Alabama Learning Exchange
What Color Are The Leaves?
Young scholars identify the colors in leaves. In this chromatography lesson, students read the book Why Do Leaves Change Color? and construct chromatography strips to identify the colors of leaves.
Curated OER
Look At Those Leaves!
Students explore botany by researching plants in class. In this tree identification lesson plan, students examine a group of leaves and list the different characteristics before guessing what types of trees they came from. Students read...
Curated OER
Let's Create an Ecosystem
Seventh graders discover how an ecosystem works by creating one in class. In this Earth science lesson plan, 7th graders study vocabulary terms associated with ecosystem and read environment handouts. Students create an...
Curated OER
Astronomy
Students explore space science by utilizing education software. In this moon cycles instructional activity, students discuss the importance of the moon and the different phases we observe from earth. Students demonstrate the earth's...
Curated OER
Season's Readings
Learners use descriptive language to write riddles on their favorite seasonal subjects; they illustrate the "answers" to their riddles using the medium of their choice and compile both riddles and illustrations to create a book.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Population Dynamics
Will human population growth always be exponential, or will we find a limiting factor we can't avoid? Young scientists learn about both exponential and logistic growth models in various animal populations. They use case studies to...
Curated OER
Habitat Basics
First graders get out and explore two different habitats to examine how each one meets the needs of the plants and animals that dwell there. They discuss what they've learned about animal habitats as they explore the outdoor environment....
Polar Trec
What Can We Learn from Sediments?
Varve: a deposit of cyclical sediments that help scientists determine historical climates. Individuals analyze the topography of a region and then study varve datasets from the same area. Using this information, they determine the...
Curated OER
My Angle on Cooling
Students explore how the angle and distance of an object can change it's temperature. After reviewing how the position of the Earth affects the temperature of the planet, student groups design and perform an experiment to test how...
Curated OER
Differences Between Ground and Air Temperatures
Students examine the differences between air temperature and ground temperature. In this investigative lesson plan students find NASA data on the Internet and use it to create a graph.
Curated OER
Hawk in Flight
Students use information gathered by satellites to explore the migration of the Swainson's hawk from the western border of Minnesota to the southern portion of South America.
University of California
Plankton
Plankton: so much more than just a SpongeBob character. Three different activities have kids looking at both phytoplankton and zooplankton in pictures, as well as collecting their own samples (depending on your access to a saltwater...
Curated OER
Watching Apples Grow
Students examine the importance of each season to the life cycle of an apple tree. In small groups, they create a four-season display illustrating the life cycle of an apple tree along with a written description of each season.
Curated OER
Natural Inquirer
Students interview wildlife experts to gain information needed to research and write a report about an aquatic plant or animal affected by climate change.
Curated OER
Biomes: Extreme Climate
Middle schoolers discuss the causes of global warming. In this earth science lesson, students examine how global warming is connected to the arctic and world climate. They write a paragraph about their interconnection.
Curated OER
Weather Characteristics
Students identify characteristics of weather and seasons, describe the current weather, identify the current season, and locate the current temperature at www.weatherchannel.com. They also depict the current forecast using Math Keys...
Curated OER
Measuring Shadows
Students determine the pattern (length and direction) of shadows cast by sunlight during several month period, and develop interpretation of daily and seasonal patterns and variations observed.
Curated OER
Catching Some Rays
Sixth graders explore the tilt of Earth's axis. In this Earth lesson, 6th graders read a Greek mythology story explaining why there are seasons. Students build a sun-ray gathering tool from styrofoam, glue, thermometers, skewers, and...
Curated OER
Weather
Students explore the weather and how it affects different seasons and activities. In this weather lesson plan, students discuss how the weather differs in each season, interview an Elder about how weather effects their activities, and...
Curated OER
Fall Trees
Pupils create fall trees using brown paper, tissue paper, background colors, glue, markers and crayons in this Art and Science lesson about the changing of seasons. Emphasis is placed upon learning about the Fall season and creating art...
Curated OER
Investigating the Dynamic Martian Polar Caps
Students download NASA Hubble Space Telescope images of the Martian polar ice caps in summer and winter, and measure and compare various images of the changing Martian and Earth polar ice caps.
Curated OER
My Place In Space
The purpose of this unit is for students to make the rich set of connections between astronomy and the rest of science and technology, language arts, cultural studies (social studies), math, art, and music.
Curated OER
Phases of the Moon: Cooperative Learning
Third graders examine the phases of the moon. In this moon phase lesson, 3rd graders listen to a read aloud of The Moon Seems to Change by Franklyn M. Branley and discuss the phases of the moon. They complete a moon phase calendar and...
Curated OER
Earth's Revolution and Rotation
Eighth graders investigate the regular motions of the sun, Earth and the moon and explain how these are related to days, years, seasons, eclipses, tides and moon cycles. They participate in an exercise where they explore the...