Curated OER
Growing Learners: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Investigating Plants and Flowers
Engage young scientists in these inquiry-based lesson ideas to spring into learning about nature.
Midnight Martian
Moon Globe
Not just a simple globe of the moon, this interactive version allows you to choose lighting according to the location of the sun, views from different positions on Earth, and more! Satellite images and topographic data have been combined...
California Academy of Science
Colorful Fish Adaptations
I love lessons that incorporate the arts, they're so engaging and address a more diverse set of learners. Your class will investigate the reasons fish from the coal reef have adapted such colorful fins. They design a fish that uses color...
California Academy of Science
Carbon Cycle Poster
Humans can have a big impact on the environment, specifically the influence they have on the carbon cycle. First, the class will define and discuss each of the earths four major spheres, the biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and...
California Academy of Science
Fish Prints
What do a dead fish, conservation, and paint have in common? The answer is a great lesson about fish anatomy, fun print making techniques, and unsustainable fishing practices. The class will start by making fish prints with a...
NASA
NASA
Everything you have ever wanted to know about our solar system, space exploration, and more can be found here. Be prepared to clear your schedule; you will be sucked into the app like a star into a black hole.
Perkins School for the Blind
Creating a 3-D Model of a Plant Life
Instructing blind or visually impaired learners means you need to make symbolic tactile representations of various processes to provide as much input as possible. But wouldn't it be even better to have your learners make the models...
Bekshire Museum
Cloudy Skies: The Art of Classification
Such a great resource and perfect for learners in Kindergarten through third grade. The class will discuss cloud types and formation, and then they'll get outside and draw as they observe the clouds they see. They'll need to take note of...
Discovery Education
The Everyday Science of Sports
Physical science juniors will enjoy this sensational enrichment on aerodynamics, especially if they are also sports fans! With a focus on physical features and behaviors, collaborative groups make observations on five different golf...
Teach Engineering
Capturing the Sun's Warmth
Passive solar heating is a technology that's been in use for thousands of years. Here, elementary schoolers are exposed to this type of heating, the materials that are used in passive solar heating, and they study how engineers design...
Teach Engineering
Solar Power
Elementary schoolers discover how engineers use solar energy to heat buildings. They take a close look at some of the materials used: sand, salt, water, and shredded paper and evaluate the efficiency of each material. An incredible...
Desert Discoveries
Conservation Cartoons
Learners read and create cartoons that are based on endangered and threatened species. The lesson is packed with terrific student handouts, including some very good cartoons that are based on conservation and animal issues. The...
Desert Discoveries
Conservation Cartoons
Third graders read and create cartoons about endangered and threatened species of plants. Pupils are split up into groups. They each consider a conservation cartoon and attempt to decipher its meaning. They must decide if they agree or...
NASA
Radiation Shielding on Spacecraft
Here is a terrific science lesson for your elementary schoolers. In it, learners analyze different materials to simulate space radiation shielding on spacecraft, then select the best material to use to build one. This is a classic...
SeaWorld
Bird Biology
Here you will find two good activities designed for young learners. In the first one, pupils explore the fact that all birds have feathers, and they discover what two uses those feathers have. After the discussion, the kids color in a...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Machines
What do science and dance have in common? Simple machines, work, and force! First, children discuss machines, wheels, inclined planes, and wedges. They create inclined planes with their bodies and make up dances about wheels and wedges....
Japan Society
A Remade Environment
Art is a wonderful way to express feelings of social unrest or change. Learners will examine the works of two contemporary Japanese artists, and how they each have used art to say something big. They analyze the work of Katsuhiro Saiki...
Desert Discoveries
Keepers of the Prairie
Young ecologists examine the case of the prairie dog, and their near extinction. They read a terrific student handout embedded in the plan, and engage in a class discussion that's based on what they read. Learners perform research on...
Desert Discoveries
The Sonoran Desert
Elementary schoolers study the geographic location of the Sonoran Desert. They pay close attention to the characteristics of the plants and animals found in this desert environment. The student handouts embedded in this plan are...
Desert Discoveries
Nocturnal Navigators
Young biologists take a look at some of the unique ways that nocturnal animals survive in the dark. After reading a terrific student handout which is embedded in the plan, learners work together to answer questions about what they have...
Desert Discoveries
Amazing Arthropods
Arthropods are the stars of a fine science lesson. Learners look at the diversity, characteristics, adaptations, and important roles that these insects play in the Sonoran Desert environment. A terrific document called "Amazing...
Desert Discoveries
Sonoran Desert Predators and Prey
Here is a fabulous lesson plan the animals found in the Sonoran Desert. Learners classify these animals as predators, prey, or both! They take a look at the many adaptations that these animals utilize to help them find food, and avoid...
Curated OER
That's Monkey Business!
Celebrating National Zoo and Aquarium Month by engaging pupils in an animal research project.
Curated OER
Modern Day Pyramids
Students investigate the ways in which ancient technologies - six types of simple machines and combinations - are used to construct modern buildings. As they work together to solve a design problem (designing and building a modern...