Planning a unit on simple machines? Save some time and energy with this collection of lessons and activities that explores how these devices are used in the real world to make life a little easier. 

Planning an elementary science unit has never been simpler! These twelve lessons guide young scientists through an exploration of simple machines and their many uses in the real world before asking them to apply their learning...

What's in a cell, anyway? Kids read informational text on what makes up both animal and plant cells, including a page of vocabulary terms they will need to be familiar with (cytoplasm, ribosomes, vacuoles, etc.). Full-color images...

Learners won't have to squirm when asked the facts after completing an intriguing lab investigation! Hook young scholars on science by challenging them to verify Hooke's Law using a gummy worm. Measuring the length of the worm as they...

It's alive! Or is it? Through a series of shared readings, whole class activities, and independent exercises children explore the difference between living and non-living things, creating a pair of printable books...

Students construct sentences using nouns and verbs from a "renewable energy" word bank. In this cross curriculum ecology and sentence structure grammar and mechanics lesson, students listen to the book Our Earth: Clean Energy by Peggy...

Explore animal habitats and reinforce speaking, listening, reading comprehension, and writing skills with a unit that focuses on the Arctic, desert, ocean, prairie, and rainforest. Enthusiastic scientists read informational text to...

Convey your interest in conveyor belts. By considering different size tubes, groups create a conveyor belt that can transport boxes of candy at least four feet. Also, the conveyor belt must make a 90-degree turn—quite a difficult task!

A chicken egg is a very large cell—perfect for investigating osmosis! Scholars conduct an experiment with vinegar and eggs that helps them understand the process of osmosis. They follow the activity with an in-depth look at osmosis...

Students use information from a variety of media to evaluate different artists' views on the human relationship to nature. From these sources, class discussion, and personal experience, students will synthesize a thoughtful,...

Students describe how inclined plane and pulleys make work easier. In this physics lesson plan, students calculate work done and mechanical advantage of both simple machines. They collect data from the experiment and construct graphs.

Students explore basic principles of seasonal change, ponder the mechanisms that drive these changes, and perform experiments that show what causes the earth to heat differently during different seasons.

Bored with frog and earthworm dissections? Had your fill of fetal pigs? Anatomy students will be intrigued by the sheep's brain, and you will be prepared with guiding questions, extension activities, and pictures as they dissect one —...

How does HIV operate at the molecular level? Pupils discover the progression from a healthy immune cell to one infected with HIV, watch an animation of the HIV life cycle, and finally identify each of the stages with illustrations...

Teams work as material engineers to create ferrofluids, whose shape is influenced by magnetic fields. The activity, which is the fourth in the six-part series, has the teams create magnetic ink and use it to write, testing it with a...

Students explore the ins and outs of simple machines. They discover the various roles of simple machines, who uses them, where they can be found and how they actually work. Students create a compound machine using simple machines.

Students observe two chelae. They write three differences they observe in their notebooks. Students suggest a hypothesis which would explain these differences. They dissect the chela. Students analyze the lobster claw as a mechanical lever.

Students examine and observe how many human-made objects get their basic design from things in nature. They listen to the book "Nature Got There First," compare/contrast hollow bones with drinking straws, bird beaks and tool pliers, and...

Young scholars create a car using physics. In this forces and motion instructional activity, students create a car and test which changes in design change the performance of the car. Young scholars complete a graphic...

So many bodily activities depend on homeostasis! Give learners a solid background to understand the basic process of the human body. Scholars first examine negative feedback loops contributing to body temperature regulation and then a...

Young scholars work in groups to prepare a brief broadcast or print news report from one of five possible viewpoints about an environmental contamination scenario. Students are given basic information about a chemical spill in a small...

Learners demonstrate an understanding of how simple machines work. They show how various forces affect movement and advantages of them. They also design a compund machine. Students decide which level of questions they want to do and...

Young scientists write and draw about their knowledge of reptiles. They also view a nature video focusing on lizards and snakes, complete a chart comparing and contrasting them. Next, they focus on the defense mechanisms...

Pupils write a hypothesis and complete a lab.  In this investigative lesson plan students complete their lab and a worksheet about energy.