Curated OER
Microscopic Water Life
Students use a light microscope to observe the organisms living in a sample of ocean or fresh water. Students create a drawing of the organisms that they observe. Students then discuss the different body plans of the organisms and the...
Curated OER
Web of Life
Highlight the importance of each animal in an ecosystem by having scholars research different endangered species. Research is a lot more streamlined when learners are provided with a tool such as the graphic organizer attached here. How...
Curated OER
Endangered Marine Turtles
Students work in groups and experience what it is like to be a hatchling marine turtle by playing a board game. For this endangered marine turtles lesson, students research the threats to marine turtle hatchlings. Students then create a...
Scholastic
Study Jams! The Kingdoms of Life
Zoe and RJ discuss the way scientists classify organisms into five kingdoms. Characteristics of each group are highlighted within their conversation and with text. First-time taxonomists can view the animation at home, take the...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: An Earthworm's Life (Himmelman)
Explore some tier-two vocabulary using John Himmelman's informational text An Earthworm's Life. Recommended words for this slimy text are: bulge, burrow, journey, soil, and underground. After introducing these words, help kids utilize...
Curated OER
Life in a Big Urban City in the Gilded Age
While this presentation is not heavy in text it more than makes up for it with the telling images of life in New York at the turn of the century. Use as a supplemental lecture tool when covering immigration, tenements, Shirtwaist...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Night to Life is Beautiful
After reading Elie Wiesel's Night, watching the movie Life is Beautiful, and researching World War II, class members write a comparison essay on the book and film. This includes a prior knowledge activity, discussion in whole and small...
Kenan Fellows
Determining Stream Health by the Diversity and Types of Benthic Organisms
How diverse are the benthic organisms found in local streams? Using the information learned in previous lessons on identification of macroinvertebrates and on calculating stream index values, groups determine the health of local streams....
Kenan Fellows
Use of Dichotomous Keys to Identify Stream Organisms
What kind of organisms are living in the stream? After an explanation on how to use a dichotomous key, groups of three to four use the keys to identify macroinvertebrates from a local freshwater stream. Using the the concept of Stream...
Curated OER
Mealworms
Crawl into the world of the darkling beetle with this scientific investigation. Watch as the insects move through the larval, pupal, and adult stages of life, recording observations along the way. Discuss the necessities of life as young...
Biology Junction
Characteristics of Life
This is an extensive resource that focuses on the characteristics of life. Scientists read a series of short passages, highlighting main ideas and answering comprehension questions as they go. After they have completed the reading,...
Wilderness Classroom
Ocean Life
Our oceans are composed of many complex relationships. Young oceanographers explore relationships between organisms, understand the world ocean's currents, and discover the effects of water pollution and how it behaves. There are three...
NOAA
Marine Ecosystems
Be at the top of the food chain when it comes to understanding marine ecosystems. The 21st installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program investigates marine ecosystems, ocean zones, and food...
Student Handouts
Medieval Life Chart
What were the benefits and drawbacks of being a serf/knight/lord/lady/king/queen/etc. in the Middle Ages? Consider all the comparisons with your young historians using this graphic organizer.
PBS
Genes 101: Life’s Instruction Manual | UNC-TV Science
Discover the common genetic ground shared by humans and chickens. Group members listen and view an animation about genes and proteins, which details their roles in building biological structures such as tissues and organs. Participants...
Columbus City Schools
Get Your Organisms Organized
From large to small, show your class how to organize them all! Included within the guide is everything you need to take their knowledge of classification from the cellular to the species level. The worksheets focus on building vocabulary...
PBS
Does Art Imitate Life?
Write what you know, sound advice for any writer and something many famous authors are known to have done. Use these materials to explore how Shakespeare's life influenced his plays. This resource is packed with readings, video segments,...
Curated OER
Pond Life
Young scholars recognize the habitats of animals that live near or in a pond. In this pond lesson, students examine pond water and look for pond organisms. Young scholars observe organisms with a loupe and complete a worksheet.
Curated OER
Life Cycles of Frogs, Dragonflies, And Butterflies
Students explain the similarities and differences in the life cycles of organisms. The instructional activity begins with a reading of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Curated OER
Marine Life, Oceans, Lakes and Rivers
Students examine the types of organisms found in oceans. In groups, they read articles about the research done at certain sites. They work together to research their own water ecosystems and report the findings to the class. To end...
Curated OER
Urban Life: What Lives In Our Local Park?
Fifth graders participate in activities during a visit to Central Park. In this urban life lesson, 5th graders visit Central Park where they explore pond dipping, stream chemistry, and play a native plant Bingo game.
Discovery Education
The Time of Our Life
Mammals are some of the newest organisms to appear on Earth. Young scholars complete an activity that results in a timeline showing the appearance of different types of living organisms. Provided with a list that spans from prokaryotes...
K12 Reader
Tissues, Organs and Systems
Young scientists are introduced to the connections among cells, tissues, organs, and systems in a life science reading comprehension worksheet that asks them to respond to a series of questions based on the passage.
Science Matters
Formative Assessment #4: Body Chart
The body is one big life-sized puzzle! A hands-on lesson builds on the idea and has individuals create life-size models of the body including all important organs of the digestive, circulatory, and respiratory systems. After building...