Curated OER
Human Impact on Water Quality
Young scholars identify at least three common repercussions of developing water front property on water quality. They describe three sources of water pollution. They research the organism striped bass and observe it if striped bass is...
Curated OER
Food Webs
Students identify predator/prey relationships based on the food web of the tropical rain forest ecosystem and realize they need a food web for survival. In this food web lesson plan, students complete a role play activity being animals...
Rural Science Education Program
Bees and Flowers – Partners in Pollination
Why are bees so important? After several activities where kids investigate the form and function of flowers, they learn about the different types of bees and label them. They then examine pollen under a microscope and decide which bees...
Curated OER
Chemical Consequences of Burning Fossil Fuels
Future scientists are introduced to the chemical consequences of burning fossil fuels, learning that fossil fuel combustion leads to the formation of oxides of three nonmetals: carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur, all of which end up in the...
Teach Engineering
Designing a Sustainable Guest Village in the Saguaro National Park
Brainstorm ideas to design a sustainable guest village in the Sonoran Desert. The first installment of a nine-part unit teaches young environmental scientists about the basics of the Saguaro National Park and about sustainable design....
Baylor College
Needs of Plants
What better way to learn about plant life than by creating a class garden? Young botanists start with a brief discussion about radishes before planting seeds and watching them grow. To determine the importance of water,...
Curated OER
Meet the Animals
The class will examine a series of live or stuffed animals in order to learn how different animals survive in distinctive habitats. As they examine each animal, they will be asked a series of critical thinking questions geared at getting...
Curated OER
Plant Explorers
Students investigate how plants take in water, nutrients, and light. They create artwork showing how plants survive in different environments.
Curated OER
Genetics Research Paper & Presentation
Students review their information on genetics. Using PowerPoint, they present their findings to the class on the principles of genetic diseases and disorders. They discuss bioethics and identify the positives and negatives of genetic...
Curated OER
Pollination Power
Students go out into the garden and observe pollinating animals through hand lenses. In this pollination lesson plan, students also discuss how animals carry seeds to create new plants elsewhere.
Curated OER
Introducing Ideas about Inheritance
Is it nature or nurture? In an easily adaptable kinesthetic activity to introduce genetics, learners group themselves based on a variety of categories. They will quickly find that some characteristics are easy to put in order, while...
Curated OER
Making Field Journals
Students follow a bookmaking format to create a book and use it as a garden journal. In this science journal instructional activity, students follow book making directions to create a garden and science journal.
Curated OER
A Fishy Tale
Eighth graders do a research project on a particular species of Atlantic seafood and record and graph information pertaining to commercial landings of that species of seafood. They use a website and an Appleworks spreadsheet.
BioEd Online
Gravity and Buoyancy
Would a baggie filled with water have the same shape sitting on a table as it would in a bucket of water? Why not? Allow learners to find out first-hand the effects of gravity acting alone on the baggie, as well as when gravity is...
Curated OER
How We're Connected
Students take a survey in order to find out how they live in relationship to the environment. They take the time to investigate the differences between a need and a want. This is done as part of the self-assessment. Students also study...
Desert Discoveries
Lizard Dash!
Here is a terrific learning game that has pupils acting like lizards! Before the game starts, there is a class discussion on the differences between endotherms and exotherms. The main focus of the game is how each team must keep...
Curated OER
Sunburns and Sore Muscles: Working to Save the Farm During the Great Depression
Fifth through eighth graders engage in a lesson in which they study working class people during the Great Depression. They work to develop an understanding of the economic developments in Arkansas during the 1930's. Learners access...
Curated OER
Going in Cycles: The Life of an Aluminum Can
Students explore the life cycle of aluminum cans. In this recycling lesson, students review the manufacturing process and how to make a closed loop cycle. Students also have the opportunity to present what they've learned to others...
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
What’s That, I Can’t Hear You?
Students investigate forms of energy as well as light and sound. In this science instructional activity, students participate in hands-on activities that require them to evaluate how sound affects astronauts in flight. A video of this...
Curated OER
Species Interactions
Students study the scientific concepts of biodiversity and conservation through the use of basic equations of population growth and hands-on experiments/simulations. The lesson includes a take-home assignment which can be used for final...
Curated OER
Cell Energy-Bubbling Plants
Middle schoolers discuss the process of photosynthesis in plants and that oxygen is produced as a by product. They observe underwater Elodea plants "breathing" in a hands-on activity. After setting up the experiment, they observe the...
Curated OER
Build the Arctic Tundra
Young scholars build a model of biome in order to comprehend the abiotic and biotic factors that are prevalent in a biome. In this hands on building lesson, students use a box to build a biome. . Young scholars decorate the...
Curated OER
What Is The Matter?
Students engage in a activity about the scientific concept of matter. They use essential questions in order to guide the research process. Students engage in several class inquiries that are hands on in order to investigate the...