National Park Service
Caves, Canyons, Cactus, and Critters
Mother Nature's Gravel Company is open for business! The unit includes four lessons covering weathering and erosion. Experiments are simple to complete and young geologists compare notes to see who makes the biggest ice...
Curated OER
The Case of the Missing Water
Students examine the major concepts related to the water cycle in this instructional activity. They recognize and define evaporation, condensation, precipitation and the natural cycles that occur as weather. They also participate in an...
Curated OER
Weather Whys- Cloud Watching Journal
Learners examine how natural processes change the earth by identifying their local water cycle. Individual students complete a cloud journal over a specific period of time. They observe clouds daily and take photographs of the clouds...
Curated OER
Who Turned the Lights Out?
Students discover the life cycle of butterfly by observing its growth from egg to caterpillar and the formation of its chrysalis. Students conduct an experiment in which they design housing for the chrysalises which are either in full...
Curated OER
Water World
Students explore the various steps of the water cycle. They identify the three steps in the water cycle and how they are related. Students describe three ways to conserve water. Students explore the origin of the water source that...
Curated OER
Here It Goes Again!
First graders work on patterns in nature and to recognize how different living things adapt to different environments such as the rain forest.
Curated OER
Beautiful Butterflies
Students discover the changes a caterpillar goes through in order to become a butterfly. In this early childhood lesson plan, students identify the various parts of the anatomy of a caterpillar and butterfly, as well as the changes...
Curated OER
The Apple Pie Tree
Students read The Apple Pie Tree and discuss the story and talk about what was living in the tree. In this life comprehension lesson, students write the main idea of the book in a few sentences.
Curated OER
Waterdrops
In this environment worksheet, students read an article about water drops and the nature center. They pretend that they are going to a nature center and write what they would hope see there. Students also identify living things and...
Curated OER
Geography: Water, Water Everywhere
Young scholars discuss flooding and its causes. They view a Powerpoint presentation about floods and prevention methods. After creating a model with clay and pans, they investigate river behavior in various terrains with different...
Curated OER
Greenhouse Gases: The Chemistry Behind the Culprits
Ninth graders investigate the effect of different gases in the atmosphere. In this chemistry lesson, 9th graders explain how these gases contribute to global warming. They suggest possible solutions to this growing problem.
Curated OER
An Underground River
Seventh graders describe how water flows through the ground, what an aquifer is and what soil properties are used to predict groundwater flow. They consider the affects of pollution on groundwater supplies and write a letter drawing...
Curated OER
Life Underground
First graders build a terrarium in order to observe animal and plant life dynamics. In this biology lesson, 1st graders compare how organisms survive in different environments. They write their observations and analysis in their journal.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Plants, Soil and Nutrients
Young scholars conduct an experiment. They review how to use the scientific method to conduct an experiment with white carnations and food coloring. They create a hypothesis and test it to better understand how plants get nutrients,...
Curated OER
Where Oh Where Did the Rainwater Go?
Third graders conduct an experiment to determine how water moves through different soils found in the Apalachicola River watershed. They read a scenario, conduct the experiment, answer follow-up questions, and draw the water movement...
Curated OER
Moon
Students discover scientific facts about the Moon and how
some American Indian Tribes used the moon to measure time.
They accomplish this by listening to stories and poetry, writing
stories, communicating with an astronaut,...
Curated OER
Spinning into Space
Students, through hands-on activities, teacher demonstrations, pictures, and informational books, complete a unit on the Earth and its place in the Universe. They make mobiles of the Milky Way and watch demonstrations of lunar and solar...
Curated OER
Lunar Lollipops
Students work with a partner, Styrofoam ball and light source to simulate the positions of the Earth, Moon and Sun at various stages during the phases of the Moon. They describe why the Moon is visible from Earth and complete a worksheet.
Alabama Learning Exchange
The Moon
Young scholars explore the phases of the moon. In this solar system instructional activity, students listen to several books about the moon including The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons. Young scholars complete a KWL activity concerning the...
Curated OER
Determining the Age of Fossils
Students examine the concept of radioactive dating. In this radioactive dating activity, students investigate how to determine the ages of fossils and rocks as they learn about half-life radioactive decay.
Curated OER
Case Study Two: Shark Dissection
High schoolers read an article on sharks prior to beginning a dissection lab. As part of the lab, students identify differences between the shark anatomy and human anatomy and hypothesize why those differences exist.
Curated OER
Phases of the Moon
Students read "The Moon Seems to Change" and conduct an experiment with oranges to demonstrate the phases of the moon. They write about the experiment and describe each phase of the moon.
Curated OER
Moon Exploration
Third graders examine the various phases of the moon. They define each moon phase, create an illustration for each phase, identify patterns in the moon's phases for the upcoming months, and take a quiz.
Curated OER
Geology/Earth Structure
Third graders examine the rock-soil cycle. They identify the steps and describe what happens. They also discover the three layers of soil.