, students define the necessary resources for a plant to thrive on our planet while defining scientific vocabulary terms. Students utilize different plant...
Curated OER
Habitat
Fourth graders study the components of a habitat. For this animal habitat lesson, 4th graders define the elements of a habitat. Students discuss intertidal habitats and make a habitat for a crab.
Curated OER
Are You Balanced With Your Environment?
Young scholars discuss the impact of not keeping the environment in balance for future generations. As a class, they are introduced to the concept of "Balance of Nature" and what it means. In groups, they research the role of trees and...
Curated OER
Little Red Hen
First graders explore biology by identifying plant anatomy in class. In this botany lesson, 1st graders read the book The Little Red Hen and identify the methods used in order to grow successful plants. Students discuss other ways people...
Curated OER
Butterfly and Caterpillar
Young scholars listen to the story "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and create their own "Very Hungry Caterpillar" book to learn the life cycle of a butterfly.