NASA
Observing Monsoon Weather Patterns with TRMM Data
Follow a fabulous slide show on how monsoons form and how satellite technology is being used to observe the phenomena, explaining why they occur. Afterward, visit the TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) website to access actual...
Curated OER
Structure and Function of Vertebrates - Reading/Notetaking Guide - Amphibians
A variety of questions are presented on the amazing amphibian. Life science intellectuals complete a life cycle diagram, describe characteristics and behaviors, and fill in a metamorphosis flowchart. Content level is geared toward middle...
Curated OER
Ocean Life
Students research and identify ocean animals characteristics and life styles using the Internet and books. They create a PowerPoint presentation and an iMovie to present to the class.
Curated OER
What is Life?
Students investigate the characteristics of living things. In this life science lesson, students examine several living and non-living specimens. Students determine which things are living and non-living.
Society of Petroleum Engineers
Renewable and Nonrenewable Energy
Energize an environmental science unit on natural resources with this collection of instructional materials. From simple coloring sheets for primary grade children, to guiding questions for a high school research...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Building Ecological Pyramids
Looking for a fresh take on traditional food/energy pyramids? Conduct an innovative activity where pupils build their own! The lesson uses research data from Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique for a real-life safari touch. Scholars...
Curated OER
Investigating Properties of Water: Temperature
Investigate how temperature affects the density of water and stratification that occurs in bodies of water when temperatures vary. Water of differing temperatures is given different colors to see the layers that form. The lesson is meant...
Curated OER
The Five Life Zone Research Project
Students study five of the seven life zones in North America. In this journalism lesson students use the Scientific Method working in teams. They use lab equipment and technology to create a presentation on five of the seven life zones...
Curated OER
A Year (a Day or a Week) In My Life as a Shorebird
Students describe the basic life history of one shorebird common to their area. They use the writing process which includes brainstorming, rough draft writing, peer editing, and re-writing to create a factually and grammatically...
National Library of Medicine
Your Environment, Your Health: Air Quality
Some scientists argue that air pollution now causes more deaths than smoking. The second unit in a six-part series focuses on air quality. Scholars learn what's in the air, how clean the air around their school is, and what they can do...
Curated OER
Wind Power
What a wonderful way to explore wind power! Through this lesson, learners get a background in the history of wind power, create their own wind turbine, and the test their designs. This is a terrific way to tie scientific principles to...
Curated OER
The Responsibility of Preservation
Upper elementary and middle schoolers study the case of the ivory-billed woodpecker, a bird that was once-thought to be extinct. Learners explore the responsibility of people to preserve habitats, and take care of the animals who live in...
Curated OER
The Use of Myths in Science
Students are told stories, myths and legend to explain their world. After telling the tales and discussion them, students are assigned to write a myth that describes a familiar situation, such as why the school garbage cans are always...
Curated OER
Bringing Dinosaurs Back to Life
Students explain how the earth makes fossils and how dinosaur remains become fossils. In this Bringing Dinosaurs Back to Life lesson plan, students solve paleo-puzzles which ask students to solve problems as if they were paleontologists....
Curated OER
Endangered Animals Books
Middle schoolers research endangered species and create and publish books to present their findings. Designed to use Inspiration software, this resource could be adapted if you don't have access to the program. Contains handy website...
Curated OER
Cell Processes and Energy - Review and Reinforce - Photosynthesis
Fourteen questions about photosynthesis are presented for life science learners. First, they write out the names of compounds involved in the process. They answer a few questions, and then fill in the blanks. This concise assignment...
Curated OER
Rate of Coral Growth
Using a table of information provided, middle school marine biologists chart data on a graph to determine the impact of water depth on coral growth in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Then they answer questions that connect the data to...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Color Variation over Time in Rock Pocket Mouse Populations
A species-specific look at natural selection, the resource herein examines how adaptations have helped the population of rock pocket mice survive in a changing landscape. To begin, middle or high schoolers watch a 10.5 minute video,...
Curated OER
Your Day as a Cycle
Fourth graders examine a variety of cycles. They take a look at life cycles of plants and animals, the cycle of the moon and tides, and other sequences of events in their daily lives. An interesting part of the lesson is how kids keep...
Candace Fleming
Ben Franklin’s Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman’s Life
Candace Fleming's award winning Ben Franklin's Almanac is the anchor text for a classroom guide that provides teachers with a cache of pre, during, and post-reading activities.
King County
Reproductive System
It's every health and science teacher's favorite subject to cover: the reproductive system. This comprehensive lesson introduces adolescents to the reproductive anatomy of men and women with the help of a series of diagrams,...
Curated OER
Lettuce Us Be Different
Students evaluate their differences, then look at differences in plants. In this class team building and life science lesson, the class play a game that focuses on similarities and differences in the group, then students plant three...
Curated OER
Tree of Life
Students study genetics and evolution. They evaluate a group of organisms and estimate their genetic relatedness. Then they use an online program to check the accuracy of their estimations and make a branching phylogenetic tree which...
Curated OER
Images of Science
Students understand the diversity of science, both in terms of the work and the people engaged in the work. They learn that some scientists and engineers use huge instruments (e.g., particle accelerators or telescopes), and others use...