What are the differences between coniferous and deciduous trees? Supplement your tree lessons with a set of activities that has learners describing, naming, comparing, and reading about deciduous and coniferous trees. The activities are...

How can you tell when an author is expression an opinion or stating a fact? Use two short reading selections to emphasize the difference between a statement that you can prove and one that you can't. The first passage explains food...

Twenty questions make up an assessment designed to test super scientists' knowledge of ecosystems. Scholars answer multiple-choice and short-answer questions about organisms, food chains, energy flow, and more.

View attractive, three-dimensional models of an animal cell, a bacterium, or a plant cell. Suspended in a translucent, undulating cytoplasm, are all of the major organelles for life science learners to examine. They can zoom in, click on...

There might not be a butcher or baker, but you'll have a class full of candlestick makers after a hands-on lesson about candles make from beeswax. After a brief history of where beeswax comes from, young artisans craft their own...

A chicken egg is a very large cell—perfect for investigating osmosis! Scholars conduct an experiment with vinegar and eggs that helps them understand the process of osmosis. They follow the activity with an in-depth look at osmosis...

Take young naturalists on an exploration of the world's tropical rainforests with this extensive collection of lessons and activities. Whether its creating leaf and flower prints or investigating the absorption spectrum of...

Do words change or add meaning or interest to a work of art? The final lesson plan in a four-part series on the beautiful brain as a work of art focuses on art analysis. Scholars write a story about exploring art from the inside....

Switching indoor water fixtures to low flow reduces water usage by more than 45 percent. This and other solutions to reduce water usage have both pros and cons. Scholars view videos of different solutions, discuss them in small groups,...

Here's a great comprehension worksheet that models for young readers how to focus on short sections of a complicated text and then to create a summary of the entire document based on their understanding of the sections.

Young scientists study the construction of a battery through experimentation. They engage in five experiments which combine to create a thorough study of the history of batteries beginning with a model of the first battery.

In this writing learning exercise, students fill out an outline about a plant that will lead them to writing a 3-paragraph summary. Students include a topic sentence and 4-5 details for each paragraph.

Show this presentation to demonstrate how to diagram sentences. Meant for more advanced grammarians who know the difference between indirect and direct objects, this PowerPoint adds on new elements to each slide. The graphics and sound...

Students examine plant and animal cells to observe the organelles present in the cell, to match the function of each to the organelle on a cell model and to build a model of the plant or animal cell.

Middle schoolers successfully start a new plant by any means of vegetative propagation. They select a propagation method which is appropriate for the plant and keep a laboratory journal of the treatment and progress of the new plant.

Ninth graders study the effects of soil and rocks on filtering groundwater.  In this groundwater lesson students complete a lab activity that includes sources of contamination. 

Developing a rich vocabulary is an important task for learners from elementary school through high school. This vocabulary review has students use high-level vocabulary in context. There are 10 questions.

As part of a study of food chains and food webs, class members complete a series of worksheets that trace a marine chain from producers to consumers or decomposers. After studying a food chain example, young marine biologists make up...

Learners write from an animal's perspective. In this writing lesson plan students explore the landscape of San Francisco prior to the arrival of the explorers. Learners research animals indigenous to the area.

How does technology affect a community? Research the benefits and consequences of technology in rural Peru. In this technology instructional activity, learners discuss how the effects of technology. They view a PowerPoint and learn about...

Here is a one-hour activity that helps learners remember the parts of plants. Not only will the class learn about plant parts, they'll also discuss seed dispersal and plant growth. A celery experiment is used to show how plants obtain...

You know you taught it, but did they learn it!?! A quick formative assessment asks pupils to describe both photosynthesis and cellular respiration before showing how they relate to each other. The lesson marks the 20th lesson in a...

Beginning botanists view slides of plant vascular tissue. They watch Magic School Bus Gets Planted, which you can find online, and then write a summary of what they have learned about plants. This lesson could be used with upper...

Provide your class with the opportunity to view our carbon cycle close up. Young scientists research the cycle of oxygen as it completes the tasks of photosynthesis and respiration. They explore the importance of carbon in an ecosystem...