Curated OER
Land Use
Learners examine ecosystems that covered Illinois 200 years ago, investigate some living and non-living components of ecosystems, identify components of prairie system, create food webs, and observe human effects on environment. Lessons...
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Snow vs. Water
Pupils fill three cups with snow. They record the height of snow in each cup, and allow the snow to melt. Students measure the height of the water in each glass or cup, and record their results on the worksheet. They answer questions on...
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What Do You Do With A Butterfly Garden?
Fifth graders build a butterfly garden and perform caretaker duties. They volunteer to perform authentic tasks related to their personal interests. Students research butterfly gardens to determine what plants are necessary for the...
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Outdoor Explorations: Mystery Plot Vacant Lot
Students utilize observations skills as they work together in groups to solve a mystery. They discuss and perform strategies to solve mysteries that occurred on a vacant lot. Students use a field guide to identify plants and animals...
California Academy of Science
Carbon Cycle Role Play
Anytime you make concepts clear with role playing or hands-on experience, it's a win for the whole class. Ping-Pong balls are used to represent carbon in a carbon cycle role-play activity. In small groups, children first discuss what...
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Visual Vocabulary
Students interpret and name the vocabulary termed acted out by the mime. In this science/language arts/physical education instructional activity, students are given a set of vocabulary terms to discuss within their group. Next, students...
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Life on Mars
Young scholars research the feasibility of life on Mars and debate what it would need in order to sustain life. They work in teams to predict, research, infer, and explain their theory using models they build.
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Nature Art
In this nature art lesson, students take a nature walk and collect items with different sizes, textures and colors. Students use the items they collect to make a collage.
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Shoes and the Backyard Landscape
Your shoes get a lot of mileage in familiar places. Represent the places you have traveled the most with an art project based on a print of Indian People Wear Shoes and Socks by Juane Quick-to-See Smith. Kids trace their shoes and...
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Food Chain
Fourth graders explore the concept of food chains. In this food chain lesson, 4th graders discuss what different animals eat and how they are all connected. Students explore a garden and the environment around them to find examples of a...
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Fun With Food Chains
Students explore our ecosystem by researching animal eating habits. In this food chain lesson, students identify the links between predator and prey and the energy that passes between organisms based on what their diet consists of....
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Eco-Logical: A Coastal Logic Problem
Fourth graders study the characteristics of five coastal communities. They use logic cards and matching activities to identify the proper community for plant and animal species.
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Can You See It, Touch It, Hear It?
Students develop and practice observational skills through lab activity.
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Elodea Lab
Students observe the changes between elodea leaves placed in darkness and light. In this life science lesson, students experiment to find evidence of photosynthesis in elodea leaves. Students use indicators to detect the presences...
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Plot Studies
Third graders are introduced to how to properly read a plot map. As a class, they take a field trip to an area surrounding the school and work together in groups to examine small sections of the different environments. To end the...
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Decomposing Artifacts
Seventh graders participate in an experiment in which they calculate the time of decomposition of different materials. In groups, they fill bags with different materials and cover them in soil. After six months, they create a line graph...
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Using the Scientific Method to Determine Which Conditions Best Favor Plant Growth
Seventh graders examine how the environment can affect biological processes. They identify the best conditions for the germination of bean seeds. They record and analyze their data. They write about their observations in an essay.
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Wacky Weed Parts
Students view picture of weed and identify roots, stems, flowers, leaves, and seeds, describe function of each different weed part, and discuss how different parts of weed work together to benefit plant in its new environment.
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The Web of Life
Students explore the interconnectedness of living things in an ecosystem. They use pictures and arrows to develop a food web, and participate in constructing a class food web with students representing various parts of the web.
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Prairie Find Outdoors
Students take a field trip to a local prairie. Using identification books, they identify various forbs and grasses in the prairie. As a class, they discuss the importance of forbs and grasses to the ecosystem and review the various types...
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Producers and Consumers
Students make lists of producers and consumers and act as consumers that eat producers in a garden. In this producers and consumers lesson plan, students demonstrate a food chain by using a piece of yarn to connect all of them together.
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Tree Identification/Tree Art
Seventh graders identify and examine a deciduous and coniferous tree. Using the descriptions, they discover the types of tress in their local area. As a class, they practice identifying trees on a walk in a park collecting leaves. They...
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Bugs, Bugs, Everywhere!
Students collect and compare bugs using magnifying lenses and graph data based on their comparisons. In this bugs lesson plan, students also make an aspirator by using a jar, tubing, and screen.
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The Big Circle
Students explore geography by participating in a mapping activity. In this concentric ring instructional activity, students utilize a poster board, string and markers to identify their current location within the entire world. Students...