National Wildlife Federation
Night Friends - American Bats
Bats are a misunderstood species. Pupils learn about the characteristics of bats in a three-part lesson. They begin by examining the adaptations of different types of bats, then explore the misconceptions humans have about the species....
Curated OER
A Day in a Life of an Arctic/Antarctic Animal
Students, through video segments, explore what types of animals live in the Arctic and Antarctica. They also clear up any misconceptions they have about penguins or polar bears.
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...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Shrink Me!
The incredibly shrinking meter—decimeters to centimeters, to millimeters, and now to nanometers! Learners may have a difficult time visualizing particles on a nanoscale. Help them see a little clearer using a well-designed lesson that...
Curated OER
RAINFOREST Mini-Unit
Students engage in a variety of activities to investigate the subject of rainforests. The lesson focuses on the different floors of the rainforest and the types of life that exists on each.
Curated OER
Where are the Dinosaurs?
Young scholars construct their own diorama based on the life of a dinosaur. In this dinosaur lesson, students create models of dinosaurs and dinosaurs' eggs to explore the life cycle of this extinct species.
Virginia Department of Education
Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a activity highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
Using Our Senses to Observe
Look around and explore. Little ones use their five senses with some day-to-day activities designed to guide observation and apply STEM strategies. Young scientists learn through comparing/contrasting and observing with magnifiers as...
Curated OER
Exploring Mars
Students, working in small groups construct scale models of the planets and solar system. They examine images of Mars and discuss what might have caused the features. They record facts about their planetary research in their journals and...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
The Micro and Macro World Around Us
Don't let your eyes play tricks on you ... use scale to keep your eyes in check! Young scholars observe images without scale and try to identify the structure. Then, they look at the same image with a scale bar and assess whether their...
Curated OER
Dinosaurs 1: Where Are the Dinosaurs?
Students explore dinosaurs. In this dinosaur identification activity, students watch video clips for different dinosaurs from the Discovery Kids website. Students discuss the clips with their teacher. Students may then role play the...
Curated OER
Friction
Students are introduced to the concept of friction. Using that information, they discover ways in which friction can be useful. They participate in different activities to see fricition in action. They complete a grid worksheet and...
Curated OER
My Farm Web
Young scholars examine the role of agriculture in everyday life. In this agriculture lesson, students read books such as Harvest Year and identify products which from from the farm. Young scholars fill in a word web using the knowledge...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Scale Models
With instructions to adapt the activities for any grade K-12, any teacher can incorporate the concept of scale into the classroom with a simple, yet effective lesson.
Curated OER
Where Are the Dinosaurs?
Learners explore the concept of extinction by studying dinosaurs. In this extinction lesson, students watch dinosaur video clips or complete a puppet finger play about dinosaurs. Learners may then complete a dinosaur diorama or a...
Curated OER
Cicada Invasion
Students consider how some animals, periodical cicadas, survive well in a particular environment due to the species' life cycle.
Curated OER
The Great Jellybean Hunt
Learners explore natural selection and its influence on the populations to fine tune traits and characteristics. The acquisition of traits developed out of need is examined through a game played in class.
DiscoverE
Build a Straw Bridge
Build teamwork skills while building a bridge. Scholars work together in groups to create a bridge out of 20 straws and tape. There is a minimum span length of 25 centimeters, but otherwise, let creativity run wild.
Curated OER
Seashell Homes
Pupils listen to a story about seashells. They discuss shelled animals. Learners describe the function of seashell. Pupils relate the function of a seashell to their own dwelling. They differentiate between shelled animals that make...
Curated OER
Sketch a Scientist
Students draw their perceptions of a typical scientist, evaluate stereotypes in their drawings quantitatively, and then discuss the origins of these stereotypes.
Curated OER
The Checks Lab
Young scholars, in teams, have an envelope containing a series of bank checks. A few are removed at a time, and the team attempts to construct a plausible scenario which involves those checks.
Curated OER
Mellowing With Age, A Closer Look
Students realize that aging is a "natural, continuous process" and develop sensitivity to the needs, desires, and capabilities of the elderly by interviewing elderly community members and photographing age related things.
Curated OER
What is Coral?
Students discuss what they know about coral reefs and are introduced to the importance of preserving coral reefs. In this coral reef lesson, students make connections between coral ecology in the classroom and in the real environment...
Curated OER
It Counts
Students understand and reinforce how numbers are assigned to objects, as well as think about more, less, or equal values. In this lesson, students are asked to describe, compare, and classify plants. They should be able to use numbers...