NOAA
It All Runs Downhill
Examine how pollution makes its way into an ocean with help from a model watershed. Scholars use household items to recreate a mini-watershed, equipped with pollutants, that when mixed with rain drain into a model's body of...
NOAA
Plankton
Dive into the world of plankton. The 17th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program introduces different types of plankton. Young scientists then use what they have learned to classify...
Teach Engineering
Live Like an Animal
When your parents say that your room's a pig sty, tell them about biomimicry. The sixth installment of a nine-part Life Science unit has scholars research the shelters used by animals in the natural world, like turtle shells. Using the...
California Academy of Science
Nuclear Energy: What's Your Reaction?
OSHA confirms that rules governing worker safety at nuclear power plants ranks higher than worker safety in offices. Scholars must consider safety, cost, alternatives, and other factors before recommending whether a town should build a...
American Museum of Natural History
Going, Going...Gone?
Young environmentalists consider how scientists are attempting to save endangered species. They read about what causes extinction and steps to take to minimize the threats.
Curated OER
Earth's Heavenly Treasures: Hummingbirds
Young ornithologists watch an informative video and use the Internet to gather data about the life, size, habitat, and migration of hummingbirds. The interdisciplinary lesson includes activities that target art, science, math, and...
Curated OER
Using Vegetation, Precipitation, and Surface Temperature to Study Climate Zones
Using NASA's Live Access Server, earth scientists compare the temperature, precipitation, and normalized difference vegetation index for four different locations. They use the data to identify the climate zone of each location using...
National Institute of Open Schooling
Coordination Compounds
Cyanide, a coordination compound, is used in the extraction of gold and silver. Part 24 in the series of 36 delves into the world of coordination compounds. Classes learn, through readings, discussions, and answering questions, how to...
Curated OER
WET Science Lesson #3: Comparison of Aquatic and Terrestrial Plants
Elementary life science explorers compare and contrast aquatic and terrestrial plants (elodea and soybeans) in a Venn diagram. Some background information is provided to support direct instruction, and general instructions are provided...
Curated OER
Fiber of Life
Students examine the importance of plants to individuals and society through a multi-discipline set of activities. They observe and draw different leaf structures and then create a book about trees and photosynthesis. They explore ways...
Curated OER
Plant Identification Pictionary
Students participate in a plant identification game. Using worksheets, they collect plant samples and identify the basic parts of the plant. They note the similarities and differences between the various diagrams. They use heavy books...
Curated OER
Ways to the Heart: Food and Foodways in Hawai'i
Students explore the Hawaiian culture through food. In this cultural appreciation lesson, students use map skills to locate where the food originated. They also discuss the importance of food to a culture's heritage, and prepare a...
Curated OER
Dating a Volcanic Eruption
Students discover the various ways in which tree rings can give information. After a brief disucssion of concentric tree rings, they use cross section cut outs of tree rings to identify the time and type of various naturally occuring...
Curated OER
Preserving the Harvest: Dry it Out!
Pupils explore how people preserved their food in the past. In food preservation lesson, students create different models that enable someone to dry out food, such as a food dehydrator. Pupils also learn how to...
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...
Curated OER
Motte Rimrock Reserve: Lesson Plan for Flora
Learners study the flora of Motte Rimrock Reserve while observing organisms in their natural environment. They use a dichotomous key to identify plants.
Curated OER
Goals of the Diversity of Life Unit
Students are introduced to the unit on the importance of diversity of life and the role that interdependence plays in our worlds. this is part of a multi-lesson unit on the diversity of life.
Curated OER
When Average Is the Way to Go
Students engage in experiences involving the mathematical concept of averages. After watching a video, students explore averaging through a variety of different methods.
Curated OER
Windmills and Blogs: The Impact of Technology in Rural Peru
How does technology affect a community? Research the benefits and consequences of technology in rural Peru. In this technology lesson, learners discuss how the effects of technology. They view a PowerPoint and learn about the Peace...
Curated OER
Conservation in Small Spaces: Plant-Insect Interactions
Students explore ways that plants and insects impact each other, identify how different types of mouthparts allow insects to use plants in different ways, and design an insect and a plant to demonstrate mutualism.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Plant Phenology Data Analysis
Scientists monitor seasonal changes in plants to better understand their responses to climate change, in turn allowing them to make predictions regarding the future. The last activity in the series of six has scholars analyze BudBurst...
Curated OER
Forest Layers
Fourth graders observe the layers of the forest on a walk in the woods. They break up into groups to create murals, posters, or brochures illustrating the forest layers of Washington's Lowland Forests.
Curated OER
All About Seeds!
How do fruits relate to flowers and seeds? Identify the seeds and their purpose with a coloring activity for kindergartners. Once they color the seeds of apples, bananas, and peas (among others), kids get hands-on experience with bean...
Science Matters
Formative Assessment #6: Photosynthesis Cellular Respiration
You know you taught it, but did they learn it!?! A quick formative assessment asks pupils to describe both photosynthesis and cellular respiration before showing how they relate to each other. The lesson marks the 20th lesson in a...