When the sun's rays can't reach the producers in a food web, where does all the energy come from? Extreme environments call for extreme food sources. Young scientists investigate creatures that appear to get their energy from methane...

With a couple of neat diagrams on student handouts, your life science or health class will examine the contents and serving sizes of healthy foods. They dissect a slice of pizza and scrutinize the nutritional value of its components in...

Get things cooking with the first lesson in this series on the science of food. Working in small groups, young scientists make and record observations about different mystery foods. These descriptions are then shared with the class and...

Help your class make sense of nutrition labels with the ninth lesson plan of this series. After explaining the different information provided on packaged food labels, perform an activity that demonstrates the amount of sugar in a single...

Explore various ecosystems from around the world as your class discovers the interdependence of all living things. Using the provided sets of ecosystem cards, young scientists work in small groups building food webs to demonstrate the...

Sixth graders complete a five-week unit investigating the eight major biomes of South America. They conduct Internet research, collect short-term and long-term climate data, and create a HyperStudio slideshow stack about a selected biome...

Immediately capture the attention of your class with the smell of freshly popped popcorn in the sixth lesson of this series on the needs of living things. Young scientists first use their senses to make and record observations of...

Assess your pupils' ability to identify healthy food choices in the final lesson of this series on food science. Given five different food labels, young nutritionists will rank them from most to least healthy, supporting their choices...

As the saying goes, you are what you eat. A useful set of lesson plans encourage young readers to take a second look at their eating habits. Pre- and post-reading questions bring in reflective writing and discussion while extension...

Elementary ecologists pretend to be migratory hummingbirds. They fly between wintering and nesting grounds, trying to reach a habitat haven. In a musical-chair fashion, some birds will miss out, and are removed from the game. To further...

How do you read a nutritional label? Help high schoolers practice reading nutritional labels on foods so they can calculate the calories in different types of foods. They will also examine the effects of fat on the body and the link to...

Celebrate the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss with a lesson that features the memorable tale of The Lorax. After listening to a riveting read-aloud, scholars take part in a grand conversation about the story and environment. Then...

Explore the center of gravity with your science class as they create a deadfall trap with common materials. They research the concepts of energy conservation and gravitational force before dividing into small groups to create a model of...

Trace pollutants through the environment in the seventh lesson plan of this series on the science of food. Looking at a picture of the plants and animals in an aquatic ecosystem, learners use dot stickers to represent harmful chemicals...

Students build a miniature replica of the Mayflower. They make the boat float in a cup of water while studying the concept of gift giving on Feast Day.

Turn your classroom into a greenhouse with a lesson on plant growth. First, investigate the different parts of seeds, identifying the seed coat, cotyledon, and embryo. Then plant the seeds and watch them grow! Measure the new plants...

Hold the sea in the palm of your hand! Amateur oceanographers work together to create models of an ocean ecosystem in the sixth and final installment in a series. Raise awareness of global ocean health issues through guided research,...

Students read and discuss information regarding George Washington Carver and how the peanut became cultivated in the southern colonies of the United States. In this George Washington Carver lesson, students develop vocabulary that...

Middle schoolers take a close look at the prairie environment. They identify common plants and animals of the prairie. In addition, pupils work in teams in order to put together a presentation on a certain aspect of the prairie...

It's time to roll up those sleeves and get a little dirty in the second activity of this series on the science of food. Investigate where plants and animals get the minerals they need to live in this two-part exploration of soil. First,...

Energy comes in many forms, but how do living things get the energy they need to survive and thrive? In a simple, controlled experiment with yeast, water, and sugar, groups make observations about how yeast reacts with water alone, then...

Mini microbiologists play a card game in which they group microorganisms by groups: virus, fungus, protist, or bacteria. Then they identify the roles different microbes play in the natural world and explore how humans effectively use...

Some of the details of the use of wildlife as food and crop resources are given at the beginning of this slideshow. Next, the historical problems with wildlife are explained, as are some mistakes that have been made leading to extinction...

Introduce your class to another type of ecosystem, the taiga ecosystem, through a reading passage. Class members read the text and then respond to five reading questions about the content of the passage.