Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Environmental Conditions: Friend or Foe

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students research and answer questions on how organisms are classified and how their needs are met through their environment. They work in small groups and create a poster, chart, rap, PowerPoint, or brochure demonstrating how organisms...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creature Features

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students examine why certain animals live in only specific places throughout the world. Using animals, they classify them based on their characteristics and identify their basic needs. They also observe and compare the life cycles of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Incredible Seeds

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders are given a group of seeds and put in small groups. They classify their seeds based on their observations with 90% accuracy. Students draw a picture of each seed showing at least 2 characteristics of each. They write 1...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Salad Party

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students bring different plant parts in order to make one big salad. They observe each part and classify it.
Lesson Plan
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Marshland Ecosystem

For Teachers K - 12th
Students classify animals based on their physical characteristics and eating habits.  In this animal identification lesson plan, students investigate the life forms shown on a Parisian ceramic basin, and discover ecosystem the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plant Classfications

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders observe and discuss as a class the different types of vascular plants. They examine the different parts of the plant and some of the processes occurring in plants with activities accompanying.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Limu Diversity

For Teachers 4th - 6th
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.
Lesson Plan
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Classification 2: A Touch of Class

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners examine how many kinds of living things (e.g. plants and animals) can be sorted into groups in many ways using various features to decide which things belong to which group and that classification schemes vary with purpose.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sorting and Using Materials

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students practice sorting and classifying objects. In groups, they choose a variety of materials and describe how each one looks and feels. They must agree on how to classify each object and share their groupings with the class. They...
Lesson Plan
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Animal Diversity

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students examine plants and animals for their similarties and differences. They are read stories and note how the animals in the stories do not have the qualities that real animals have. They complete a worksheet to end the lesson.
Lesson Plan
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Is There A Fungus Among Us?

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders classify fungus into two different groups. In this fungus lesson, 6th graders collect as many pieces of fungus as possible. Students then classify these pieces of fungus as saprophytic or parasitic. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Animal Diversity

For Teachers K - 2nd
Young scholars explore biology by completing science worksheets in class. In this animal anatomy instructional activity, students read the book The Adventures of Marco and Polo and identify the animals mentioned in it. Young scholars...
Lesson Plan
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Ocean Creature Classification

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars develop their own system for classifying a group of objects or organisms using observed similarities and differences. They investigate the process of scientific classification, and explain how marine organisms are...
Lesson Plan
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School Site Ecosystem

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders are introduced to the concept of ecosystem; specifically, the interrelationships among plants and animals within an ecosystem, and their relationships to the environment in which they live and interact.
Lesson Plan
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Dichotomous Keys

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders practice using dichotomous keys. They discover why scientists use them and why it is important to classify animals. They use candy to practice classifying objects and move on to classifying animals.
Lesson Plan
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From McGee's Farm to the Movies

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students participate in several plant-themed activities. They keep a food log, identify any plants they have eaten and then classify these foods by the part of the plant that is edible. Students sing songs about plants, make collages,...
Lesson Plan
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Trees of our Forests

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars use a field guide in order to identify trees. In this trees lesson plan, students classify the trees that they identify based on their relationships. Young scholars take a trip outdoors to look at trees.
Lesson Plan
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It's Alive

For Teachers 1st
First graders critically analyze living and nonliving objects, then develop a list of characteristics to classify objects on a science walk. They make a book to close out the lesson.
Lesson Plan
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Learning About Classification

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the three main organismal divisions. Students classify organisms by invertebrates, vertebrates, and plants. They observe the differences and similarities between these groups.
Lesson Plan
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For Creative Minds

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students study pictures of plants, animals, and minerals. Students classify the pictures into the three groups. In this rock identification lesson, students complete a rock finding lab experiment by finding, cleaning, identifying, and...
Lesson Plan
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Using Sterile Techniques as a Tool in Studying Plant Diseases

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders examine the concept of sterile techniques. They realize that plant diseases can be identified and classified in various way. Students identify some of the diseases that attack the garden plants.
Lesson Plan
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Living and Non-Living

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders are divided into small groups and collect 4 objects from the playground. They take 5 to 10 minutes to classify their groups and discuss their findings including the terms "living" and "non-living". As a class they discuss...
Lesson Plan
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Forest Friends Forever

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students investigate how to use the senses to gather information about objects such as size, shape, color, texture, sound, position, and change (qualitative observations are utilized throughout this lesson). They investigate and explain...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Flipbook Succession

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students review succession charts for their native area before going to an outside site to view the changes. At the site, they follow the transect line and observe the changes in the plant life. They draw the changes on note cards that...