Earth Day Network
The Neolithic Revolution
With the abundance of food products we can easily access in our society today, it is easy to forget the toll this can take on our global environment. Young learners will discover how the transition to agriculture and domesticated living...
Curated OER
They Don't Just Eat Grass
Students consider the USDA daily recommendations to create a "feed" product for middle schoolers. In this Health lesson, students learn about the ingredients in feed that is fed to livestock and apply the method to creating feed rations...
Curated OER
Agriculture in Your Life
Students explore the origins of food and other everyday products around the United States. In this agricultural lesson, students learn basic vocabulary and practice matching common items with their agricultural source. They categorize...
Curated OER
Starch
Students examine the basics of starch and how it is used in food. In this photosynthesis lesson students experiment with variables that affect starch production in photosynthesis.
Curated OER
Prairie Scavenger Hunt
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...
Virginia Department of Education
Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration
Provide high schoolers with their own indoor gardens! Emerging scientists discuss the process of photosynthesis and germinate seeds before growing plants in multiple lighting conditions. The hands-on application allows pupils to see...
National Park Service
Nutcracker Fantasy
The Clark's nutcracker bird hides seeds in 25,000 different sites every year to save for winter. Lesson demonstrates how difficult it would be to find these seeds months later when they need them for food. In the first of five lesson,...
Curated OER
Where is Agriculture?
Learners explore agriculture. In this agriculture lesson, students read "Where is Agriculture?" and discuss all the things that come from agriculture. Learners discuss what they need to survive and give examples of agricultural products...
Curated OER
Animals, Soil, Trees
Fourth graders describe the various kinds of soils and how plants and animals are affected by them. They describe the baic needs of plants, scoring at least a 3 or 4 on a 4-point rubic. Students are able to predict and/or infer what...
Curated OER
Animal Names
Students match animal pictures with animal words. In this farm animal lesson, students put together the parent and their offspring. Students should have prior knowledge of the basic needs of animals. Students write animal booklets.
Curated OER
PICTURE PERFECT PYRAMID
Students create a model of the USDA's Food Pyramid Guide, using shoe boxes. They bring an assortment of shoe boxes from home. Students are given a copy of the "Food Guide Pyramid." They wrap boxes for the bread group in white, the...
DiscoverE
Squishy Circuits
Make electricity flow through Play-Doh. Individuals create animals or other creatures using Play-Doh. The engineering aspect? Eyes that light up and Play-Doh that conducts electricity.
Curated OER
Bio-What
Students explore the concept of biodiversity. Through activities, they discover the importance of one species upon another. Students examine food webs, discuss animals interdependence upon one another, and brainstorm why biodiversity is...
Virginia Department of Education
Go with the Flow
How does nature's hierarchy relate to our local human environment? Answer this question, along with others, as the class visually depicts the natural hierarchy provided by nature. Pupils discuss each piece of the pyramid and its energy...
Smithsonian Institution
Trait Tracker
Help mice beat the odds with an exciting activity about traits. Biologists discover the role of diet and other factors on animal traits by participating in a simulation activity. Teams collect and evaluate data to understand how certain...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Can Small Pollutants Harm Aquatic Organisms?
Nanoparticles have toxic effects on plant and animal life—even though you can't see them. The second lesson of a two-part series has young scientists conduct an experiment that exposes plant and animals to nanoparticle pollutants. They...
Polar Trec
Plankton Parents
Plankton are so abundant in the ocean they outweigh all of the animals in the sea. In this three day activity, groups discuss and become familiar with plankton, capture females, and look for egg production on day three.
Curated OER
Animal Rights Vs. Animal Welfare - Understanding the Issue
Students explore the difference between animal rights and animal welfare. They take a field trip to a farm to explore the producing animals for human use. After researching and collecting information from animal welfare/rights...
Curated OER
Prairie Scavenger Hunt
Here is a simple lesson for young learners on the plants, animals, and flowers found in the prairie environment. There are worksheets embedded in the plan that pupils use once a teacher-led discussion and demonstration has taken place....
Curated OER
What Do Trees Do for Dinner?
Students investigate how trees produce their own food. They examine chlorophyll cells with a microscope, analyze a cross section of a log, determine how old the tree was, simulate the distance of the roots, and create a play.
Curated OER
"From farm to plate"
Students identify sources of food and the bacteria associated with them. They comprehend how bacteria in the food chain can cause disease. Students comprehend the importance of proper food-hygiene practices throughout the many stages of...
Curated OER
Cold and Warm Blooded Animals
Learners research facts about a cold or warm-blooded animal in order to designa report either as PowerPoint or word processed document. They use online resources and insert images in to the report. They include the specified criteria and...
Curated OER
Bugs in the Woods
Second graders identify insects and plants in the forest ecosystem in a structured field trip with stations and activity booklets. In this bugs lesson, 2nd graders explore the ecosystem of the forest, complete the booklet and play the...
Curated OER
Classroom Critters Developing Our Writing Skills
Students investigate animals and how it adapts to its environment. They write notes and gather information on a chosen animal. After research is completed, students create a report about the animal's characteristics, appearance, food,...