A day in the life of a wasp queen is not as royal as it may sound. Pupils assume the role of the wasp queen to complete an interactive activity that simulates building a colony. They make decisions along the way and note the changes from...

Caterpillars have an amazing, yet tough job to perform in their short lives — eat much, avoid predators, and try not to let all those comments about being the unattractive stage of the life cycle get to them. How do they handle it all?...

Sure to be a hit with your charges, here is a science lesson that has lots of hands-on activities packed into it. The focus is simple machines, and how they help us perform work. After a discussion and demonstration session, groups of...

From crime to paternity, DNA fingerprinting has revolutionized how the world views inherited traits. Science sleuths investigate the facts about DNA profiling through a variety of activities. The Teacher's Guide includes printable...

The principles behind pulleys, levers, and simple machines are the focus of a science lesson. In it, learners take part in a whole-class activity. There are two groups of pupils who each must lift objects with fixed pulleys and multiple...

Just because you taught it doesn't mean they learned it! Use a quick formative assessment to check for understanding and ensure all individuals understand the role of structure and function. The lesson is the fourth in a larger series on...

Cooperative groups research trip logs from deep-sea expeditions and explore characteristics of deepwater habitats. Using a cake as the ocean floor, they work together to decorate it as a model of such habitats. They also prepare a...

Is qualitative or quantitative research more convincing when it comes to climate change? In the eighth lesson during this 21-part series, scholars begin by performing a quantitative analysis of deforestation and urbanization. Then, they...

Germs, parasites, and viruses, oh my! Facilitate a instructional activity on viruses as individuals explore functions of Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. They learn how viruses compare with other organisms in nature and how they...

Using cabbage juice as a pH indicator, future scientists explore the effect of increasing carbon dioxide on the pH of the ocean and relate it to the health of coral reefs. Ideal for an earth or environmental sciences course, this lesson...

How many times have you traveled around the sun? Aspiring astronomers grasp what a year is and they differentiate between orbit and rotation by walking around the sun right within your classroom. Place a lamp in the center of the room to...

Zoe and RJ are trying to photograph an egret on a lake, but they are having trouble with the lighting. Reflection, refraction, and absorption are explored through their thoughtful dialogue so that your physical scientists are illuminated...

Climate change and weather extremes impact every species, but this lesson focuses on how these changes effect polar bears. After learning about the animal, scholars create maps of snow-ice coverage and examine the yearly variability and...

There's an elephant in your classroom. That's right — a big, awkward elephant named Dissection. Sure, you'd like to talk about him ... but how? Whether you're a seasoned teacher or fresh out of student teaching, the topic of dissection...

What a packed lesson! Provide your class with the opportunity to learn about the cell cycle in several exciting ways. Biologists first learn about the theory behind mitosis, then proceed to view onion tips under the microscope and create...

Get some competition going in your life science class. Give lab groups a variety of plant parts, all of them fruits, except one. Their mission is to make observations, compare and contrast, in order to be the first to identify the...

Students explore the game of life which refers to what happens to a species when most of the population is gone.  In this endangered species lesson plan, students describe what it means for a marine animal to be endangered. Students...

Third graders examine the life cycle of a salamander. In this life cycles lesson, 3rd graders view a PowerPoint presentation about the life cycle of a salamander. Students take the temperature of a toy salamander with a thermometer and...

Seventh graders examine the different types of pollutants. For this environmental science lesson, 7th graders observe particulate matter under a microscope. They explain how these can affect once health when breathed in large quantities...

Students study the life cycle of the Monarch Chrysalis. In this butterfly life cycle instructional activity, students study the monarch butterfly life cycle and focus on the fourth stage of the life cycle. Students draw a picture about...

Pupils touch, see, smell, and hear marine animals that live in a marina. In this marine animals lesson plan, students take field trip to a marine environment after studying the animals.

Fourth graders complete a variety of experiments to meet science goals.  In this life sciences lesson, 4th graders make yogurt, discover the attraction of opposite charges in electricity, learn the effects of glaciers, and explore...