Sea World
Seaworld Science Activity
A fun collection of activities about marine life would be a great addition to your elementary science unit. From cute penguins to scary sharks, the unit features crafts, experiments, and basic research projects that will teach your...
Curated OER
Sounds Like Great Science!
A phenomenal lesson on sound is here for your third graders! In it, learners engage in hands-on activities, watch video, take part in Internet activities, and complete tasks in cooperative groups in order to explore the world of sound...
TryEngineering
Boolean Algebra is Elementary
See how Boolean algebra relates to video games with a lesson that teaches young scholars how to use Boolean algebra to create rules for a virtual world. They test the rule base for consistency in groups.
Education World
Thinking About Thanksgiving: Lessons Across the Curriculum
Bring two integrated curriculum resources about Thanksgiving to an elementary social studies unit. The first activity focuses on Squanto's contributions to the early Pilgrims' survival with a gardening activity in which learners add fish...
National Science Teachers Association
Hop into Action
Young scientists find out what makes amphibians such unique and interesting animals in this simple life science lesson. After looking at pictures and discussing the characteristics of amphibians, learners complete a series of three Venn...
Curated OER
Designing a Crew Exploration Vehicle
Take your class on an out-of-this-world adventure with this fun engineering design activity. Working in small groups, young scientists design, build, and test crew exploration vehicles using some creativity, teamwork, and an assortment...
City and County of San Francisco
I Want It! I Need It!
Discuss wants and needs with your elementary ecologists and get them to consider what would happen to our natural resources if we all got everything that we want. Learners play a card sorting game and take an ecological footprint quiz on...
National Wildlife Federation
Massive Migrations
Turn your learners into flocks of migratory birds for this fun lesson on animal migration. Prior to the activity, the teacher creates four different migration routes in the classroom or any available open space, labeling nesting...
Curated OER
A Seashell Lesson: Writing for Detail and the Scientific Process
Practice descriptive language in this lesson, which prompts elementary and middle schoolers to write detailed descriptive sentences describing a seashell. They write a description of a shell, create an illustration, and other students...
Berkshire Museum
Meet a Naturalist: Researching, Writing, Interviewing
Young scholars reach out into the community and learn about different environmental science careers in this inquiry-based instructional activity. Beginning with a short research assignment, children gain background knowledge about...
Berkshire Museum
Nature Journaling: Experience the Outdoors Through Writing and Drawing
Step into the great outdoors and develop young scientists' skills of observation with a nature journaling lesson. Given a specific focus or goal, children practice making and recording observations of nature through written descriptions...
Curated OER
Lesson Idea: A Box Full of Science
Learners analyze and study a shoe box of simple objects. They experience a homemade alternative to a company box of commercial kits for science. Each student creates their own shoe box of simple objects to share with their classmates.
Berkshire Museum
Camouflage!: Collecting Data and Concealing Color
Help young scholars see the important role camouflage plays in the survival of animals with a fun science lesson. Starting with an outdoor activity, children take on the role of hungry birds as they search for worms represented by...
Signing Time Foundation
What is the Water Cycle?
Dive into an exploration of the water cycle cycle with this simple earth science lesson. After first discussing where rain comes from, young scientists define the terms condensation, evaporation, transpiration, and precipitation as a...
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...
Curated OER
WET Science Lesson #3: Comparison of Aquatic and Terrestrial Plants
Elementary life science explorers compare and contrast aquatic and terrestrial plants (elodea and soybeans) in a Venn diagram. Some background information is provided to support direct instruction, and general instructions are provided...
Curated OER
Rainforest (Elementary, Social Studies)
Explore the rainforest with your class. Learners study the meaning of the word endangered, choose an animal to study, gather data, and discuss why the animal is in danger of extinction. This is a motivating way to have your class discuss...
Curated OER
Making Regolith
You may not be able to take a field trip to the moon, but that doesn't mean your class can't study moon rocks. Using graham crackers as the moon's bedrock and powdered donuts as micrometeorites, young scientists simulate the creation of...
California Academy of Science
What's on a Penny?
As a activity on scientific observation, have your class investigate the features of a penny and a nickel. Working in pairs, they practice writing detailed descriptions using their senses and a ruler to gather information. This is an...
Baylor College
Measuring and Protecting Skin
Several subjects are addressed within the context of a science lesson about the sun's ultraviolet rays. Elementary earth scientists consider protection of the skin with sunscreens (health), estimating and measuring surface area or an...
Baylor College
What Makes Water Special?
Get close up and personal with a drop of water to discover how the polarity of its molecules affect its behavior. Elementary hydrologists split and combine water droplets, and also compare them to drops of oil. Much neater than placing a...
Cornell University
Buoyancy
Swimmers know to float by turning their bodies horizontally rather than vertically, but why does that make a difference? In an interesting lesson, scholars explore buoyancy and the properties of air and water. They test cups to see which...
Captain Planet Foundation
Rotting Away
What happens at the end of a plant's life cycle? Show kids the natural way that plants show that they're decomposing, as well as the importance of compost, with a activity about living organisms. After reading Log Cabin by Anne...
Curated OER
Compost Lesson
If you are looking for how to introduce elementary environmentalists to the process of composting, here is a comprehensive outline for making it happen. The plan is to set this up at the beginning of a school year in order to observe the...