Curated OER
The Garbage Patch: Two Earth day Lessons
Students view a seven minute video called Gorilla in the Greenhouse. In this Earth day lesson, students review the history of Earth day. Students work in groups to describe the life cycle of a plastic bag. Students understand that...
Curated OER
Graphing Lesson Plans
By using hands-on graphing lesson plans students can learn how to collect data, and display the information using graphs.
Curated OER
Hurricanes 1: The Science Of Hurricanes
Learners are introduced to the science of hurricanes in an effort to highlight how forces change the speed and direction of motion. They list facts about hurricanes; including insights about the formation, movement, and impact hurricanes...
Curated OER
ENDANGERED SPECIES LESSON
Students, after reading and discussing a science research prompt, gather information about a particular endangered species and present findings to the class, by completing a research workbook and making a realistic sketch of the animal.
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
What’s the Smallest Thing You Know?
Elementary learners listen to a story, then sort objects from largest to smallest at six different stations around the classroom. Adaptable for a large range of age and ability groups.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Keep it Cool
This cool lesson plan is ideal for elementary engineers or physical scientists, especially when learning about heat transfer and insulation. After reading a page of background information, engineering teams collaborate to design and...
Agriculture in the Classroom
Making Half MyPlate Fruits and Vegetables
Establish healthy eating habits with a lesson focused around MyPlate's food recommendations and the importance of eating fruits and vegetables. Through class discussion and worksheet completion, scholars discuss the best choices of foods...
Curated OER
Applying KWL Guides to Sources with Elementary Students
What is a KWL chart? Here is a well thought-out lesson that has learners use KWL charts to gain historical perspective. Your class examines primary sources about historical events and identifies what they know, want to know, and,...
Prince William Network
Migration Headache
During this game, kids become migratory shorebirds and fly among wintering, nesting, and stopover habitats. If they do not arrive at a suitable habitat on time, they do not survive. Catastrophic events are periodically introduced that...
Berkshire Museum
Adopt a Schoolyard Tree
Help young scientists connect with nature and learn about trees with a fun life science activity. Heading out into the school yard, children choose a tree to adopt, taking measurements, writing descriptions, and drawing sketches of it in...
National Security Agency
Awesome Area - Geometry and Measurement
Break out those math manipulatives, it's time to teach about area! Capturing the engagement of young mathematicians, this three-instructional activity series supports children with learning how to measure the area of squares,...
Sea World
Whales
A whale of a lesson is sure to intrigue your elementary oceanographers! Learn about the mammals of the sea with a series of activities about whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Kids complete worksheets about the anatomy of a whale, create a...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Life Vest Challenge
After reading about the history and science of personal floatation devices, patents, and intellectual property, engineering teams design a life vest for a can of soup. To evaluate which groups considered the need for waterproofing, hold...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Biomimicry in Engineering
Take a look with your class at how nature supplies inspiration to engineers. In cooperative groups, youngsters research biomimicry and then develop a system that would help support people living on the moon. Each team also considers...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Engineered Music
Sound engineers investigate the structural design of a musical instrument, the recorder. They work in collaborative groups to choose an instrument to build out of everyday craft materials. It must be able to repeat a three-note sequence...
World Wildlife Fund
Land of the Midnight Sun
From days of 24 hour sunlight, to endless nights that last for days, the Arctic is a very unique place to live. Examine the seasonal changes that occur in the northern-most reaches of the globe and the impact they have on the plants and...
Baylor College
Lungometer
Life science learners construct lung-o-meters from gallon-sized milk jugs and then measure their lung capacities. For older students, have them graph the vital lung capacities of each person in the class. Cross-curricular pieces are...
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...
Space Awareness
History of the Universe
Your pupils may believe that you and their parents are the oldest things in the universe, but surprise! There are elements of the universe that are even older. Elementary scientists create a class timeline to demonstrate the...
National Security Agency
Time After Time
Save those precious minutes and hours spent planning math lessons with this mini-unit on telling time. Offering a series of engaging hands-on and collaborative learning activities, these three lessons teach children how to read...
National Security Agency
Backyard Building - Area and Perimeter
Turn young mathematicians into landscape architects with this four-lesson series on area and perimeter. Beginning with a basic introduction to calculating perimeter and area using non-standard units of measurement, this...
University of Florida
Protecting Our Water Resources
Teach young environmentalists to protect their planet's resources with a set of interactive experiments. Kindergartners and other youngsters learn about watersheds and the water cycle, while older elementary learners focus on fertilizer...
Curated OER
Get a Leg Up
Traveling through space is an amazing experience, but it definitely takes a toll on the body. After reading an article and watching a brief video, learners perform an experiment that simulates the effects of zero gravity on the...