Curated OER
Population Biology Case Study
Students are focused on the big question: What makes a population grow and how could that growth stop? They use these concepts to help answer the big question: carry capacity, density dependent v. density, independent factors, predation...
Polar Trec
Arctic Smorgasbord!
Two blooms of phytoplankton, instead of just one, now occur in the Arctic due to declining sea ice, which will have widespread effects on the marine life and climate. In small groups, participants build an Arctic food web with given...
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Classifying Plants and Insects
Art and science come together in a lesson based on Flower Still Life by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder. Learners classify plants and insects in the painting by color, leaf shape, size, reproduction, and season of bloom.
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Clearly Classified
Young scholars review the classification system for living organisms and apply it the classification of insects and flowers in the still life by Ambrosius Bosschaert. They create a chart classifying the animals and plants in the painting...
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Gallery Walk Questions about Energy and Material Cycles
Students state the physical, chemical or biological processes associated with these environments: Pelagic ocean zone, California coat Cave, Indiana Barrier island beach, North Carolina Sand dune, Dunes National Park, Colorado Wetland and...
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Science Questions
Explore the concept of generating questions. Your curious learners choose a scientific question from a bowl and, as they listen to an article being read, they use that question starter to come up with their own questions. Then, they have...
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Human Body Corp.
Learners investigate body systems by participating in a role-play activity. Third, fourth, and fifth graders pretend that they are an organ or system of the human body, and they must write a letter to the body "corporation" discussing...
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Exploration of 'pill bugs'
Fifth graders define words. They create a dichotomous key. After carefully examining pill bugs, 5th graders record observations. They compare and contrast habitats of pillbugs.
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Exploration of "Pillbugs"
Fifth graders define vocabulary terms, identify the characteristics of a pillbug, and create a dichotomous key. Then they examine the pillbugs and make observations and record these observations. Finally, 5th graders observe specific...
Curated OER
Do We Need to Wear a Rainhat? Acid Rain: Causes, Effects, and Possible Solutions
Acid rain, and how it affects the environment, is the focus of this Earth science instructional activity. During the study, learners evaluate measures to reduce acid rain, and design an investigation to demonstrate the conection between...
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Healthy Living:
Young scholars are able to recognize a wide variety of fruit and have a greater understanding as to the importance of fruit in their diet and that some fruits skin are edible and others are not.
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Arthur's Eyes
Students learn about the parts of the eye. In this eyes and vision lesson, students the story Arthur's Eyes and create a KWL chart about eyes. Students label the parts of the eye, examine the eyes of different animals to compare them...
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Camouflage
First graders learn how plants and animals adapt to their environments. In this camouflage instructional activity, 1st graders watch a movie that explains animal camouflage, design a butterfly that blends into a classroom habitat,...
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Making Big Cats' Web Pages
Students investigate the lives of big cats by creating a website. In this web design lesson plan, students examine web authoring software in pairs as they read books on big cats. Students share their web page creations with the class...
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Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly
Third graders access prior knowledge of the monarch butterfly and discuss what they would like to know. In this Monarch Butterfly lesson,students read Monarch Butterfly and discuss the life cycle of the butterfly. Students gather...
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Liquids: Floating and Sinking
Third graders conduct an experiment. In this floating and sinking liquids instructional activity, 3rd graders discuss density and investigate it using syrup, vegetable oil and colored water. Students observe the results and complete a...
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The Apple Pie Tree
Students read The Apple Pie Tree and discuss the story and talk about what was living in the tree. In this life comprehension lesson, students write the main idea of the book in a few sentences.
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Adaptations to Environments with Mammals
Fifth graders, after viewing a PowerPoint on different mammals, analyze what a biome is. Then they choose a mammal to research and go outside to feel the grass and leaves and hypothesize about which biome they live in as well as its...