Curated OER
Edible Plants
Students determine what part of a plant they are eating when they eat different fruits and vegetables.
Curated OER
"Julie of the Wolves"
Fifth graders research life in Alaska and compare life there to their lives in this lesson. They read "Julie of the Wolves." They research through the novel and other reference books facts about the Alaskan climate and geography. They...
Curated OER
Land Plants and Algae
Students compare and contrast algae and land plants. In this plant lesson students discover what algae and land plants require for growth. The students discuss experimental design. The students experiment with different treatments of...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Parts of a Plant Lesson
Students, after reading about the parts of a plant, identify each part and describe its function.
Curated OER
Down to the Root of the Plant
Second graders identify types of roots and their purposes and observe and document root growth. students observe their roots once a week and measure them to see if there has been any change. Each student keeps a written log of the...
Curated OER
Parts of a Cell
Students explore the parts of a cell. They identify the structures of plant and animal cells. Students explain the functions of plant and animal cells. They compare and contrast animal cells to plant cells. Students create a model of the...
NASA
Wetlands
Take a little wade in the wetlands. A fun unit has pupils conduct a literature review to learn how climate change and human actions affect wetland ecosystems. They take a trip to a wetland, observe the fauna and flora, and then take and...
NOAA
A Laboratory Simulation of Ocean Surface Currents
Stimulate interest in ocean currents with a simulation. The first installment of a five-part middle school series teaches future oceanographers about the forces that interact to cause ocean currents. A simulation shows how wind and...
Baylor College
Air and Breathing
Blow some bubbles and learn how living things need air in the eighth instructional activity of this series. Young scientists investigate this important gas by observing bubbles and monitoring their own breathing. A simple and fun...
Agriculture in the Classroom
Wad-a-Watershed
What kind of impact do humans have on watersheds? Find out in a lesson plan that defines, explores, and promotes ways to protect our watersheds. The ultimate goal of the lesson plan is for learners to discover how a watershed is impacted...
Curated OER
Flowers and Their Life Cycles
First-time florists will be able to label the structures of simple and composite flowers after reading this handout and answering the comprehension questions. There are a couple of grammatical errors in the text, but the content is...
Curated OER
Crops 2: What Plants Need to Grow
Students explore agriculture by participating in a plant growth activity. In this botany lesson, students discuss what types of plants grow in their local environment and what the plants need to survive. Students read assigned text about...
Curated OER
Plant and Animal Cells
Students investigate parts of a cell. In this plant cell lesson, students determine the difference between plant and animal cells. Students discover that coral is an animal based on cell characteristics. Students create puppets to...
Curated OER
"Web of Life" Game
Students relate members of an ecosystem by their interactions. In this ecosystem lesson, students toss a ball to other members of their group (each representing a member of an ecosystem) and tell how they are related to that member....
Curated OER
The Story of Corn
Students use primary sources to compare the early development of corn with current techniques of biotechnology and genetically engineered seeds, and identify plants natural to the Americas and those natural to Europe that were part of...
Curated OER
The Web of Life
Students explore the interconnectedness of living things in an ecosystem. They use pictures and arrows to develop a food web, and participate in constructing a class food web with students representing various parts of the web.
Curated OER
Coral Polyp Party
Learners complete a project where they label the parts of a coral polyp and discuss the differences between plants and animals. Students use marshmallows, sprinkles, toothpicks, and more to label their coral polyp.
Curated OER
The Root Show
Young scholars investigate plant roots. In this plant lesson, students discover the function and structure of plant roots. Young scholars plant a plant in a milk carton with a clear section cut out in order to observe the roots of the...
Curated OER
Create a Food Chain
Students discover the connection between plants and animals by discussing simple food chains. Students explore what may happen when parts of a food chain are removed. Students wrap up the instructional activity by writing a story about a...
Curated OER
Light and Starch Production in Photosynthesis
Students are given the unique opportunity to see the contrast between parts of a leaf that have photosynthesized and parts of the leaf that have not. This visual image helps students see the results of this biological process. At the...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Preparing for Project BudBurst
Adopt a plant and get to know its phenophases. The third instructional activity in a six-part series combines plant identification and phenology. Pupils begin by creating their own field guides to learn about the features and...
University of Hawaiʻi
Taxonomy and Me!
Taxonomy is the study of organisms and how you phylum. Three biology activities are included, helping scholars understand four of the six kingdoms, specifically Protista, Plantae, Fungi, and Animalia. Scholars observe and classify...
University of Minnesota
Sheep Brain Dissection
Bored with frog and earthworm dissections? Had your fill of fetal pigs? Anatomy students will be intrigued by the sheep's brain, and you will be prepared with guiding questions, extension activities, and pictures as they dissect one —...