Curated OER
Plant Identification: New Jersey vs. Ecuador
Sixth graders discover the different plants that grow in different climates through specimen collections. In this botany lesson, 6th graders examine plants from both New Jersey and Ecuador and discuss what conditions could create...
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Leaves
In this biology worksheet, students write identify the different parts of a leaf shown in 5 different diagrams. They also complete 12 short answer questions after reading the information about leaves.
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The Young Virginia Gardener
In this recognizing plant problems learning exercise, students read causes and effects of insects, diseases, watering, soil, and temperatures and identify problems in their gardens. Students list a maximum of four problems.
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Fall vs. Spring
Students compare fall and spring. In this seasonal changes instructional activity, students read the book Apples and Pumpkins and discuss the fall season. The students then read It's Spring and describe the spring season. As a...
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Photosynthesis and Plant Reproduction
Students explain the process of photosynthesis. For this biology lesson, students label the different reproductive parts of the flowers. They watch a short video then identify the leaf parts on the board.
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Prairie Find Outdoors
Students take a field trip to a local prairie. Using identification books, they identify various forbs and grasses in the prairie. As a class, they discuss the importance of forbs and grasses to the ecosystem and review the various types...
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Build a 3-d Plant Model
Third graders construct a three-dimensional model of a flowering plant. They examine the major plant parts and their basic functions. They demonstrate an understanding of the similarities and differences in the physical...
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Asexual-Sexual Reproduction
Eighth graders examine the reproductive organs of plants. In this plant reproduction lesson, 8th graders identify the reproductive organs of different plants using a digital camera. Students create a plant portfolio of images large...
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What's Your Genus? Scientific Classification and the VT
Young scholars understand the definition of binomial nomenclature. For this binomial nomenclature lesson, students classify ordinary animals by seeking their scientific names. Young scholars participate in a knowledge hunt using binomial...
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Bursting Blooms- Create an Early Spring
Students prune a tree. In this gardening lesson, students select a shrub or tree that has a lot of flower buds and use sharp pruners to cut sections of branches. Students place the cuttings into cool water and move into a...
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Language Arts: Ode to the Ordinary
Eighth graders select ordinary objects, determine their uses, and write poems about them. Once they select an object, they create a web about its uses to serve as an outline. Once they have written their own odes, 8th graders meet in...
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Bean Plant Growth
Young scholars identify, monitor, and analyze how seeds grow into plants and reproduce seeds at a quick rate. Students record the rate at which plants grow. Young scholars identify what plants need in order to grow. Students share and...
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Students Solutions - Saving Our Surroundings
Students explore the environmental impact of humans on the plants and animals in their state. In this environmental impact lesson, students use digital cameras to photograph plants and animals in their state. Students investigate the...
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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.
Desert Discoveries
Built for the Desert
The saguaro cactus has an amazing ability to survive in a harsh environment. Learners identify the many adaptations for desert life that the saguaro employs. They look at each part of the saguaro and determine what role it plays in the...
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Fossil Kit II
Youngsters examine four fossil replicas and chart their time periods, vertebrate or invertebrate, and the names of other organisms living at the same time. A specific fossil kit is available for sale if you do not have the same samples....
EnLiST
Trap Your Own Insects: What’s in Your Backyard?
Young entomologists construct three types of insect traps—pitfall, pollinator, and panel—before setting their traps out and observing what they caught. They then observe what types of insects the different traps attract.
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Introduction To Floral Morphology
Students create a model of the four basic whorls of flowers using a water bottle, construction paper and Q-tips. They then examine fresh flower specimens to see how the basic structure can vary in different species of flowering plants.
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Ecology - Reproduction and heredity
Students correlate signs of spring with reproductive strategies of varioius organisms. They describe how organisms inherit traits from generation to generation.
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Getting a Handle on Your Bee
Middle schoolers observe dried bees, carefully glue them to toothpicks, and use them for cross pollinating their Brassica plants. They also describe reasons why two similar investigations can produce different results. Finally,...
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Life Cycles
Learners identify and explain the parts of a flower and their role in the life cycle of flowering plants. In this online plant biology lesson, students explore the processes of pollination, seed dispersal, and germination. Extension...
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Nuts About Peanuts
First graders explore peanuts. In this peanut lesson, 1st graders examine the parts of peanut plants and identify them. Students plant their own peanut plants and chart their growth.
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Who Will Benefit if We Give Bulbs What They Need to Grow?
Students identify the elements needed for bulbs to grow. They raise tulips and give them to various members of the community. They identify local philanthropic communities and look for ways they can constructively donate time and give...
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Layers of the Rainforest
Third graders identify, compare, and contrast the rainforests' climates. After reading Jane Yolen's Welcome to the Green House, they create a rainforest bulletin board.