Curated OER
Ecosystems
A critical look into the structure and function of ecosystems is here for young learners as a series of lessons and worksheet activities. Topics covered include land-based and marine ecosystems, connections to the water cycle, food...
Curated OER
Acid Rain
Create a simulation of acid rain in your classroom with lemon juice and bean plants to help kids study the effects of pollution on plants. In addition, learners will listen to a story and write responses based on guiding questions.
Curated OER
Rock Stories
Youngsters pretend they are rocks sitting on a hill. They listen to the provided guided imagery script to conceptualize the process of how rocks change over time. They draw a diagram of what happened to them as rocks during the story. An...
Curated OER
Ants
Ants are a common example to use when conducting lessons on insects, and if your youngsters are squeamish, this is a way to introduce them without actually bringing them into the classroom! Viewers of this PowerPoint learn about the...
Dr. Panda
Dr. Panda's Veggie Garden
Friends arrive at the farm and aspiring agronomists help the farmer to grow what the friends want. With adorable animation and charming background music, little ones practice virtual gardening and farming while developing cognitive...
Virginia Department of Education
Three Types of Rocks
Rock out with the second installment of a five-part series on earth materials and processes. Your budding geologists make observations of given rock samples and posit classification systems for rocks. They then learn about the...
Curated OER
Ocean Circulation
In this physical oceanography PowerPoint, viewers learn about ocean circulation, sea surface temperatures, and salinity. Relationships among these aspects are explained, as well as their impact on the atmosphere and climate. Each slide...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Building an Model Aquifer
With almost half of Americans relying on groundwater supplies, it is more important than ever to protect aquifers from possible contaminants. Working in small groups, young environmentalists explore this problem as they create an aquifer...
Advocates for Human Rights
The Right to a Clean Environment in the United States
Even if a school has gone digital, chances are there's still plenty of paper being used. The three activities help scholars learn about the environmental impact of paper and another consumer products of their choosing, the issue of...
NASA
Cloudy vs. Clear - Maps
Find out the science of how clouds keep Earth cooler on hot days. Using guided discussions, investigators analyze and interpret maps of how much solar energy Earth receives at different times of the year. Participants draw conclusions...
Curated OER
The Water Cycle
Students study the water cycle. For this water cycle lesson, students examine how the water cycle works, what its functions are, and how to diagram it.
Curated OER
Plants and the Water Cycle
Students study the role of plants in recycling water by collecting water vapor that is emitted, or transpired, by green plant leaves. They collect and measure the water that transpires through the tiny pores of plant leaves. Afterwards,...
Curated OER
How to Use Technology to Teach the Water Cycle
Learners answer six content-related questions on reproducible information sheets. They predict how the jury vote at the end of the trial.
Curated OER
Water Cycle (Role of Water)
Second graders explore the role of water as a natural resource in order to conserve and protect its use for future generations.
Curated OER
Tides & Lunar Cycles
Students demonstrate how the moon affects the tides, a neap tide, and spring tides by using their bodies as models. After students observe the model they created, they draw and label the diagram on a provided worksheet. They then log...
Curated OER
Learning Cycle Lesson Plan #6 (Misconception)
Ninth graders investigate evolution via natural selection and form an opinion. They support their opinion using scientific evidence and apply this to adaptations that have allowed certain organisms to survive.
Curated OER
Red Wigglers
Students are introduced to the benefits of using Red Wiggler worms to produce compost. They identify the requirements for the worms and the methods to follow in order to produce compost. They draw a picture of a functioning worm bin.
PBS
The Egg
The first stage in the butterfly's life cycle is the egg. Young entomologists discuss why different butterflies lay different eggs and what their eggs look like. Then they use the handouts to make a replica of one type of butterfly egg...
Curated OER
WET Science Lesson #11: How Light Affects Water
Scientists listen to the story of Wadja Egnankou who works to save African mangrove forests. They experiment with refraction and the introduction of particulate matter to water. They conclude with creative writing about the need for a...
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
What is Groundwater? Our Underground Water Supply
Learn about the consequences of groundwater with a lesson about the different ways California handles water conservation and pollution. After reading a passage about the water table, learners apply what they have read to six...
Alabama Wildlife Federation
Butterfly Book
Journaling is a great tool for processing information. Budding scientists build their own butterfly journals from their observations in a butterfly garden. The lesson challenges them to identify different stages of the life of the...
Curated OER
Day and Night
Inform your elementary scientists why we experience day and night. They are provided with facts and explanation as to why the day and night cycle occur, discuss what they've learned with a partner, and are then given the task of writing...
National Park Service
Reduce Our Carbon Footprint, Let’s Compost!
Roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty with this elementary and middle school compost lesson plan. All you need is a large plastic container, a couple old newspapers, some organic waste, and a few hundred worms and you're ready...
Brooklyn Children’s Museum
Rocks and Minerals in Our Lives
Young geologists discover the important role that rocks and minerals play in our everyday lives through this series of hands-on activities. Starting off with a lesson that defines the difference between plants, animals, and...