Curated OER
A Horse of a Different Color
Elementary schoolers explore the wide variety of horse coat colors and reproduce an existing color as well a create their own horse coat color. There are two fine worksheets embedded in this plan that learners use to crete these coat...
abcteach
The Lorax Word Puzzles
Supplement your lessons on The Lorax with four related word exercises. Pupils alphabetize, unscramble, choose the correct spelling of, and complete words related to the story.
California Academy of Science
Plants: Hanging Tough
Learning about the rainforest can be more fun than you think. The class discusses vocabulary-in-context as they cut cardboard boxes, destined to become part of a rainforest model. Small groups of children color, cut, and construct...
Curated OER
Transportation Fuels: The Future is Today
Assign each group of 3-4 upper elementary engineers to a different type of transportation fuel. A background information page is provided to get them started with researching their assigned fuel. Each group then produces an exhibit...
Curated OER
Survival Still
Lead your class to construct a solar still on campus to demonstrate how water can be extracted from the soil. The power of solar energy is emphasized, as is the concept of how capillary water can be recovered and purified by using a...
Curated OER
Sour and Bitter: Acids and Bases
Tenth graders distinguish between acids and bases. In this pH lesson plan, 10th graders view a PowerPoint and discuss the characteristics of an acid and a base. They investigate natural substances to determine the pH level of each.
California Academy of Science
A Day inthe Life of a San Francisco Native Animal
Although the lesson plan 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...
National Security Agency
Classifying Triangles
Building on young mathematicians' prior knowledge of three-sided shapes, this lesson series explores the defining characteristics of different types of triangles. Starting with a shared reading of the children's book The Greedy...
Virginia Department of Education
Mystery Anions
Lost an electron? You should keep an ion them. Young chemists learn qualitative analysis in the second lesson of an 11-part chemistry series. After observing reactions of simple salts, the teacher provides pupils with unknown...
Virginia Department of Education
Adaptation and Evolution
Um may be the atomic symbol for confusion, but it won't be needed in this lesson. Scholars rotate through seven stations completing experiments, hands-on activities, writing exercises, and analysis. Stations include material on...
Virginia Department of Education
Laboratory Safety and Skills
Avoiding lab safety rules will not give you super powers. The instructional activity opens with a demonstration of not following safety rules. Then, young chemists practice their lab safety while finding the mass of each item in a...
Center for Learning in Action
Introducing Physical and Chemical Changes
Young scientists investigate chemical and physical changes to the states of matter—gas, liquid, and solid—as well as solutions and suspensions with a variety of demonstrations, grand conversation, and an interactive quiz to check for...
Curated OER
The Environment
Students explore the issues that influence our environment and research ways to decrease the negative impact that humans have on the environment. Misconceptions about environmental issues are addressed in this instructional activity.
Curated OER
Water Pollution
Here is a fine lesson for fifth graders that will give them an idea of the variety of impacts that human-introduced pollutants have on the environment. After an initial class discussion and teacher-led demonstration, pupils brainstorm...
Curated OER
Barrels and Buckets: Access to Water - What Would It Be Like to Live in Africa?
Students compare water access in the United States with that of Africa. In this water access lesson, students located Ghana and Kenya on a globe before reading Peace Corps Volunteer accounts of the difficulty of accessing clean water....
Curated OER
Bringing Water to a Village in Lesotho
Learners research water in Lesotho. For this water lesson, students watch videos showing how water comes to Lesotho Africa, they will compare this to how water is acquired in the US. Learners will then create a mobile showing the...
Curated OER
Pollution and Lung Health
Students investigate how pollution affects lung health. In this pollution and lung health lesson, students build lung models from a soda bottle and balloons, and then discuss how the emissions from fossil fuels can adversely affect lung...
Curated OER
Investigating Our Past: Where Did Humans Come From?
Investigate the theories of human evolution. In this research based lesson plan, learners research and discuss how geographic isolation, interbreeding, generalization, and specialization are factors in the history of humans. Groups work...
Curated OER
Creating Climographs
Students use satellite data to compare precipitation and surface temperatures on different islands. In this satellite lesson plan students create graphs and explain the differences between weather and climate.
Annenberg Foundation
Geometry 3D Shapes: Surface Area and Volume
Whether you wrap it or fill it, you're using geometric concepts. Classmates use an interactive approach to learn how to find volume and surface area of cylinders and prisms in the second lesson in a five-part series. The online lesson...
Curated OER
Tomato Exploration
Create tomatoes in 15-20 minutes using this fun and interactive lesson plan! Learners listen to a book about tomatoes (recommendations listed), and focus on the vocabulary word tomato. They count the syllables...
Polar Trec
Why Can’t I Eat This Fish?
Can turning on the television lead to toxins in the food supply? The lesson offers an opportunity for young scientists to complete guided research. A worksheet lists each question as well as the web page necessary to answer the question....
Curated OER
Am I Taller than an Antelope
Students investigate biology by examining body sizes of different animals. In this antelope measurement activity, students research the physicality of Antelopes and other large animals that inhabit Earth. Students create a model Antelope...
Curated OER
Plotting Earthquakes
Students plot earthquakes on a map. In this lesson on earthquakes, students will explore recent earthquake activity in California and Nevada. Students will plot fault lines and earthquake occurrences on a map.