Curated OER
Prairie Find Outdoors
Learners 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...
Curated OER
Village Research
Sixth graders research global warming. In this science lesson, 6th graders collect data in the Waterton Townsite, Apgar Village and St. Mary area. Students interpret the data and form a hypothesis about global warming.
Curated OER
Everything Weather
Hurricanes are the very definition of exciting weather. Your 5th graders can follow this instructional activity and explore hurricanes with the help of Everything Weather software. They will locate information and answer questions about...
Curated OER
Seaside Science
Pupils classify sea life and shells and develop computer-generated tables and graphs. They observe a desalinization demonstration and enter information on their laptops through each step of the scientific experimental process.
Captain Planet Foundation
Rotting Away
What happens at the end of a plant's life cycle? Show kids the natural way that plants show that they're decomposing, as well as the importance of compost, with a lesson about living organisms. After reading Log Cabin by Anne Schreiber,...
Nature Works Everywhere
Recording the Rainforest
Animals have evolved to communicate in different frequencies so they can hear each other throughout the rainforest. The first lesson in a three-part series begins by exploring an interactive story map online about the Borneo rainforest....
Curated OER
Comparing Deciduous and Evergreen Trees
Students investigate nature by identifying different plants and trees. For this environmental field trip, students participate in a British Columbia expedition in which they identify cedar, pine, hemlock and Douglas fir trees. Students...
Curated OER
Forest Ecosystem
Learners take a field trip and explore a temperate rainforest. In this rainforest lesson plan, students discuss many items they see on their journey and experiment with different tree leaves.
Curated OER
A Trip Around the World
Students role play the role of a travel agent. In groups, they must plan a trip around the world making stops in a different biome. They use the internet to discover the characteristics of each biome and create a travel brochure for...
Curated OER
Aquarium Acrobats
Students create a realistic underwater diorama as a follow-up activity to a field trip to an aquarium. They research and discuss sea creatures and plants that contribute to aquarium life, then create a diorama using research information...
Curated OER
The Pumpkin Patch - A Venture in Agritourism
After reading an article about how agritourism is helping boost the financial stability of local farms, middle schoolers answer comprehension questions. This is a case-study of Canadian pumpkin producers. It could be useful as a...
Curated OER
Archaeology 101
Let's go on an archaeological dig! Here is a lesson that allows your young scientists to do just that! You fill up an empty water table or tray with sand, and bury miscellaneous objects. Pupils use spoons, sifters, and brushes to find...
Curated OER
An Interactive Journey to an Aquarium
Students go on a field trip to an aquarium and create an iMovie project and/or an iPhoto photo book about their day. When students get to the aquarium, they go on the scavenger hunt to identify animals and answer one question about each...
Curated OER
Seashore Explorers
There are three separate lessons within this resource that can be used together, or that can each stand alone. In the first, five simple activities allow junior scientists to examine the amazing properties of water. In the second, they...
Curated OER
Marine Habitats of Galveston Island
Four lessons introduce elementary ecologists to salt marsh and sandy beach habitats. In the first activity, they place shells and other materials in vinegar to determine if they contain calcium carbonate. In the second activity, they...
Curated OER
Creepy Crawlers
Students study insects and spiders, and answer questions about the insects they have studied. They complete an insect word search, praying mantis color sheet, and spider and insect Venn diagram. They finish up with a trip to the local...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Impacts of Climate on Forest Succession
Part two in a series of four explores the effects of climate on succession or the changing of plant species in a forest. Groups review how to identify trees and then spend a day in the field collecting extensive data on trees to...
Curated OER
Salt Water Revival
Students produce a high tide. In this Marine Biology activity, students visit a tide pool to investigate the creatures response to changes in the tide. Students discuss the results of their experimentation.
Sea World
Whales
A whale of a lesson is sure to intrigue your elementary oceanographers! Learn about the mammals of the sea with a series of activities about whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Kids complete worksheets about the anatomy of a whale, create a...
NASA
Discovering the Milky Way
What do you call a tiny collection of galaxies? A puny-verse! Young scholars graph data gathered by scientists studying Cepheids. They attempt to identify a relationship between the variables through standard and logarithmical...
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Eyes on Dissolved Oxygen
Learn about the factors that affect the way oxygen dissolves in salt water with a chemistry lab. After studying the molecular structure of water, young scientists figure out how aeration, temperature, and organic waste affect...
Earth Day Network
Forms of Energy
Give me a home where electric buffalo roam and I'll show you an ohm on the range. Introduction your classes to potential and kinetic energy, electricity, and renewable resources with a resource that combines observation, direct...
NASA
The Discovery of Jupiter Radio Waves
Lead your class on a journey to the planet Jupiter and provide them with fun facts in the process. Learners explore radio waves emitted by Jupiter to further understand how this data helps our daily lives. They conclude by discussing...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lego Atoms and Molecules: Chemical Reactions
Show young chemists what a chemical reaction looks like with two parts of a hands-on experiment. First, learners conduct a wet lab where they observe the reactants (baking soda and calcium chloride, with phenolsulfonphthalein)...