Curated OER
Sunflowers (Grades 3-8)
Students examine sunflowers and discuss the importance of sunflower cooking oil and seeds. They view pictures, read books, sing sunflower songs, and grow flowers from sunflower seeds.
Curated OER
Exploring Limu Diversity
Students explore limu diversity. In this ocean ecosystem lesson, students classify limu according to its physical properties. Students work in small groups to generate scientific observations and sort limu by characteristics.
Curated OER
Solve the Case!
Learners discover the habits of panthers by solving fictitious crime mysteries. In this animal life lesson, students utilize their research from previous lessons to solve mysteries in a panther activity. Learners answer...
Curated OER
Look At Those Leaves!
Students explore botany by researching plants in class. In this tree identification lesson, students examine a group of leaves and list the different characteristics before guessing what types of trees they came from. Students read about...
Curated OER
Painted Balsa-Foam Butterfly
Students research a butterfly and create butterfly art. For this visual arts lesson, students choose a specific butterfly to research and create a Balsa-Foam butterfly of the same species. Students use Balsa-Foam, modeling tools, and...
Curated OER
Sustainable Southern Belize: Coral Health Lesson Plan
Fifth graders investigate coral reefs and the dangers they face by labeling and drawing. In this oceanography lesson, 5th graders view a PowerPoint presentation of photographs of coral reefs in Belize. Students investigate...
Curated OER
The Formation and Value of Temperate Grasslands
Students study the Temperate Grasslands biome of North America. They explain that it is an endangered ecosystem because the rich soils have been converted to farming in most areas. They view videos imbedded in this plan, then complete...
Curated OER
In the Company of Wild Butterflies
Students discover the life cycle of a butterfly and explain the different stages. In this exploratory lesson students watch a video and create insect art and they will get an opportunity to view live specimens of butterflies.
Curated OER
Air Pollution
Students seek solutions to environmental problems. They discover how to conserve and protect natural resources. They examine the role of acid rain on plants and discover how to filter pollutants.
Curated OER
Teaching Biology Through Problem-based Activities
Young scholars plant seeds and observe the life cycle of the organism. They experimentally research the effects of radiation on seed growth. Students determine the effects of environmental pollutants on harvested seed.
Curated OER
It's Okay to Exhale: Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration
Students will observe the differences between photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Then they observe the links due to climate changes and relate how climate change affects their lives.
Curated OER
The Great Plant Escape-Plant Parts
In this plant parts learning exercise, learners use provided links to compete questions about plant and their parts. Suggestions and links for additional resources are given.
Curated OER
Going on a Seed Safari
Young scholars describe biology by identifying different plants in class. In this seed lesson, students discuss the process of how a plant grows from seed to leaves. Young scholars attend a field trip to their garden or another park and...
Curated OER
A Seed Dispersal Investigation
Young scholars investigate the function and purpose of seed dispersal. In this garden lesson, students examine the importance of wind in the plant cycle. Young scholars construct a flying seed model from an attached design and discuss if...
Curated OER
Dangerous Air
Students investigate how pollution is a global issue. They locate the countries affected by radiation from Chernobyl, sequence the progress of radiation transport from Chernobyl and plot the pollution points on a world map, and read and...
Curated OER
Defining Drought
Students examine the hydrologic impacts of drought. Humans can change the course of the water cycle, to some extent, to meet their needs, but can they do so without imposing risks on the plants and animals?
Curated OER
How Do We Know These Beetles Are Safe to Use?
Students evaluate the impact beetles have on plants. In groups, they select plants to expose to leaf-feeding beetles and place those beetles on the caged plants. They observe the beetles and discuss the insect and plant interaction...
Curated OER
Graphing the Population Explosion of Weeds
Students are introduced to the seed cycle and draw the specific steps. In groups, they identify the human barriers to the spreading of weeds. After calculating the rate of spreading of the Yellowstar Thistle, they create graphs to see a...
Curated OER
Beetle Rearing
Students investigate plants and the effects beetles have on the plants. In small groups, they collect plants and observe the beetles as they interact with the plants. They record the conditions including temperature, cloudiness, length...
Curated OER
We All Live Together
First graders examine the lifestyle of classroom and family pets in their natural habitat. They determine the needs of plants and animals, and how those needs are met. They listen to read alouds, sing songs, and draw using computer based...
Curated OER
How 'bout them bones!
After a lesson on the human skeleton, hand out a worksheet that requires learners to identify the pelvis, rib cage, skill, spine, and thigh bones. They draw a line from the name of the bone to its location on the skeleton. Tip: Instead...
Curated OER
Casual Patterns in Ecosystems
Ecology explorers or beginning biologists view a time-lapse film of decaying strawberries. They discuss how decomposition occurs and what factors might affect the rate of decay. Alone, the lesson plan is lacking engaging attributes....
Curated OER
Dinosaurs
Students are introduced to the various types of dinosaurs and write in their journals about their favorite one. After listening to a story and watching a filmstrip, they color a few pages in their Dinosaur Friends Book. They also examine...
Curated OER
Renewable vs. Non-Renewable Resources
Here's a fine instructional activity on renewable and non-renewable sources of energy for your 5th graders. In it, learners list a number of natural resources on the board, then try to sort the resources into appropriate categories. This...