Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson plan highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...

Fourth graders examine pumpkins and use the scientific method to explore its contents.  In this Pumpkin Science lesson, 4th graders measure pumpkins for circumference. Students dress as if they were in a lab and work in pairs to...

Students observe the sky and weather to gather data. They conduct experiments to answer questions about the sky and weather phenomena. They measure, analyze and present data. They create sky windows by gluing sky colored paint chips...

Students listens to an iPod and a voice recorder, in which the teacher provides the experiment instructions. They listen to the directions first, then they observe and record their experiments steps and results using a digital camera and...

Sometimes all you need to complete your perfect lesson plan is an awesome hands-on learning experience. Here is an extension activity that is sure to excite your learners. They'll head outside to observe the local insect community. When...

In this second lesson of the series, pupils learn to observe similarities and differences in photos of the sun and record them in a Venn diagram. Then, small groups practice the same skill on unique images before presenting their...

As an anticipatory set, biologists listen to the story of Ruth Patrick, a scientist who used algae to detect water quality. They observe a demonstration of osmosis and diffusion. In their lab groups, they place Elodea stalks in...

Students study cloud data and weather maps to explore cloud activity.  In this cloud data lesson students locate latitude and longitude coordinates and determine cloud cover percentages. 

Fourth graders observe and identify the effects of weathering and geological activities. They take part in an excellent hands-on group activity called "Erosion Race," in which each group tries to simulate erosion of soil in the quickest...

Students observe and listen to nonfiction books about the life cycle of pumpkins. They practice early reading skills in a shared reading related to pumpkins. They observe the life cycle of a pumpkin including growth and decay.

Here is a complete activity in which young biologists or ecologists test the pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and temperature of stream water. The class visits an actual stream and makes observations of the site. They use scientific...

Third graders examine living and non-living things and observe a plant growing in the classroom.  There are many additional resources to assist learning and extension work, they can read books, interact with PowerPoint...

Get up close and personal with human cells with this lab instructional activity. Learners use a microscope to examine their own cheek cells, drawing diagrams of the cells and identifying the parts when they have focused in on a visible...

Sixth graders choose specific trees to research while taking a nature walk around the schoolyard. They discuss tree and leaf parts and observe various types of leaves. After writing their reports, 6th graders present them to the class...

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...

Create the perfect conditions for osmosis. Young scholars use a microscope to observe plant cells exposed to distilled water or sodium chloride. They observe how osmosis creates turgid or plasmolyzed cells.

Rocks can bend? Pupils investigate how heat and pressure produce metamorphic rocks by modeling them using clay, and then categorize samples based on observable characteristics. The lesson ends with a metamorphic rock identification...

Can your class correctly classify plant species? Individuals explore native plants of the local environment and correctly classify them into their respective categories. They investigate differences in the plants and discuss similarities...

Bring the outside in to make observations in a controlled environment. Pupils learn about predator-prey relationships with spiders firsthand. They first construct a spider habitat and then feed the spider insects to make observations...

Students explore the relationship between the amount of water in the atmosphere available for precipitation and the actual precipitation observed by satellite. They examine seasonal changes in precipitation. They practice using Internet...

Research the impact that changes in biotic or abiotic factors might have on an ecosystem. Debate for or against the changes and take action in the community. This resource ideally follows stream studies that young ecologists may have...

Biology beginners observe traits in a collection of plant parts to realize the tremendous amount of genetic variation within a species. They consider rules of nature and discuss what would happen if they changed. They also examine data...

Young scholars explore how building a model can help them better understand the natural world. They identify common cycles or patterns in nature as well as examples of models in the classroom. After discussion, they choose a pattern or...

Second graders create sound effects to produce a radio drama. In this sound lesson, 2nd graders read a book and provide the sound effects to transform it into a radio drama. They discuss sound and the shape of sound waves based on their...