Interested in a "how and why" story to read with young students? In this storytelling lesson, readers will discuss sea creatures, focusing on practicing new terminology through retelling the story. This resource provides a list of...

Apple tasting launches an investigation of the story and travels of John Chapman, also known as Johnny Appleseed. After listening to his story, class members craft a summary of the tale, chart his journeys on a map, and sample different...

Young scholars use the Internet to explore the four stages of a butterfly's life cycle. They make a model of a butterfly using macaroni, sticks and leaves.

First graders investigate why plants are an important part of our everyday lives, providing us with food, clothing, shelter, etc. In this lesson students participate in a series of hands-on, online, and multimedia activities to examine...

Students examine the importance of each season to the life cycle of an apple tree. In small groups, they create a four-season display illustrating the life cycle of an apple tree along with a written description of each season.

Students investigate and explain the basic needs and life processes of plants. Key concepts include: living things change as they grow and need food, water, and air to survive. The reverse of the Kansas quarter serves as inspiration.

Students select a topic related to marine animals, research several book marked Internet sites, color pages, download data, and present their work to the class.

Young scholars investigate the life in the mud found around ponds. They create Ooze City using pond mud. Students investigate the various layers that form and what type of organisms are in the mud.

Learners examine art of butterflies and discuss what they know about the insect. They create their own butterfly puppets and write a story to represent its life cycle.

Students use the life cycle of an ant to learn about their own self-esteem. In this self-esteem lesson, students read books about ants and discuss obstacles from the stories as well as the ant behavior.

First graders discover how animals depend on other animals for energy. They identify sources of energy in their daily life and describes the actions of nightime and daytime animals. They list sources of food and shelter for specific...

Students predict changes that will occur in the environemt after trees are cut down around a house. They focus on changes in the hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere. By examining the rings in a tree's trunk, they...

First graders write a brief informational description of a real life object, person, place or event using information gained from observations. They create their own fossil imprints and write a brief description about the fossil that...

Students examine the importance of soil in the production of what we eat and wear, and analyze the percentages of the earth used for food production. They create their own Pyramids of Life, and construct Dirt Babies out of hosiery, dirt...

Students explore nature objects brought indoors such as rocks, seeds, leaves and shells to identify where the objects came from. They hear stories about John Muir's life and make booklets about nature areas they enjoy.

Students compare the life cycle of an animal hatched from an egg with one born from its mother's womb. The activity focuses on dinosaur eggs. They create dinosaur eggs from balloons and papier mache.

Students create terrariums (mini rainforests). They observe and discuss the life processes that occur in their terrariums and how changes in these processes affect the plants and organisms inside. They collect and graph data and present...

Students explore the human body. In this science instructional activity, students name the basic body parts. Students play a game in which they balance using the designated number of body parts.

First graders describe what help seeds need to grow, including light, water, good soil, and warmth, observe and discuss what happens when seeds do not have help, and state similarities and differences among seed growth.

First graders observe the effects of varying amounts of water, sun, and air on lima bean plants. They also predict and describe their outcomes in a written report.

Students apply cause and effect relationships to water pollution in a stream. In this pollution lesson students recognize the importance of clean water in their daily lives. Students accompany "Fred the Fish" as he travels down stream....

Students view animals that camouflage at the Shedd aquarium website. For this camouflage lesson, students recognize that there are different types of camouflage, cryptic coloring, counter-shading, warning coloration and mimicry. Students...

Students examine the characteristics of snakes and turtles and compare/contrast reptiles with mammals. They watch a video, answer discussion questions, complete information charts, conduct Internet research, and create a habitat diorama.

First graders study the animals in the Maya Forest Reserve. In this conservation lesson, 1st graders create a graph to compare the environment of animals to their own. They design a 3D model of these two environments.