Curated OER
Science-Observation Skill Builders
Pupils explore observation while making connections between observation skills and careers (like how farmers observe the weather). They view a variety of nature photographs on the computer and practice their observation skills by...
Smithsonian Institution
Water/Ways: The Poetry of Science
Water is the source of life. It appears in poetry in both peaceful and torrential descriptions; it appears in earth science in its liquid, gaseous, and solid states. Combine these interpretations of our planet's most precious and...
Curated OER
Deep Blue Sea
Elementary schoolers identify the ocean floor in a geological sense. They create a presentation that highlights the key features of the ocean floor. This terrific lesson plan has excellent streaming video segments embedded in it, and the...
Curated OER
This Little Light of Mine
Elementary schoolers discover how electricity travels and create an electron flow through a closed circuit. They work together to make a closed circuit and observe the electricity being made. This outstanding lesson plan is well worth...
Curated OER
Conserving Electric Energy
Another fantastic lesson on energy is presented by the American Coal Foundation. This one focuses on electricity; how it is produced, how it is delivered, and how it is used. Some excellent handouts are embedded in this fine plan which...
Curated OER
Evaporation Inquiry
The evaporation of water and what happens to it as it travels through the water cycle are the focuses of this lesson plan. The evaporation of water seems like a "magical" process to people of all ages. This lesson plan takes away the...
Curated OER
Excel temperature Graphs
Learners gather data about the weather in Nome, Alaska. In this Nome Temperature lesson, students create an excel graph to explore the weather trends in Nome. Learners will find the average weather and add a trend line to their graph.
Captain Planet Foundation
P is for Poppies
Explore the way local farming and rationing helped the war effort in World War I with a lesson plan on gardening. After learning about trench warfare, reading "In Flanders' Field" by John McCrae, and studying poppies, kids discuss the...
Curated OER
Fresh Foods from Farm to Table
Are you a good egg? Learners begin a farm-to-table lesson by acting out verbs in groups to demonstrate the egg production process, and then research the steps using online resources. Several excellent videos are linked through the...
Curated OER
Power Point -- Science Portfolio
Students are introduced to Microsoft PowerPoint. Using the internet, they research a topic of interest to them related to science. They create three slides and share them with the class. They also discover how to print the slides and...
Curated OER
Pandas, Flamingos and Blogs
Students use the computer to discover animals. In this animal lesson, students look at online webcams to view animals and write in a daily blog discussing what the animals are doing. They use either Pixie or PowerPoint to create an...
Curated OER
One Path
Students discover that charge movement through a circuit depends on the resistance and arrangement of the circuit components. In a hands-on activity, students build and investigate the characteristics of series circuits. In another...
Curated OER
Balancing Act: Olympics, Winter Sports, Ice Skating, Gravity, Physics, Science
Students, by way of the Olympic Games event of ice skating, are introduced to the concepts of gravity. They try some hands-on gravity experiments and explore the concept of gravity through art.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Micro-GEEBITT Climate Activity
A truly hands-on and inquiry based learning activity bridges all the lessons in the series together. Beginning with a discussion on average global temperatures, young meteorologists use real-world data to analyze climate trends in order...
Polar Trec
Temperature Profile above the South Pole
Collecting and understanding data is a big part of understanding the world and how it changes. To better grasp what temperatures are changing and how they affect global populations, learners create a graph based on the date provided....
Curated OER
I'm Here, I'm There, I'm Everywhere-I'm Super Spud!
Pupils generate a computer model of a potato plant. In this potato lesson plan, students study the history of potatoes, the variety of potatoes, the functions of the potato plant parts, and make a potato model on the computer.
Curated OER
Climate Change
Young scholars examine current school energy use and focus on energy saving measures that could be implemented. In this energy instructional activity, students are also encouraged to raise awareness of energy saving practices and...
Curated OER
Murder Mystery
High schoolers examine how to capture foot prints while they simulate a criminal investigation. They discover how the clues are needed for identifying or eliminating murder suspects.
Curated OER
Hurricane Happenings
Fourth and fifth graders engage in this impressive lesson plan which focuses on the causes of hurricanes and tropical storms. The use of video clips and Internet sites helps facilitate discussion amongst pupils which should lead them to...
Curated OER
Wind Effects- A Case Study
Students explore hurricanes. In this weather data interpretation lesson, students draw conclusions about the impact of Hurricane Floyd as it related to weather conditions. Students read and interpret a tide data table, a barometric...
Curated OER
Get to Know: Mammals
Students discover the mammals in their community. In this animal lesson, students survey their school grounds for signs of mammals. Students examine tracks, droppings, and other signs of wildlife to learn more about the animals and their...
Curated OER
Measuring Animal Sizes (and Relative Sizes in our Animal Environment)
Young scholars discover the actual size and weight of many insects and animals. In this biology lesson plan, students investigate animals and insects to determine their actual weight and size. In groups, young scholars create an animal...
Curated OER
Seeing What You Cannot See--RADAR
Student imitate mapping the ocean floor using the basic concepts of radar. Then they explain what radar is and how it workds. All of their measurements are recorded on a data sheet. Then the data is entered into a spreadsheet program. A...
Curated OER
Animal Characteristics
Learners create a graphic organizer to study animal characteristics. In this animal characteristics lesson plan, students use a program in Microsoft Word to create a brainstorm about different animal characteristics.