Pupils construct hot air balloons. In this science instructional activity, students assemble their own balloon using tissue paper and glue. They time the duration of the flight, record data and calculate team averages.

Students describe the roles of controlled, manipulated and responding variables in scientific research. They also identify biotic and abiotic interactions affecting the makeup of a plant community.

Learners explore friction and the way it impacts wind over the ocean compared to over land.

Students explore how natural earth materials are processed into a human-made product. They simulate a manufacturing process by making paper. Students review the importance of recycling in preserving our natural earth resources.

Students classify clouds as transparent, translucent or opaque. They conduct an experiment to determine the visual opacity of several classroom objects and then conduct further observations of clouds.

Learners examine what happens to air when it is heated or cooled. They conduct an experiment using bottles and balloons, record and discuss their observations, and write a hypothesis.

Students experiment with and compare different types of natural resources and tools used by artists in ancient Rome. They describe changes in natural resources that result from human use of tools.

Young scholars view the images from the Nature Images Photo Gallery and identify various elements of nature. They then group the elements into categories and discuss what these images tell about the worlds of ancient Native Americans.

Students create a slideshow that pictorially depicts a variety of cloud types. They research clouds, develop and present the slideshow and then evaluate their efforts based on a rubric for self-evaluation.

Students identify the three major cloud groups. They are introduced to the three main cloud types and spend a week making and recording observations of clouds. Students produce a graph that presents their findings and conduct research...

Fourth graders watch an experiment that demonstrates the causes of wind. They design and make an original weather craft.

Students predict and explore to discover which objects sink or float in fresh and salt water, predict how salt affect objects, write predictions on T chart, discuss difference between man-made and natural waters, and graph results.

Students conduct research on temperature, wind speed and weather conditions from a variety of areas. They organize their findings on worksheets and spreadsheets and discuss various examples of databases.

Students choose a natural object found in Yosemite and writes a poem using their senses.

Fourth graders identify and classify birds found in Illinois. Using the internet, they discover how birds have adapted over time and how the adaptations have increased their life span. They compare and contrast the various adaptations...

Fourth graders observe a demonstration experiment showing air pressure. They explain air pressure by completing the worksheet.

Students examine the types of hawks found in Illinois and compile a list of them. Using different species of hawks, they compare and contrast their characteristics. They work together to create their own hawk model for the classroom.

Students discuss and examine how the world is changing. After reading an article, they discover the immediate changes that have taken place and how they have effected living things. They complete a worksheet identifying the changes as...

Students identify the stages in the water cycle. They observe a local water source and view the cycle in action. They create their own water cycle using software.

Fourth graders discuss life in a coral reef, and view photographs and a computer program about coral reefs. They design and create colorful watercolor, ink, and crayon drawings of coral reefs.

Students create and tend to an outdoor compost pile. They research about decomposition and composting. They create two activities for their peers to complete.

Students examine the variety of jobs that are related to working in the forest. Information on the different jobs is provided in this lesson plan for the teacher to share with the students. The students create a collage using magazines...

Young scholars perform an activity in which they discover what happens when food chains overlap in an ecosystem and discover the three components of a food web.

Students draw and label the 15 major rivers in Texas. They then draw and label another map with the major lakes and reservioirs of Texas. Students use the maps and locate and label the location of the following major Texas cities:...