Curated OER
Plants of the Past
Fourth graders explore ecosystems by examining plants of the past. They discuss ways in which we interact with plants in our daily lives. Students discuss the role plants play in providing food for animals and the significance they had...
Curated OER
A Wild Chain Reaction
Students explore habitats. In this habitat lesson, students break into groups and are labeled as a part of a habitat. Students then do an activity with yarn that shows how all of the parts are connected and depend on each other....
Curated OER
What does 'Endangered' mean?
Students discuss a variety of teacher led discussion questions about what makes an animal endangered. They take a short field trip to an open area and set a boundary for each child for them to either write or draw about how the location...
Curated OER
The Sugar Snap Pea Experiment
Young scholars examine types of plant structure. In this plant biology instructional activity, students observe various types of plants, such as ivy and grapes, and discuss the differences in structure. Additionally, young scholars plant...
ARKive
Temperate Rainforest in the Pacific Northwest
Explore the amazing temperate rainforest of the Pacific Northwest. Your class starts by investigating the animals and plants of the Northwest, specifically Washington, and then research an animal population common to the area. In small...
Beyond Benign
SLS Toxicology Test
Ingredients in your shampoo are toxic enough to kill plants. The 16th installment of the series of 24 tests the toxicity level of various concentrations of SLS, a chemical found in nearly all shampoo. Learners prepare percent solutions...
SF Environment
Waste-Less Lunch
Is it possible to have a waste-less lunch? Can your class become leaders in conservation? Discuss the importance of reducing waste during lunch time with a fun instructional activity that can be extended to everyday practices. First the...
Curated OER
What is the Function of Each Seed Part in the Growth of a Plant
Sixth graders investigate the parts of a seed by using a digital camera. In this botany lesson, 6th graders plant their own seeds in class and demonstrate the necessary attributes for growing a plant. Students utilize a camera to...
Curated OER
Flowers to Dye For
Students observe biology by completing a plant experiment in class. In this botany lesson, students discuss the anatomy related to a plant and how roots and stems are necessary to its survival. Students utilize food coloring and examine...
Curated OER
Food Chain: what's for dinner?
Fourth graders identify where foods came from and sequence a food chain. In this food chain lesson plan, 4th graders define vocabulary related to food chains and order a food chain. Students follow the energy of a food chain. Students...
Curated OER
What Would Halloween be Like Without the Ecuadorian Rainforest?
Fourth graders are given a number of typical Halloween treats and work in groups to determine which foods came from the Rainforest (chocolate) and which foods came from temperate regions (apples, popcorn) and treats that don't have...
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies
Missing Pieces of the Puzzle: African Americans in Revolutionary Times
What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and Black...
Curated OER
Survival of the Fittest
Students explore plant needs and growth. In this plant science lesson, students use a cereal box to complete a plant growth graph activity.
Curated OER
Desert Tortoise Tale
Students listen to a reading of the "Desert Tortoise Tale" and complete a maze that highlights the different threats the baby tortoise faces along the way. They discuss the reasons the Desert Tortoise is becoming endangered.
K12 Reader
Competing for Resources
Young biologists examine the concept of scarce resources with a reading comprehension passage. After finishing the paragraphs, learners turn to the questions to demonstrate what they have learned about what is beneficial and what is...
Curated OER
What Are Endangered Species?
Students explore the concepts of endangered and extinct animals. In this animal protection instructional activity, students discuss and define the words endangered, extinct, and habitat. Students share why they think it is important to...
Curated OER
Populations- The Survival of the Fittest
Students examine the ways that populations become diverse and how mutation changes the diversity of a population. In this exploratory lesson plan students study natural selection by completing a lab activity and discussing what they...
Curated OER
The Great Kapok Tree: A Social Studies Lesson
Students examine how plants, animals and people need each other in order to survive. They simulate an ecosystem in a food web and role play certain animals or plants. They answer questions about their simulation to finish the lesson.
Curated OER
Science: Seeds to Plants
First graders compare and contrast different seeds before planting them. They assess the basic needs to plants and conduct experiments of deprivation of those needs. They write stories and draw pictures of plants which are bound into a...
WK Kellogg Biological Station
Sounds of Selection
Do you want a creative and fun way to teach about natural selection? Hop to it by turning your middle school princes and princesses into frogs trying to catch as many bugs as possible in a Hungry Hungry Hippos style game. For high...
Curated OER
Where Are the Dinosaurs?
Young scholars view videos and websites and create finger puppets and hatchable eggs. In this dinosaur instructional activity, students view video clips and a website to introduce the dinosaurs. They do a finger puppet play and create...
Curated OER
Photosynthesis
Students recognize the importance of plants as they perform an experiment involving photosynthesis. Students determine the optimum wavelength of light for photosynthesis by exposing plants to different colors of light, collecting data,...
Curated OER
Bio-What
Students explore the concept of biodiversity. Through activities, they discover the importance of one species upon another. Students examine food webs, discuss animals interdependence upon one another, and brainstorm why biodiversity is...
Curated OER
BATS: NEED NECTAR, WILL TRAVEL
Students play the role of nectar feeding bats on their annual migration
and try to avoid the different hazards that hinder their progress. They describe the annual migration of long-nosed bats including key elements such as: where the...