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
Cells, Building Blocks of Life
Fourth graders, in groups, explore cells, the basic unit of all living things.
Curated OER
Who Takes Care of the Maya Forest Corridor?
First graders study the animals in the Maya Forest Reserve. In this conservation lesson, 1st graders create a graph to compare the environment of animals to their own. They design a 3D model of these two environments.
Curated OER
Sowing Seeds: the Beginning of the Fast Plant Life Cycle
Students plant seeds, observe and tend plants. They identify major plant parts, how to germinate and troubleshoot problems with plants; and, that plants need water, light, and soil nutrients to thrive. They create a Plant Growth Data Log.
American Museum of Natural History
What is Biodiversity?
Not all dogs are the same just like not all finches are the same. An interactive online lesson helps individuals learn about the causes and limitations to biodiversity. The clickable sections describe the basics of the genetics of...
Curated OER
What is Photosynthesis?
Students investigate the similarities and differences of living things. Specifically, students will be able to identify the life processes of photosynthesis and describe the basic needs of plants.
Curated OER
Dinosaurs
Pupils are introduced to the various types of dinosaurs and write in their journals about their favorite one. After listening to a story and watching a filmstrip, they color a few pages in their Dinosaur Friends Book. They also examine...
Curated OER
Predicting Plant Development
First graders investigate the basic needs of a growing plant and make predictions regarding what a seed needs in order to grow. They draw their seed predictions, listen to the book "From Seed to Plant" by Gail Gibbons, and analyze their...
Curated OER
Teaching About the Properties of Water
Students use video, Internet research, graphs and tables, worksheets and hands-on experiments to investigate the properties of water in a lake environment. They work under direction or through an inquiry process.
Curated OER
Observing Plants
Young scholars identify how plants affect the survival of a caterpillar and what plants need to survive. They plant three bean seeds in the three containers, placing two containers at a sunny window and the third one in a dark closet and...
Curated OER
My Little Seed House
Second graders explore plant life by participating in a germination activity. In this botany lesson, 2nd graders read several books about seed germination including Sunflower House and Tiny Seed. Students identify the necessary elements...
Curated OER
The "How's and Whys" of Animal Behavior
Students read examples of behaviors in various animals. They design an experimental question about the behavior. They explain if the question involves the proximate or ultimate level of causation.
Outdoor Learning Center
Outdoor Survival
Which of the following can you survive without for the longest time: water, food, or a positive mental attitude? The answer may surprise you. Guide learners of all ages through games, activities, and discussions about surviving in the...
Science Matters
Ecosystem Pre-Assessment
Test scholars' knowledge of ecosystems with a 20-question pre-assessment. Assessment challenges learners to answer multiple choice questions, read diagrams, and complete charts.
Science Matters
Energy Flow
Budding scientists work collaboratively to reenact energy flow in a food chain. Scholars take on roles such as producer and consumer and perform tasks that symbolize energy flow in order to provide evidence of how much energy passes...
University of Minnesota
Connect the Neurons!
Create a neuron frenzy as your pupils play the part of the neurons. An engaging lesson creates a human chain of neurons that pass cotton balls posing as neurotransmitters. Scholars learn about pre- and post-synapses as they complete...
ARKive
Temperate Rainforest in the Pacific Northwest
Explore the amazing temperate rainforest of the Pacific Northwest. Your class starts by investigating the animals and plants of the Northwest, specifically Washington, and then research an animal population common to the area. In small...
Cornell University
Extracting DNA
Uncover the basics of DNA structure through exploration activities. Collaborative groups build DNA models and recreate the process of replication. Then, using plant cells such as peas or strawberries, they extract a DNA sample.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
American Stories: Challenge Activities (Theme 2)
For those class members who have mastered the basic concepts and need extra challenges, here's a packet of activities sure to engage them in stories about American immigration and exploration. Kids may design a dramatic...
Curated OER
What Is Life?
In this life characteristics worksheet, learners answer 16 questions about living things, Redi's experiment, basic needs, growth and development.
Curated OER
Physics of Sound: How We Hear Sounds
Students examine the way they hear sounds. In groups, they label and identify the functions of the different parts of the ear. After reading a book by Helen Keller, they research the mechanisms of sound and how sounds are different...
Curated OER
The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
With The Great Kapok Tree, by Lynne Cherry as the hook learners discuss the rainforest, the animals that live there, and conservation efforts. Then, students write a letter to the man in the story asking him not to cut down the Kapok...
Curated OER
Marine Habitats of Galveston Island
Four lessons introduce elementary ecologists to salt marsh and sandy beach habitats. In the first lesson, they place shells and other materials in vinegar to determine if they contain calcium carbonate. In the second lesson, they read a...
Curated OER
Group 14, The Carbon Group
Six slides summarize the details about group 14 in the periodic table, otherwise known as the carbon group. Young chemists will see facts about carbon itself, and then some general uses of related metalloids. This is a short and basic...