National Park Service
Reduce Our Carbon Footprint, Let’s Compost!
Roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty with this elementary and middle school compost lesson plan. All you need is a large plastic container, a couple old newspapers, some organic waste, and a few hundred worms and you're ready...
Curated OER
Little Auk Survival Challenge
A bird's life is one of danger and intrigue as it struggles for survival in sometimes harsh environments. To understand how difficult surviving in the wild can be, children play a simulation game where they act as little auks, birds from...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Plant Phenology Data Analysis
Scientists monitor seasonal changes in plants to better understand their responses to climate change, in turn allowing them to make predictions regarding the future. The last activity in the series of six has scholars analyze BudBurst...
Science Matters
Excretory System
Not a waste of time or energy! Introduce young scholars to one of the waste eliminating systems of the body in a hands-on lesson exploration. The 14th lesson in a 21-part series asks groups to build models of the excretory system...
Water
Global Water Supply High School Curriculum
Some areas of the world take water for granted while others are in crisis. So what to do? Learners consider the water crisis situation in several countries. They compare and contrast each location and the causes and effects of the water...
Curated OER
Where are the Dinosaurs?
Students construct their own diorama based on the life of a dinosaur. In this dinosaur lesson, students create models of dinosaurs and dinosaurs' eggs to explore the life cycle of this extinct species.
Curated OER
The Sky is Falling!!
First graders complete a variety of activities about fall. They study a plant's life cycle and what happens to plants in the fall. They make leaf rubbings and discuss seed dispersal. They write a creative story about a seed and visit a...
Curated OER
Structure and Function of Bulbs, Corms and Rhizomes
Middle schoolers explore the concept of philanthropy and why people give. They investigate the importance of the tulip to Holland and the tradition of giving flowers away. They begin to explore the life cycle of tulips and dissect a bulb...
Curated OER
Under the Spell of Spiders!
Students read about spider body parts, abilities, tendencies, and life cycles. In this Under the Spell of Spiders! lesson, students create mystery creatures that turn out to be spiders. Students catch and observe spiders and insects....
Curated OER
Inside the Egg, Hatching Chickens
Students explore how an egg becomes fertilized. In this biology lesson, students "candle" a variety of eggs in order to determine which ones have been fertilized and which ones haven't. Student use paper plates to create a graphic on the...
Curated OER
X-ray Spectroscopy and the Chemistry of Supernova Remnants
This link takes you to a comprehensive unit that delves into emission spectra and supernovas. There are four parts: How and where elements are created, electromagnetic radiation, spectroscopy, and the newest technology for studying our...
Curated OER
Regents High School Examination: Living Environment 2009
Emerging ecologists need a full understanding of life, from the inner workings of a cell to the complex relationships among organisms. This examination is meant to assess high schoolers after an entire year course on the living...
Curated OER
Water Cycle Column
Students use common materials to construct a working model of the water cycle. They then observe and explain evaporation, condensation, precipitation and percolation as aspects of a continuing cycle. Students also complete worksheets and...
Curated OER
Build A Model of the Water Cycle
Learners identify and describe the steps in the water cycle. They discover the sun as the source of the cycle. They work together to create their own water cycle model.
Curated OER
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. Explore its origins, organisms, and contributing rivers with this PowerPoint. It opens with several slides of general information on the formation of estuaries, then it...
Curated OER
Seed Structure and Seed Dispersal
Third graders plant seeds. In this seed structure lesson, 3rd graders identify parts of a seed and plant a lima bean seed. Students discuss and reflect on the process in their journals.
Curated OER
What is an Animal?
For this animal worksheet, students review characteristics of animals including body symmetry, development, and skeletal structure. This worksheet has 3 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Science: What Is the Carbon Cycle?
Students examine the carbon cycle while identifying its sources, sinks, and release agents. Using magazines and newspapers, groups of students design collages illustrating the carbon cycle. Finally, they write responses to several...
Curated OER
Caterpillar to Butterfly
In this life cycle instructional activity, students will color and cut out five pictures of the butterfly life cycle and glue them in the proper sequence.
Curated OER
Control of the Cell Cycle
For this cell cycle worksheet, students will study genetic factors and environmental factors that affect the cell cycle. Students will use this idea map to complete 4 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Butterflies!
In this butterfly cut-out worksheet, students cut out circles that contain the four stages of a butterfly's life and glue them on the wings of the butterfly on the worksheet. Students are instructed to look at a butterfly's life stages...
Curated OER
Wild for Watermelon
In this multiple skills worksheet, young scholars identify long and short vowel sounds in words and sequence the life cycle of a watermelon. Students write 14 answers.
Curated OER
Coqui Frog Populations
Students research Coqui frogs. Students explore the life cycle of coqui frogs and discover how these frogs have become an invasive species in Hawaii.
Curated OER
WET Science Lesson #11: How Light Affects Water
Scientists listen to the story of Wadja Egnankou who works to save African mangrove forests. They experiment with refraction and the introduction of particulate matter to water. They conclude with creative writing about the need for a...