Curated OER
Blubber Gloves
The ways that animals adapt to their environments is quite remarkable. For this life science lesson, fifth graders take a look at some of the ways that aquatic animals that live in Arctic or Antarctic waters survive. They perform an...
Curated OER
Are You One Of Us?
Young scholars discover how to classify things based on their similarities and differences. Students give the characteristics of insects and create a classification list. Given examples of various types of insects, young scholars...
Wild BC
Carbon - The Short and the Long
For this complex game about the carbon cycle, the playing field is divided into air, living, and earth zones. Children are assigned to be either plants or animals, and collect carbon tokens as they proceed from zone to zone. While the...
Curated OER
Pick a Pet
Learners design informational materials to educate people on the importance of matching a new pet to the family's lifestyle and living arrangements. Students use critical thinking skills to make a decision on the appropriate choice for a...
Science Matters
Island Fox Outreach
Off the coast of California lives a wild animal called the Island Fox. Experts discuss the importance of the Island Fox to the Channel Islands and the balance the fox creates within its ecosystem. The lesson concludes with a reading of...
Curated OER
Prairie Predator and Prey
Fifth graders brainstorm a list of animals that live on the prairie, and classify them as predators and prey. They conduct interviews where they ask the animals what they need to look out for to sustain life on the prairie.
Curated OER
Wastewater
Students discuss what happens to their wastewater. They read about the wastewater treatment process. Students are asked what types of things get flushed down toilets or goes down drains in sinks and showers. They are taught what happens...
Curated OER
The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
With The Great Kapok Tree, by Lynne Cherry as the hook learners discuss the rainforest, the animals that live there, and conservation efforts. Then, students write a letter to the man in the story asking him not to cut down the Kapok...
Curated OER
Froggy Fun
Students are introduced to the concept of life cycles. They discover how many species go through their lives in a series of stages from birth or hatching to adulthood. Such stages make up the life cycle. Students investigate the life...
Curated OER
Dissolved Oxygen and Temperature
Young scholars are shown how temperature affects dissolved oxygen and they create a graph showing this relationship. They think about the adaptations of animals to live in different water temperatures. Students test four different water...
Curated OER
What If There's No Light?
students discuss the importance of light and the consequences of living without it. Using a plant as a demonstration, students predict and observe what happens to a plant when it does not receive enough light. In groups, they experiment...
Curated OER
Water Quality with Samples
Learners recognize whether one wants to drink water, swim in it, or for the health of the organisms living in it. They prepare different water samples to observe and collect samples regarding the water quality.
Curated OER
Bears of Banff
Students pretend they have just entered a national park. They imagine that the park borders are all impassable mountains, and students will play the role of grizzly bears. Students list three things every animal needs to survive, in this...
Curated OER
The Way Things Work
Learners explore how things are designed, built and function. Students interpret the film The Swiss Family Robinson. Learners discuss and analyze medieval technology and the amazing craftsmen and stoneworkers it took to build such...
Curated OER
My How Things Have Changed
Eighth graders discuss the impact geography had on hunter-gatherer societies, their toolmaking. They work in groups to create a Web page that links pictures of artifacts to explanations about what the artifact tell us about the lives of...
Curated OER
What Was It Like To Live in Tudor Times?
Students compare and contrast the lives of the rich and poor people in Tudor times. Students observe photographs of Tudor life. They investigate word clues describing the lives of the people. Students create a presentation on their...
Curated OER
To Live I Need...
Learners state one item previously considered to be "essential" which he/she could live without.
Curated OER
Where People Live- Neighborhoods
Students use a map. In this neighborhood instructional activity, students describe a neighborhood, emphasizing the common characteristics between all neighborhoods. Students locate a neighborhood on a landscape picture map and discuss.
Curated OER
Water Uses and Children's Lives in East Africa
Students identify how water use is part of life and culture. Students record their daily water usage and compare results with classmates. Students complete the graphic organizer on water and children. Students compose an essay, which...
Curated OER
Things I Know About Head Lice
In this head lice instructional activity, learners use words, that are shown in black and white images of head lice, to fill in the blanks in 10 statements. They use words such as louse, nits, eggs, and blood.
Curated OER
The Carlyle House and Gadsby Tavern
Fourth graders identify places and things in Alexandria that probably did not exist when the Carlyle House was first built and identify places and things that probably did exist when the Carlyles lived in the house.
TED-Ed
Lessons from Auschwitz: The Power of Our Words
Some words are best left unspoken. Words matter, according to Benjamin Zander, conductor, teacher, and lecturer. To illustrate his point, Zander recounts a story told to him by a survivor of Auschwitz. As a result of her experience...
Curated OER
Keyboarding Skills
If there is one thing that would benefit young learners for the rest of their lives, it is to learn how to type correctly. This skill is one that they will use for their whole lives. In the age of computer technology, where so much...
PLS 3rd Learning
Priceless
The message that buying things brings happiness is everywhere. Teenagers are not immune to this marketing strategy and benefit from reflecting on the relentless pressure to spend. This exercise invites young adults to consider the value...