Berkshire Museum
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle: Sorting Through Personal Choices
Raise children's awareness about the importance of conservation with this hands-on science lesson. Start by breaking the class into groups and having them collect trash from around the school or local park. Students then use the provided...
BioEd Online
Spiders in Space
Does a spider spin its web differently in space? What other ways might microgravity affect an arachnid? Pick a topic to research, plan an investigation, and follow astronauts on the International Space Station as they perform some of the...
Curated OER
Models of the Earth and Moon
Students explore the earth's rotation and phases of the moon. In this planets instructional activity, students rotate and revolve around a light representing the sun. Students use movement and props to simulate what causes the phases of...
Curated OER
Keep it Beautiful
Students explore the meaning of Earth Day. In this environmental stewardship lesson, students research conservation topics and use their digital photography skills to snap shots of people making conservation efforts.
Virginia Department of Education
Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
Curated OER
World Water Day
Celebrate World Water Day on March 22 with activities that increase awareness of water quality around the world.
Core Knowledge Foundation
A Time for All Seasons - Fall
The weather is cooling down and the leaves are starting to change color; fall is right around the corner. Celebrate this special time of year with this earth and life science lesson series that teaches children about the causes of...
Curated OER
The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change
Students analyze the impact of climate variability and change utilizing a broad span of topics over a wide range of grade levels. This three lesson unit is easily adapted for the various instructional levels listed.
Curated OER
Reading and Writing about the Solar System
A superb interdisciplinary approach highlights this lesson plan which incorporates space science knowledge and narrative skills. After reading The Magic School Bus, two excellent poems, and watching a video, all about our solar system,...
Curated OER
Our Intriguing Star, the Sun!
Explore the sun in a lesson plan about space. The lesson spans ten weeks, with students performing activities to answer weekly questions about the Sun and Earth.
K12 Reader
Why Does the Moon Orbit Earth?
Have you ever looked up at the moon and wondered why it looks different every night? Learn about the moon's orbit and the lunar cycle with a reading comprehension exercise. Using context clues, kids find the definitions of unfamiliar...
Curated OER
Space Jeopardy Game
Students explore space. In this space instructional activity, students analyze the sky and what causes its changes. Students describe the moon patterns and use a model to show changes in its shape. Students also describe the first trip...
University of Florida
Protecting Our Water Resources
Teach young environmentalists to protect their planet's resources with a set of interactive experiments. Kindergartners and other youngsters learn about watersheds and the water cycle, while older elementary learners focus on fertilizer...
Curated OER
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Students understand the process of recycling. They investigate how it improves the environment. They read the story "Don't Pollute" by Stan and Jan Berenstein. They analyze trash and sort it into bins.
Curated OER
The Earth around Us: Air, Water & Soil
Students recognize that science is everywhere. In this scientific method lesson plan, students experiment with height and record their experiment using the scientific method. Students must identify each step of the scientific method.
Curated OER
The Earth Around Us: Air, Water & Soil
Students build an air cannon and study air mass. In this air cannon lesson, students create and shoot an air cannon and observe what happens. Students answer critical thinking questions about air mass and air cannons.
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Conservation: Water
Here is a fantastic experiment-based lesson on water conservation, waste, and filtration. The lesson plan is well-developed and provides background information, discussion leads, and six scripted lab activities anyone can do. The class...
Curated OER
Earth's Just Peachy!
Students are introduced to the various layers of the Earth. Using fruit, they discover each layer and discover the use of similies in describing it. They watch a video to better describe each layer of the Earth and its purpose.
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Recycled Water: A Smart Way to Reuse Water
Learn about wastewater and recycled water with a science reading activity. After learners finish a two-page passage about conserving the water supply, they answer six comprehension questions about what they have read.
Curated OER
Environmental Fair
Students investigate environmental issues. In this environmental lesson, students find an object that is considered trash and make something useful out of it. Students present their creative project.
Curated OER
Make Your Own Trashasaurus Rex Sculpture
Learners explore environmental awareness through reusing materials. For this environmental awareness lesson, students use trash to create a "trashasaurus," a large dinosaur sculpture made from waste. Detailed structure and papier-mâché...
NASA
Eclipse Activity Guide
Ever made solar s'mores? Or recreated the solar system using peanuts? Astronomers young and old investigate all things solar using a variety of activities. Explore how the sun works, types of light it emits, and methods of charting the...
Curated OER
What Makes Day and Night? The Earth's Rotation
Students discover that the Earth rotates on its axis in a cyclical fashion. They examine how this rotation results in day and night.
Curated OER
Why Do We Have Day And Night?
Second graders demonstrate knowledge and appropriate use of hardware components, software programs, and their connections. After a lecture/demo, student groups utilize raisins and apples to demonstrate day and night. They put togethre a...