Chicago Botanic Garden
Understanding the Greenhouse Effect
The greenhouse effect is important, for without it, life on Earth would not exist. An activity that includes modeling the greenhouse effect and acting out the Earth's energy balance makes up the first part in a series of seven...
LABScI
The Digestive System: Where Does Food Go?
Would you believe that your digestive system stretches to five times your height?! Help your pupils to understand this relationship as they work through the laboratory exercise. The first instructional activity of a 12-part series is a...
LABScI
Enzymes: The Spit Lab
Enzymes in our bodies each have a job to do. Learn the factors that affect the activity of some enzymes using the third activity of an informative 12-part biology series. A three-part laboratory activity asks teams to investigate how...
Global Oneness Project
Then and Now
The devastating changes happening to the Native American inhabitants of an island off the coast of Louisiana are the topic of an informational lesson. After scholars break into groups to explore particular topics, they come back together...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Viral Lysis and Budding
How do some viruses spread so quickly, and why do they make us feel terrible? Answer these (and many more) questions through a simple yet impactful lessons. Pupils observe demonstrations that show the two methods viruses use to escape...
Curated OER
Keeping Up Good Health
During a discussion on sweating with your little ones, this resource should come in handy. Little learners place a check mark next to an activity pictured on the learning exercise that would induce sweating. There are seven pictures to...
Curated OER
Germs and Your Body
Students study germs and ways your body fights against disease. For this germs lesson students complete an activity that demonstrates where germs can get into your body.
Curated OER
Soybeans: The Miracle Seed
Students discover why soybeans are called the "miracle seeds." They make their own soynuts and share other foods made from soybeans. They create a bulletin board of soybean products.
W.K. Kellogg Biological Station
Succession: Patterns in the Field and in Seeds
Have you been wondering how to use that natural trail at or near your school? This activity gets kids outside with a purpose: learn about ecological succession through field observations and collecting seed and soil samples. The resource...
K12 Reader
Food Is Our Fuel
After studying a short article about how living things fuel their growth, readers respond to a series of comprehension questions based on the article.
Curated OER
Conservation in Small Spaces: Conservation
Students define conservation, identify actions that conserve habitat and those that reduce habitat, and generate ideas about how one can practice conservation in everyday life.
Curated OER
Renewable vs. Non-Renewable Resources
Here's a fine lesson plan on renewable and non-renewable sources of energy for your 5th graders. In it, learners list a number of natural resources on the board, then try to sort the resources into appropriate categories. This helps them...
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...
Curated OER
The Effect of Temperature on Cricket Chirping
Students examine the effect of temperature on how often crickets chirp. In groups, they complete the experiment and answer lab discussion questions. They create a graph of temperatures and the amount of chirps and discuss the results.
Curated OER
The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
With The Great Kapok Tree, by Lynne Cherry as the hook learners discuss the rainforest, the animals that live there, and conservation efforts. Then, students write a letter to the man in the story asking him not to cut down the Kapok...
Curated OER
Shakespeare's Macbeth
After reading Act II of The Tragedy of Macbeth, give your class this prompt to complete. One other question is listed along with information regarding the divine right of kings. A full plan is not written out here, but the prompt is a...
Curated OER
Who Lives with Mallard?
Learners color a picture of the habitat featuring mallard and other creatures, some of whom might be camouflaged or half-hidden. They discuss other forms of animal adaptation.
Curated OER
Parts of a Cell
Simplify the parts of a cell with this handout and brief activity. Learners read a two-page explanation of the parts of a cell that includes bolded vocabulary words. Using what they have just read, class members answer 19...
Curated OER
Problem Solving - Draw a Diagram
There is an excellent strategy for learners to use when faced with a word problem that uses fractions. This presentation shows how to draw a diagram of the fractions in the problem in order to get a visual representation. Although brief,...
Curated OER
What Role Does Light Play Within the Vision Process?
Pupils are introduced to the relationship between light and vision. In groups, they participate in experiments to discover how different wavelengths are divided in the visible spectrum. They record their answers and discuss their...
Curated OER
Dissolved Oxygen and Temperature
Students are shown how temperature affects dissolved oxygen and they create a graph showing this relationship. They think about the adaptations of animals to live in different water temperatures. Students test four different water...
Curated OER
Dissolved Oxygen Introduction
Learners are shown how dissolved oxygen enters the water. They are taught the difference between a water sample that has been exposed to the air and one that has not. Students brainstorm what organisms need to survive. They use dissolved...
Curated OER
Is Our Water Healthy?
Students test water for a least one chemical characteristic. They hypothesize how a storm event might change the chemical characteristics of a stream. Students collect water samples and use the chemical test to test the water.
Curated OER
Aquatic Ecosystem Exploration
Learners visit a local stream, pond, creek, or river and collect macroinvertebrates. They sort macroinvertebrates and identify each species using a dichotomous key. Students decide on trophic levels and construct a possible food web for...