Learners differentiate between how they use water in response to a need and how they use water for pleasure. They read books about water, participate in class discussion and illustrate their observations.

Students name the five food groups and classify foods according to group. They tell how proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins/minerals, and water help their body. Students discuss how play and exercise can help their body.

Students estimate how many drops of water can fit onto the surface of a penny and then test their hypothesis to find out. They also experiment with bubbles.

Students assess the impact of human activity on the environment. After reading the book, "A River Ran Wild," they role-play and discuss how people changed the river. Students write stories about living along a river from the point of...

First graders develop skills of scientific inquiry. They determine which objects float and which sink.

Students explore the time of the dinosaurs. In this extinction lesson, students watch a video clip about different dinosaurs and are asked about what they observed. Students talk about how dinosaurs hatched from eggs and compare that...

First graders explore and explain that different plants and animals live in different kinds of environments. They illustrate various plants and animals and how they survive in the places where they live. A nature journal for enrichment...

Students explore the forest. In this ecosystems lesson plan, students rotate through sensory activity centers, brainstorm, and read about temperate forests.

Students take a field trip to Lynn Canyon. In this Temperate Forest lesson, students visit the Lynn Canyon. Students collect samples of leaves and water to take with them to study. Students view the samples under a microscope.

Students explore rain forests.  In this rain forest ecosystems instructional activity, students identify and describe the layers of the rain forest. Students paint and decorate a large rain forest mural. Students write riddles about...

Young scholars examine the connection between trees and erosion. In this erosion lesson students experiment with the effects of rain on a hillside. Young scholars investigate the number of trees and the amount of erosion.

Students investigate the growth of trees. In this tree growth lesson, students discover that trees make a ring each year they live. Students use new voabulary such as bark, phloem, and cambuim to talk about tree parts. Students create a...

Students become familiar with the temperate rainforest.  In this forest ecosystem lesson, students identify the producers, consumers and decomposers in the forest ecosystem.  Students sort cards and identify the trophic level...

Students examine the needs of trees and plants. In this forest ecosystem lesson students use seedlings to investigate the basic necessities of plants. They discuss the consequences of these basic needs not being met.

Young biologists identify parts of the body, sort humans from other animals, and list the difference they see. Learners are split up into groups of three, and each group must find pictures in magazines of humans and other animals. They...

Utilizing the Nebraska State Quarter, pupils learn about the pioneers who had wagons that were pulled across Nebraska by oxen during the westward movement. Excellent worksheets are embedded in the plan that guide them through this fine...

What makes up a habitat? Use this resource to engage first graders in the exploration of desert, wetland, forest, and ocean habitats. Youngsters classify plants and animals into the four distinct habitats through drawings and cutting and...

Students sort and compare/contrast the lengths of various whales. They sort pictures of whales in order of smallest to largest, and given a rope marked with the lengths of the whales, they compare the actual lengths of the whales.

Students explore the challenges that are faced when transporting materials into space. They review the various forms of energy, including solar arrays, that are used on the International Space Station and how generating this energy calls...

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, you can add art to any lesson! While little learners are discovering why fish have specific body parts such as, scales, fins, and gills, they start making three-dimensional fish forms. Children...

As the days get shorter and a chill enters the air, it's time to start teaching your little ones about the wondrous winter season. Through a series of teacher demonstrations, whole-class read alouds and discussions, and hands-on...

Students determine that environments have living and nonliving parts. They discuss what makes something a living thing and something a nonliving thing. They make a chart and list characteristics of living things and nonliving things.

Why do some stars in a constellation appear brighter than others? Using a get-up-and-move astronomy activity, scholars explore perspective and the appearance of constellations in the sky while developing an understanding of the...

How do different parts of the world experience day and night? Introduce scholars to the concept of global citizenship while teaching about animal behavior with discussion of nocturnal and diurnal animals. Then, learners complete...