Curated OER
Water-The Liquid Gold
Students investigate the necessity of water for the survival of plants, animals, and people. They explore the affect that water has on human and natural environments through literature, field trips, and discussions.
Curated OER
G'Day Mate
Students understand that Australia is the smallest continent, locate it on a map and sing about the continents. In this Australia lesson, students listen to facts about Australia and complete a book about information they have learned.
Curated OER
Who Took the Cookies
Students find the missing cookies. In this language arts lesson, students solve the mystery of who is taking the cookies from the cookie jar. Students are read several books with the same mystery of cookies being taken from the jar.
Curated OER
Native Plant Research Project
Students study indigenous plants. They examine why they are special, why some might be threatened, by what forces (pollution, habitat destruction), and what else relies on the continued existence of these plants (insects, animals). They...
Curated OER
Generating Power
Young scholars construct a working model of a turbine and explain how water generates power. By the end of the lesson, they list the effects of Kingsley Dam on people, plans, and animals -- both positive and negative.
Curated OER
Reptiles
Students investigate reptiles and reptile habitats. They listen to books, cut out magazine pictures of reptiles from National Geographic, sort plastic animals into the categories of mammal, reptile, or amphibian, watch a National...
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The Story that Tracks Tell
Eighth graders observe and investigate animal tracks. They draw prints for local animals and switch with another student to guess the animal, identify animal tracks in a nearby wood lot, create plaster casts of the tracks, and write a...
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Our Friends the Trees
Students build an animal habitat. In this animal habitats lesson, students create dead-wood habitats and observe the habitat over a period of weeks.
Curated OER
habitat Powerpoint Project and Webquests
Using a provided PowerPoint template and a list of relevant web sites, 4th graders create an animal habitat presentation. This lesson includes relevant web sites, vocabulary, PowerPoint template, rubric and full lesson plan. This link is...
K12 Reader
Habitat Destruction
What happens when an animal becomes endangered or extinct? Explore the ways that human influence throughout the environment has threatened the existence of other species with a reading passage. After reading the paragraphs, kids answer...
Quia
Charlotte’s Web Lesson Plan
Make your classroom into a place of kindness and compassion with E.B White's Charlotte's Web. The first four pages of the lesson plan guide you through several steps and projects, including discussions on Charlotte and Wilbur's...
American Museum of Natural History
Fossils
Sixteen slides showcase an average day on the job for a paleontologist, Ross MacPhee. Engaging images include world maps and real-world photographs from an archeological dig in Antarctica. A brief description accompanies each slide.
Curated OER
I Went Walking
Students take pictures. In this nature walk lesson, students read I Went Walking and brainstorm a list of things they might see on a nature trail. Students take pictures of things they see on the nature trail, write a caption for each...
Curated OER
"Julie of the Wolves"
Fifth graders research life in Alaska and compare life there to their lives in this lesson. They read "Julie of the Wolves." They research through the novel and other reference books facts about the Alaskan climate and geography. They...
Curated OER
The Night Before Christmas
Students, after reading and discussing the book, "The Night Before Christmas," explore, examine, and study about the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make. They primarily assess the letter 'D' by inquiring which animals guided...
Curated OER
Enrichment Activities - "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH"
Fifth graders read the novel "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH." They discuss the various characters in the book, and the different types of conflict that take place within the book. They also research owls and rats to make comparisons...
Curated OER
Illinois Entice Spoken Here
Eighth graders name a prairie animal when their name is called for attendance each day. They read books about Illinois or related topics. At present we have read Illinois, A Rookie Read About Geography Book by Allan Fowler.
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Visit the Rainforest
Fifth graders define what a tropical rain forest is, what animals and plants exist there and realize how important the tropical rainforests are to life on Earth. They work in pairs to access websites imbedded in this plan to research the...
Curated OER
Food Webs
Students research rainforest animals and use that information to make a flow chart to show the order in which energy is transferred through several organisms. They label the producers, consumers, and decomposers in their chart.
Curated OER
Animal Classification
Young scholars list characteristics and features of animals found in their community. They then group the animals according to how they are similar and different and create names for each group. They then create a chart of their...
Curated OER
The Flea's Sneeze Lesson Plan
Students read a book and engage in three different activities. In this lesson about repetitive story patterns, students read a story, The Flea's Sneeze, and examine how the story has a rhythmic pattern of rhyming verse that sounds like a...
Curated OER
Big Cats Sounds
Students explore the sounds of big cats. In this animal science instructional activity, students listen to the sounds of the big cats, such as lions and tiger, on a suggested website. Students research how the big cats use their sounds...
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Mini-Ecosystems
Third graders identify the living and non living things in a book read aloud and discuss the interactions represented in the book. Then, they research and include a list of food that each animal needs in an ecosystem. Finally, 3rd...
Curated OER
For Creative Minds: Tudley Didn't Know
Learners discover facts about the animals in John Himmselman's book, Tudley Didn't Know, and make a paper turtle. For this marsh animals lesson, students first read the book Tudley Didn't Know. Learners read facts about painted turtles,...