Students prune a tree.  In this gardening lesson, students select a shrub or tree that has a lot of flower buds and use sharp pruners to cut sections of branches.  Students place the cuttings into cool water and move into a...

Young scholars graph and analyze scientific data.  For this research lesson students use the Internet to obtain data then draw conclusions about what they found. 

Starting with questions about the tilt of the Earth and apparent motion of the sun, a worksheet provides instructions on how to figure the paths of the Sun on certain dates. Learners answer three more questions, complete with...

Explore expository writing and using precise language in this descriptive paragraph writing lesson. Learners brainstorm prior knowledge about the changing seasons in Ohio. They describe seasonal items, view seasonal pictures from...

A large data table is given to your elementary earth scientists in which they record observations that they make while viewing pictures of Alaskan glaciers. They compare and contrast recent photos with older photos. Hold a discussion...

All of the types and categories of common trees and shrubs are included in this guide to types, tools, and results of pruning.  Ways to increase  budding, or to thin-out foliage are described. The summaries are complete, but...

The Alaskan wilderness contains every imaginable element of the water cycle: it has flowing streams, cool spring rain, and frozen glaciers. Pupils use a series of worksheets to identify and define evaporation, condensation, and...

Buoys around our coastlines are equipped with sensory devices which monitor temperature, salinity, and water pressure. Emerging earth scientists examine some of this data and relate salinity to the electrical conductivity of the surface...

Now that your class knows about the life cycle of a butterfly, it's time to discuss how an adult butterfly survives in the wild. The class diagrams and labels the parts of a butterfly, discusses how butterflies survive, and then make a...

Although the lesson is specifically about the San Francisco Bay area, it's good enough to be adapted to any local region. Children research what the landscape in San Francisco was like prior to settlement, they consider the types of...

Winter in the cold Northwoods of Wisconsin can be hard on animals that aren't adapted to the climate. Investigate the animals that are out and about even in the coldest winter temperatures as you and your class examine animal...

How much do you know about the black guillemot of the Arctic region? With great background information, images, and a quick discussion, the class will learn all about the plight of the foraging seabird as they play a fun game. First,...

Assess your young scientists' understanding of the difference between observation and inference with this 20-question multiple choice quiz. It reviews a variety of physics and astronomy concepts, such as solar eclipses and sunspots, the...

What's the term for clouds that look like fluffy cotton balls? What about thick, gray clouds? Learn the names and descriptions for each type of cloud with a worksheet and activity. Learners read four columns of high-level, mid-level,...

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...

If the Greenland ice sheet melted, sea levels would rise by about 20 ft; if the Antarctic ice sheet melted, sea levels would rise by 200 ft. Scholars explore ice melting through the analysis of different ice samples, clean and dirty ice....

Study all things weather with a packet of weather vocabulary activities. The 12-page packet includes three crosswords varying in difficulty, a mixed letter sort, a sentence sort, weather word search, and fill-in-the-blank sentences with...

Match weather words with pictures in a weather vocabulary worksheet. Beginning readers look at pictures of various weather patterns and choose/write the word that describes the weather. They create a map and write about the weather...

It's hot today, but is that the weather or the climate? This colorful presentation isolates both concepts to allow for better understanding by covering the positioning of the planet, making comparisons of land versus water, and looking...

Step aside, fancy glasses... it's time to create a solar eclipse viewing camera of your own using nothing more than a milk carton. 

Without wind, the weather man wouldn't have much to talk about! Blow away your junior meteorologists with a creative demonstration of how wind works. The activity uses an empty soda bottle and compressible Styrofoam peanuts to illustrate...

Condensing water warms the air around it. Young scholars consider this concept as they experiment with air temperature around evaporating and condensing water vapor. They simulate the formation of clouds to experience the associated...

The ocean is a series of ecosystems within an ecosystem. Learners dive into an exploration of ecosystems in an interactive lesson. They identify connections between organisms by following leading prompts within the lesson. The resource...

Make connections between ocean organisms. Individuals explore three different ecosystems in the ocean. With an online interactive, they learn how different organisms depend upon each other. Learners first answer questions to connect...