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.
Illustrative Mathematics
Growing Bean Plants (Grade 2)
After planting a bean seed in a jar, young scientists observe the growth patterns over several days. As the bean becomes a sprout, and the sprout becomes a plant, partners measure and plot the data. They notice patterns, practice...
Curated OER
Water Cycle
Young scientists explore Earth elements by conducting an experiment. They define water vocabulary terms such as condensation and precipitation. In addition, they conduct a water experiment in which they build a terrarium, so they can...
Curated OER
Do the Elephants Need Sunscreen? A Study of the Weather Patterns in Etosha
Students analyze the weather patterns in Namibia. They create a graph of the yearly temperatures and use the internet to gather information. They discuss how the weather goes in cycles in the area.
Curated OER
Harvesting and Threshing the Seed
Middle schoolers harvest and thresh the seeds. They count the seeds and compare that number with the original number of seeds planted (8) to determine their profit or loss. Finally, students think about additional questions they have...
Curated OER
Up From the Ground
First graders sequence the development of a plant. For this plant life lesson, 1st graders listen to a story about how a plant grows, students view a PowerPoint presentation and learn new vocabulary. Finally, students sequence the stages...
Curated OER
Charting Animal Life Spans
Second graders research animal life spans and complete related math activities. In this life span lesson, 2nd graders read How Many Candles and discuss life spans. Students arrange animal cards based on their life spans. Students find...
Curated OER
Compost in a Bag!
Fourth graders experiment to see which objects decompose. In this compost lesson plan, 4th graders observe the changes of labeled objects in a bag. Leave the objects for one month and record the changes by observation and weight....
Curated OER
How Many Trees Can You Grow?
Students solve a story problem about how many trees can be planted in a given area. Using a map, they gather information about the size of the area and the dimensions of an acre. They use a specific equation to determine the area of...
Curated OER
Spiders! Scary or Nice?
Students participate in a variety of cross-curriculur activities in order to explore spiders.
Curated OER
I'm a Weather Watcher Watching plants grow by......my,my,my
Students investigate how weather affects how plants grow. They collect data on weather and plant growth for a week and display the data on a graph. For a culminating experience they design a movie using software that shows plant growth...
Curated OER
Using Current Data for Graphing Skills
Students graph demographic information. In this graphing lesson, students choose what type of graph to create and what information to display. Links to examples of graphs and statistical data are provided. The graphs are created on the...
Curated OER
Hare and Lynx Population
Fourth graders study changes in animal population. In this graphing instructional activity, 4th graders create graphs from information read to them about hares and lynx populations. They will describe patterns of change in the graphs and...
Curated OER
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Students create a design for a school garden. For this garden design lesson, students analyze what plants grow best in their school's climate and work in teams to design a garden. Students measure the existing space, determine the...