University of Southern California
Discovering Plants
Students construct a small greenhouse and plant lima beans. They read books about plants, tend the lima bean seedlings, observe and record plant growth, taste a variety of plants and maintain plant journals.
Curated OER
Explorit's Coffee, Tea or Chocolate Quiz
In this coffee and tea learning exercise, students complete a six question multiple choice on-line interactive quiz about the cultivation and chemistry of coffee, tea and chocolate.
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Living vs. Nonliving
Pupils explore the characteristics that distinguish living things from nonliving things. Students examine video clips and still photographs to gather evidence and develop criteria to decide if something is living or nonliving.
Curated OER
Leaf Unit
Students complete a unit on leaves and their functions. They identify leaves and the trees they belong to, read various books, observe the process of photosynthesis on a flannel board, and create a leaf collage.
Curated OER
Window Gardens
Students use a plastic sandwich bag containing a damp paper towel taped to a window as a model system to observe the germination and early growth of radish seeds. They are challenged to pose a question about seed germination and growth...
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Sharing the Joy of a Garden
Students examine a gardening book. In this philanthropy lesson, students read a trade book, The Gardener, to learn about gardening. They discuss how this book's characters are philanthropic and write a summary paragraph in their journals.
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Bringing Up Birdy
Learners explore biology by creating diagrams of animal life cycles. In this baby bird lesson, students view video clips of birds being born from incubation to flying on their own. Learners utilize the Internet to research birds and...
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Ecosystems and Climate
Students examine climatic effects on ecosystems. They plant tomatoes and observe the differences in plant growth with differences in light. They create picture collages of plants, animals, and insects found in each climate of the U.S.
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The Kapok (Ceiba) Tree
Students explore the rainforest. They listen to The Great Kapok Tree and create a web using Inspiration software. They research kapok trees and create posters to make others aware of the plight of the rainforest. They role-play the...
Curated OER
Yeast - A Dihybrid Cross
Students make a yeast dihybrid cross and follow two forms of each of two traits: red growth versus cream color, and tryptophan-dependent versus tryptophan-independent.
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Agriculture in Your Life
Pupils 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 and...
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Making Pretzels
Learners discover that plants provide food products to humans. In this baking lesson, students grind wheat seeds into flour and then use the flour to make pretzels. Learners participate in a variety of activities that involve them in...
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Pumpkin Patch
Students create a pumpkin art project that outlines the life cycle of a pumpkin in order to learn the growth process of this particular vegetable. For this pumpkin art lesson, students first review the life cycle of a pumpkin as a...
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Agriculture and Me
Second graders categorize and organize agricultural products. In this agriculture lesson, 2nd graders complete classroom activities that challenge them to make connections between agricultural products and their own lives.
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Fun With Plants: Can You Find?
In this plants worksheet, students find plants with specific plant parts and press and dry them to the sheet. Students find 14 different plant parts.
Biology Junction
Introduction to Plants
In this biology lesson, students identify the different types and parts of the plant. They complete a crossword puzzle with 37 questions about plants.
Curated OER
Planting
Students form groups to conduct an experiment. They plant seedlings to test the effects of sunlight, water and soil, on the growth of seedlings.
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Garden For Life
Students are read a story about a girl their age helping others. They discover they can have a positive impact on others. They decide on a project related to literature that benefits the school or community.
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Garden Journals
Students create "Garden Journals" using construction paper, poster board, and general art supplies in this Art, Science, Reading, and Writing lesson for the early-elementary classroom. This activity may be done at the beginning of the...
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The Plant Bartering System
Fifth graders explore plant characteristics by viewing a flower and seed presentation. In this environmental adaptation lesson, 5th graders identify specific traits plants have in order to allow them to grow in different climates whether...
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Most Troublesome Exotic Invasive Plant Species Web Quest
Students participate in a Web Quest activity in which they identify common exotic invasive plant species of the Southern Appalachian Region. After identifying the top 10 exotic invasive species, they choose one to research in depth.
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Pecan Fingerprints
Students investigate the traits that make them individuals. They study that natural items have traits that make them unique by looking at pecans. They make fingerprint animals which they use to design fingerprint cards.
Curated OER
Birth, Growth, And Development
Students understand that all living things have a life cycle that includes being born, developing into an adult, reproducing, and eventually dying.
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A Recipe for Soil
Fourth graders use local materials such as leaves and other plant matter; sand and pebbles to make soil. They plant seeds in the manufactured soil and in natural soil and then observe and record the results.