Virginia Department of Education
Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a activity highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
Montana Natural History Center
Studying Grassland Ecosystems
At first glance, grassland ecosystems might seem dull and uninteresting, but once you start to explore it's amazing the things you'll find! Through this series of engaging lessons, activities, and experiments, elementary students examine...
Curated OER
Let's Think About Day and Night
Students explore day and night and the relationships between the Earth, the sun and the moon. They discuss the ways in which the sun and moon help us. They watch a short video that helps illustrate these concepts.
Curated OER
Our Healthy Bodies
Students complete a variety of activities designed to enhance their awareness of their bodies. They examine pictures of themselves, taken at various points in the year and examine and compare their bodies. They enjoy a healthy snack...
Curated OER
Let's Think About... Magnets and Gravity
Students watch an episode of the PBS show "Jay Jay the Jet Plane," and explore magnets and gravity. They conduct various experiments involving magnets and sand, bean bags, and a fishing pole with magnets.
Curated OER
Walking on Frozen Ground
Students listen to an Elder speak about permafrost structures in their area. In this permafrost lesson plan, students listen to the guest speaker, take a tour outside to view permafrost structures, and draw them.
Curated OER
Can You See What I See?
Students gain an understanding of the methods used to explore the earth's surface. Students create a time line leading to the first satellite image of the Earth that includes the various methods utilized to observe the earth's surface.
Curated OER
Identify and use Simple Machines
Students are exposed to simple machines and their uses. In this everyday tools lesson, students watch a demonstration on how a lever, pulley, ramp, and wheel works. Students are given the opportunity to use hands-on techniques to explore...
Curated OER
Animal Coverings
Students compare and contrast the types of coverings found on animals. They identify a wide variety of animals in a museum room. They classify animals based on their coverings as well.
Curated OER
Loud or soft?
Send this cute activity home with kids, to increase family involvement. They'll consider what would happen if rice was bounced in a tambourine, and then they'll complete a sound activity by makings an instrument out of wax paper and a...
Curated OER
Homes for Hermit Crabs
Students discover the differences between hermit crabs and mollusks and identify their parts. After reading a story about hermit crabs, they complete an anatomy worksheet. For another activity, students fold and cut a diagram of a hermit...
Curated OER
Talking Duck
Students visit a local wetland or WWT centre and record their observations by writing or drawing on the downloadable pupil activity sheet.
Curated OER
Wonderfully Wild Unit the four L's of Wildlife
Students appreciate the natural environment. In this "four L's" lesson, students observe, reflect and appreciate unique ecosystems and how they help sustain life. Students create posters with the four L's.
Curated OER
Hatching Chickens
Students observe chicks hatching from eggs. In this science lesson, students view a video to develop an understanding of the proper care and needs of eggs and live animals. This is a great precursor activity for hatching eggs in class.
Curated OER
Those Busy, Buzz'n Worker Bees
Students research information on worker bees. In this insect lesson, students review the body parts of insects and how bees find flowers. They discuss compound and simple eyes and the life cycle of a worker bee.
Curated OER
Backyard Critters
Young scholars explore the characteristics of invertebrates in their backyards. They observe, describe, and classify specimens. They conclude with a "snail race."
Curated OER
The Magic School Bus Gains Weight
Students learn along with Ms. Frizzle's class. In this Magic School Bus lesson plan, students test whether gravity makes heavier things fall faster than lighter ones.
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A Worm World
Students maintain a compost bin and build a worm observatory. They design experiments relating to worms and record observations in a worm journal.
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Pecan Fingerprints
Students investigate the traits that make them individuals. They study that natural items have traits that make them unique by looking at pecans. They make fingerprint animals which they use to design fingerprint cards.
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Let's Think About Air
Students explore the concept that air is all around us and identify ways that we can use air, and what air can do. They watch a short video that illustrates some of their findings.
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Let's Think About Water
Students explore the different forms that water can take and conduct simple experiments to demonstrate some of its properties in each state. They watch a short video that illustrates some of these concepts.
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Let's Think About... Change
Students observe various examples of "change." They mix paint to cereate new colors, eat bread and then toasted bread, and match baby pictures with pictures of how the same people look in the present. Finally, they watch a bouquet of...
Curated OER
Lets Think About...Plants
Students bring in various vegetables and make friendship soup. They plant seeds and discuss the things plants need to grow and thrive.
Curated OER
Insects
Students, through books, videos, and readings, explore characteristics of insects. In groups, they choose an insect to research. Students discover their insect's diet, how they move, and where they live. Afterwards, they use the facts...