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Investigating Crickets and Their Body Parts
Second graders investigate the body of a cricket. In this biology instructional activity students use tools to gain information about the insect the cricket. Students observe and identify features and describe how these features help the...
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Flower Powder
Students collect and observe pollen. In this plant reproduction biology lesson, students use pollen boards to collect pollen from flowers, then match it with the correct paper flowers. Students move artificial bees from flower to flower...
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Plants of Tyson Lagoon
In this aquatic plants and flowers instructional activity, students identify and press 3 flowers from aquatic or marshy plants. They describe and identify the parts of the flowers in 2 short answer questions.
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Hopi Culture: Parts of the Corn
Students identify the parts of the corn stalk in English and Hopi. They discuss the significance of corn to the Hopi culture, and examine a diagram of the corn stalk. They discuss the purposes of the parts of the corn stalk, then label...
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Habitat for Plants! There's No Place Like Home!
Young scholars compare and contrast conditions necessary for survival of aquatic and terrestrial plants, identify common and scientific names of plants,
and determine correlation between location and plant characteristics. Students...
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Light Plants and Dark Plants, Wet Plants and Dry Ones
Young scholars plant sunflower seeds in plastic cups, and once germinated, these are exposed to different conditions of light levels and/or soil moisture contents. Students measure growth of the seedlings every few days using...
Exploring Nature Educational Resources
Building A Classroom Food Web
From bears and owls to chipmunks and trees, all life depends on the sun for the energy to survive. Young biologists develop an understanding of this big idea as they arrange this series of plant and animal picture cards into food...
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Owls: Top of a Food Chain
Although written for middle schoolers, there is no reason that a 3rd, 4th, or 5th grader could not also learn about food chains through the dissection of owl pellets. After you introduce the topic, learners complete an owl research...
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Distinguishing Between Flowers
A branching key is a great way to classify different types of animals and plants! Fifth graders answer several yes/no answers about three different plants. They then create their own key to differentiate between an iris, a rose, and a...
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Classification Schemes
Junior biologists journey through the hiearchy of living things with these activites. Using a dichotomous key, they identify common algae, plants, and fish. They design their own key for a mixture of seeds and a collection of...
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Raven Chapter 35 Guided Notes: Plant Form
The ups and downs of plant vascular tissue are described by your beginning botanists as they complete this instructional activity. Xylem and phloem are defined and identified on actual color photographs. Functions of the different types...
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Tutti Frutti
Get some competition going in your life science class. Give lab groups a variety of plant parts, all of them fruits, except one. Their mission is to make observations, compare and contrast, in order to be the first to identify the...
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Growing Jack and the Beanstalk Plants
First graders investigate how plants grow by growing their own "beanstalk", (after reading "Jack and the Beanstalk") and record their observations daily in a science journal.
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Prairie Math
Students work together to build models of prairie plants. Using the model, they estimate the height and then measure them using metric and standard units. They write a fraction to represent their part of the whole set and compare and...
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Gifts from the Sea
Students investigate parts of the ocean. In this seaweed instructional activity, students identify foods that contain seaweed, parts of seaweed, and how the ocean affects our lives. As a class students brainstorm ways we rely on the...
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What is a Seed?
First graders identify the parts of a seed. In this plant biology lesson, 1st graders are given a seed and identify each part of the seed by using a hand lens. Students plant a seed and graph the growth.
US Mint
Desert Dwellers
What can a quarter possibly teach young learners about desert ecosystems? More than you might think. After displaying and discussing the included picture of the Arizona state quarter, the class participates in a series of...
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Water in the Biosphere
Environmental explorers examine the campus and take note of living organisms. Introduce them to the biosphere and the questions of the day: How much water can be found in the biosphere? A slide show helps you along, and even contains a...
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“THE LORAX” by Dr. Seuss
Few children's books convey the message of conservation as well as Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. Read the story aloud, emphasizing the interconnectedness of plants and animals in an ecosystem and discussing different ways people can help...
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Exploring Plants
Students examine plants using adiotapes, Internet research, and print media. They name the plant parts and discover their functions. Students create computer-generated pictures of their plants and label the parts. Other activities...
Captain Planet Foundation
Which Plant Is Which?
Learn about dichotomous keys, plant identification, and how to care for the planet with a lesson that includes several hands-on and innovative activities. Kids go on a plant scavenger hunt and classify the plants that they find...
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Plants and Animals: Partners in Pollination
Students identify the plant parts and bee structures that are involved in pollination. They simulate pollination in a group activity and process the information.
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Logs of Straw: Dendocronology
Young scholars investigate the age of trees by analyzing tree rings. For this dendocronology lesson, students examine sample images of tree rings and identify their age by the amount of rings. Young scholars complete a chart...
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Plant Parts We Eat
I bet the kids in your class will love to eat their vegetables after an engaging lesson plan about edible plants. They read information about vegetables and edible plants, sort vocabulary words, identify plant parts, measure and graph...