Ask a Biologist
It’s a Plankton Eat Plankton World
For as small as they are, plankton sure play an enormous role in maintaining marine ecosystems. Dive into an investigation of these tiny organisms with a hands-on life science activity in which children cut out pictures of sea animals...
BBC
Walking with Dinosaurs
Breath new life into your class's study of dinosaurs with this extensive collection of materials. Offering everything from a printable T-rex mask, word searches, and connect-the-dots activities to informational handouts, hands-on...
PBS
Blow the Roof Off!
Blow the minds of young scientists with this collection of inquiry-based investigations. Based on a series of eight videos, these "hands-on, minds-on" science lessons engage young learners in exploring a wide range of topics from making...
Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)
Fish Morphology
Life comes in all different shapes and sizes, and fish are no exception. Here, young scientists create fish prints as they learn how specific characteristics allow different species to survive in their particular habitats.
American Forest Foundation
Who Speaks for the Trees?
Help young conservationists appreciate the important role that trees play in ecosystems around the world with this collection of six engaging activities. From a shared reading and class discussion of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, to in an depth...
Baylor College
Energy for Life (Energy from Food)
Energy comes in many forms, but how do living things get the energy they need to survive and thrive? In a simple, controlled experiment with yeast, water, and sugar, groups make observations about how yeast reacts with water alone, then...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Cracking the Code
Some interesting reading on the history of barcodes opens this technology lesson plan. Readers find out how engineers contribute, and then they gather into groups to discuss possible improvements to our current UPC barcode system. Know...
Wild BC
Carbon - The Short and the Long
For this complex game about the carbon cycle, the playing field is divided into air, living, and earth zones. Children are assigned to be either plants or animals, and collect carbon tokens as they proceed from zone to zone. While the...
National Park Service
Living & Non-Living Interactions
What better way to learn about ecosystems than by getting outside and observing them first hand? Accompanying a field trip to a local park or outdoor space, this series of collaborative activities engages children in learning about the...
Curated OER
What Does Life Look Like Under a Microscope?
Students discover cells make up all living things. In this life science lesson, students investigate living organisms and the cells that create them. Finally the students create a testable question, conduct an investigation, and draw...
NOAA
Sustaining Our Ocean Resources
Lead young scientists on an investigation of fishery practices with the final installment of this four-part unit. Using a PowerPoint presentation and hands-on simulation, this instructional activity engages children in learning how fish...
Curated OER
Green Plants
Beginning botanists are introduced to the world of plants with this PowerPoint. Some of the information is most appropriate for primary learners, such as the needs of a plant. Some of the information, however, is more directed at...
Curated OER
Ocean Life
Students research and identify ocean animals characteristics and life styles using the Internet and books. They create a PowerPoint presentation and an iMovie to present to the class.
Curated OER
What is Life?
Students investigate the characteristics of living things. In this life science instructional activity, students examine several living and non-living specimens. Students determine which things are living and non-living.
Society of Petroleum Engineers
Renewable and Nonrenewable Energy
Energize an environmental science unit on natural resources with this collection of instructional materials. From simple coloring sheets for primary grade children, to guiding questions for a high school research report, a wide variety...
Curated OER
Lettuce Us Be Different
Students evaluate their differences, then look at differences in plants. In this class team building and life science lesson, the class play a game that focuses on similarities and differences in the group, then students plant three...
Curated OER
Images of Science
Students understand the diversity of science, both in terms of the work and the people engaged in the work. They learn that some scientists and engineers use huge instruments (e.g., particle accelerators or telescopes), and others use...
National Gardening Association
Migration Mishaps
Elementary ecologists pretend to be migratory hummingbirds. They fly between wintering and nesting grounds, trying to reach a habitat haven. In a musical-chair fashion, some birds will miss out, and are removed from the game. To further...
Curated OER
Bringing the Solar System to Life
Students make models of the planets and use the models to show revolution of the planets around the sun. They explain the rotation of the planets after demonstrating with balloons.
Curated OER
Changing Cicada
Students discuss inherited traits and relate to the inherited traits in a cicada. In this cicada lesson, students follow the life cycle of the cicada and observe the changes as it grows. Students discuss the characteristics of the...
Curated OER
Trout Life-Cycle Booklet
Students write books about trout, completing one page per life stage.
Curated OER
"Snapshot" Exercises & Sensory Detail Word Bank
Read a sample of creative descriptive writing to your science class. Discuss how writing can be used to record and communicate observations that scientists make. Reading selections and thought-provoking questions are suggested. Also...
Curated OER
Tree Cookies
Students identify heartwood, sapwood, and a tree's annual rings, infer from a tree's rings what damage or stress might have occurred in its life, and make a time-line of human history that coincides with a tree's rings.
Curated OER
Bringing the Solar System to Life
Students walk marked paths as they simulate the orbit of the planets. In this solar system lesson, students recognize the relationship between the sun and the planets. Students visualize how the phases of the moon are seen.