Review the difference between rocks and minerals using this resource. Learners identify and investigate the physical properties of these objects. They create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast types of rocks. This is a motivating way...

Learn about defensible space and renewable resources with a lesson about forest fires. After exploring the ways that humans have impacted the environment, kids conduct mock interviews about differing points of view in the conservation...

Students explore the conditions needed to grow Texas Blue Bonnets. In this Blue Bonnet planting lesson plan, students recognize the differences in Texas Blue Bonnet. Students record their findings in a graphs and analyze their results.

This clever activity combines elements of geography, art, literature, and storytelling. Pupils take a close look at the six geographical regions of Arkansas, and pay close attention to Crowley's Ridge - which is one of the six. In...

Students demonstrate effects of waste on environment and ways of reducing it, observe how much packaging goes into bag lunches each day, and survey their families to assess awareness levels and household recycling practices. Lessons all...

Inquiry is probably one of the most fun ways kids learn. They will test the hardness of 10 different minerals in order to classify them. They rate each of the minerals from most to least hard. Note: Having real minerals for this...

Is everything really connected? Take your class on a walk outside, where they will make observations and write them down on a worksheet. Once they are back in the classroom, learners will work to determine if and how things like birds,...

Young entomologists explored beneficial insects and how they help control pests in the first lesson of the series. Now class members take a close look at the lacewing, which is a beneficial insect.

Here is a very good lesson on magnets, magnetism, and magnitic fields that is chock full of great activities for you to implement with your young scientists. Learners discover the properties of magnets, look at the forces of attraction...

Students discuss ecosystems, eliciting their current knowledge of an ecosystem. Students receive an Ecosystems document and look at the picture. Students brainstorm connection between the cover picture and ecosystems. The indicated...

As part of a unit, this lesson familiarizes youngsters with components of a rain garden. They speculate about the role of an assigned component in contributing to a rain garden, and ultimately, in the health of the local watershed. Each...

Forest fires can be a necessary step in keeping a forest healthy, but what happens when they get out of control? Learners investigate the causes and effects of forest fires in two specific areas, culminating in a report about the ways...

Learners perform an in-depth study of coal - one of most important fossil fuels. Over a three-week period of time, they become familiar with how coal is formed underground, and will create a "fossil" right there in the classroom in order...

Students explore the essential components of a habitat, which is food, water, and shelter. They end the lesson by paying the Oh Deer! game.

Learners explore how different materials (sand, gravel, lava rock) with different water contents on different slopes result in landslides of different severity. They measure the severity by how far the landslide debris extends into model...

Scientists define and discuss decomposition, and watch pumpkins decompose and return to soil in classroom experiment. They record the date the experiment began, chart changes in pumpkins on a calendar, count how many days it takes...

Fourth graders, acting as a botanist, analyze information on different plants in different regions of California. They characterize each plant for each region and answer a variety of question for each plant while doing this study.

A lot of people think of insects as pests. But actually, some insects are beneficial because they get rid of pests! After learning about beneficial insects, class members research given insects to find out if they are pests or predators.

Go on a tour of the ocean through the lens of a scientist. Learners read maps of the ocean floor, study tide behavior, examine wave motion, and analyze components of soil. Each lesson incorporates a hands-on component.

Identify and interpret the earth's different water sources. Third and fourth graders describe and demonstrate the process of the water cycle, make a model of its two main parts, and predict and infer to answer questions about the...

The activity really comes to life within its intended unit on starting a rain garden. Working in groups, participants research native plants and coordinate them with the conditions in the designated garden area. Give the class access to...

Students investigate different types of building structures and how they are able to stand up to earthquakes. Through comparison they determine which buildings are better able to handle earthquakes than others. They create a building,...

Students discover recyclable materials and the proper disposal of those items through Internet research. Working in groups of four, they search the Internet for uses of recyclable materials. After research is complete, they participate...