Smithsonian Institution
Watching Crystals Grow
Amazing science can sometimes happen right before your eyes! The class gets cozy as they watch crystals grow. They use Epsom salts, rocks, and food coloring to create crystals. They'll observe the entire process, documenting every step...
Curated OER
Endangered Species Scavenger Hunt
Seventh graders gain a better understanding of endangered species. This instructional activity requires a field trip to the North Carolina Zoological park. At the park, 7th graders use a worksheet imbedded in this plan to identify and...
American Museum of Natural History
Ocean Creature Feature
From coloring to hard protective shells, ocean creatures have adaptation features that help them survive. An eight-question online quiz highlights different ocean animals and their unique characteristics. The resource then offers pop-up...
American Museum of Natural History
What's This? Sensing
There is a scallop that relies on sight so much that it actually has more than 100 eyes! There are many species that rely heavily on one sense or another. An online interactive resource has youth read about several of these animals. The...
American Museum of Natural History
Extreme Mammals
Extreme characteristics can create some unusual mammals. Learners flip through a slide show of some of the most interesting mammals that are both living and extinct. Implement as a remote learning resource or use in-class to review...
American Museum of Natural History
All About Horses
Horses come in all shapes and sizes, but all belong to the same species. Young scholars explore the different traits and connect the information to genetic modification. The interactive gives them the option to read about 18 different...
American Museum of Natural History
Make Your Own Creatures of Light
Bioluminescent animals are the focus of a hands-on craft in which scholars create a scene of either a land or sea bioluminescent creature.
Staten Island Zoo
The African Savanna
Are you thinking about taking your class to the local zoo? Kids of all ages love visiting exotic animals in order to learn about biodiversity, habitat, and animal adaptations. Here is a 44-page activity guide that provides educators with...
Curated OER
Teaching with Collections
Students examine collections. In these real-world collections lessons, students examine and describe buttons and shells. Students will then sort, classify, and graph items according to various indicated descriptors.
Curated OER
Animal Kingdom Characteristics using Microsoft Access
Students create a computer database to discover relationships present in the Animal Kingdom. For this classification lesson, students enter data into a Microsoft Access database. They answer questions on a worksheet and create a visual...
Curated OER
Going...going...gone? Tropical Rainforests-How They Work, What They Do for Us, What's Being Done to Them...
Sixth graders explore the Tropical Rainforest and come to understand what it is and how it affects the ecosystem. In this rainforests lesson plan, 6th graders write about the Tropical Rainforest, imagine they are in the Tropical...
Curated OER
"ART ZOO 'Blacks in the Westward Movement', 'What Can You Do with a Portrait', and 'Of Beetles, Worms, and Leaves of Grass'"
Students study black history, examine portraits and portrait making and create their own portraits, and investigate their natural environment. This humanities lesson provides a text that can be used to teach lessons in black history,...
Curated OER
Introduction to the Nature Journal
Students create nature journals. In this introduction to the nature journal lesson plan, students discover the uses of nature journals and begin their own. Students are challenged to use vivid, concise terms in their descriptive...
Curated OER
The Westward Movement
Learners study the westward movement through examining stamps. In this westward movement lesson plan, students draw conclusions, determine cause and effect relationships and examine the westward movement of the United States by...
Curated OER
Building Up, Breaking Down
Students investigate how rocks are modified into construction materials. In this building up and breaking down lesson plan, students explore what happens to building materials over time and how people modify natural materials. Students...
Curated OER
Crinoids: Flowers f the Iowa Seas
Young scholars study the rocks and fossils associated with the geologic landscape of Iowa. In this rocks and fossils lesson, students examine fossils that would be found in the Iowa landscape that show evidence of marine invertebrates...
Curated OER
Under the Spell of Spiders
Learners examine spiders. In these spider lessons, students will view spider images and live spiders to determine physical characteristics, habits, and habitats. Learners will examine fantasy and folklore about spiders to create and...
Curated OER
How Size Shapes Animals
Students investigate how size affects large and small animals differently. In this animal lesson plan, students determine how size affects different animals by constructing their own animal out of marshmallows. Once students create...
Curated OER
Fossils Footprints Across Time
Students examine fossils to understand how they are formed and how they give information about geological history. In this fossil lesson plan, students research and write about fossils and make models of different fossil types.The PDF...
Curated OER
Koala Bear Exhibit
Students visit the zoo and study the koala bears. In this habitat lesson, students take a field trip to the zoo and examine the habitat of the koala bears. Students watch videos about koalas and consider the needs of the koalas....
Curated OER
Plants and Animals, Partners in Pollination
Students participate in multiple hands-on activities to explore reproduction and pollination. In groups, using a cotton swab and powder, students simulate being pollinators and plants. They name the parts of the flowers and the function...
Curated OER
Rocks and Minerals
Students bring rocks and minerals from home to investigate in the classroom. For this rocks and minerals lesson plan, students observe all the rocks and minerals brought into the class and answer 7 questions about the features of the...
Curated OER
Spineless - YES... Helpless - NO!
Students distinguish between invertebrate and vertebrate organisms while examining the zoological classes of a number of invertebrates. They illustrate a food web of these organisms and investigate the impact of humans on the oceanic...
Curated OER
A Walk in the Woods
Eighth graders observe and identify the different levels of the forest. In this forest zones lesson students observe, identify and name a variety of forest components and describe how humans impact the forest ecosystem.