Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biology In Elementary Schools

For Teachers K - 3rd
Learners classify animals into six major animal groups and describe the characteristics of the animals found within each group.  In this living and non-living animals lesson, students observe a variety of animals, both living and...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Something Fishy in Ontario

For Teachers 4th
Students create a diorama of the habitat of the fish of their choice, along with a research paper. They research habitats, the factors which affect specific habitats, and how fish adapt to different habitats in order to meet their unique...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

WET Science Lesson #3: Comparison of Aquatic and Terrestrial Plants

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Elementary life science explorers compare and contrast aquatic and terrestrial plants (elodea and soybeans) in a Venn diagram. Some background information is provided to support direct instruction, and general instructions are provided...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Into the Wilderness: Habitat vs. Development

For Teachers 5th - 8th
By studying the once-assumed extinction, then rediscovery of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, learners look at the physical changes that have occured in habitats throughout Arkansas. This outstanding lesson is chock full of terrific...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploration of 'pill bugs'

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders define words. They create a dichotomous key. After carefully examining pill bugs, 5th graders record observations. They compare and contrast habitats of pillbugs.
Lesson Plan
National Park Service

Living & Non-Living Interactions

For Teachers 2nd - 6th Standards
What better way to learn about ecosystems than by getting outside and observing them first hand? Accompanying a field trip to a local park or outdoor space, this series of collaborative activities engages children in...
Lesson Plan
BBC

Light and Shadows

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Light is such an amazing thing! Elementary schoolers explore the wonderful world of light and shadow. The lesson is meant to be carried out on a whiteboard. Objects are placed in front of a light source, and learners must predict what...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Deep Sea Vents

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students study the vent and non vent deep sea and see the differences in habitats.  In this investigative lesson students complete a worksheet and work in groups.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Meet the Animals

For Teachers Pre-K - 2nd
The class will examine a series of live or stuffed animals in order to learn how different animals survive in distinctive habitats. As they examine each animal, they will be asked a series of critical thinking questions geared at getting...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Timeline for Bird and Plant Research

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students research and observe birds and plants in selected habitat areas.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Around Us

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students create a collage of human land use activities around a body of water. Students evaluate the effects of different kinds of land use on wetland habitats, and create a list of pros and cons for each land use.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pond Life

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students recognize the habitats of animals that live near or in a pond.  In this pond lesson plan, students examine pond water and look for pond organisms. Students observe organisms with a loupe and complete a worksheet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where Are the Bugs?

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students trap, collect and identify arthropods in a newly created desert tortoise preserve area over a period of one school year. They determine the rate at which various arthropods take up residence in the newly landscaped area. Data is...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Urban Life: What Lives In Our Local Park?

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders participate in activities during a visit to Central Park. In this urban life lesson, 5th graders visit Central Park where they explore pond dipping, stream chemistry, and play a native plant Bingo game.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring the Great Salt Lake

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders participate in a scavenger hunt, looking for things that are unique about the ecosystem in and around the lake. They observe and describe a variety of habitats and distinguish living and nonliving elements of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Boston Harbor Cruise: A Shoreline Survey

For Teachers K - 6th
The students take a harbor cruise, photograph, and draw shore line features attending to evidence of human impact/consequences, and its cost on marine/land animal habitats vegetation, weather patterns, signs of erosion, and the water...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Layers of the Forest- Leaf Litter

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students conduct an experiment. In this temperate forest lesson, students discuss what kind of animal life can be found in the forest. They read The Magic School Bus Meets the Rot Squad: A Book About Decomposition and complete an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Living in a Tree

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students explore animals that live in trees. In this nature and biology lesson plan, students go outdoors and make observations about animals and their unique body parts that help them to live in trees. Students create drawings as they...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Venus Flytrap

For Teachers K - 12th
Students study the Venus Flytrap including its habitat and how it eats.  In this ecology lesson students complete several experiments using a Venus Flytrap to see how it reacts to various conditions. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching Kids about the Environment

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders identify the species of plants and animals found in an environment. They compare these findings to plant and animal species found in an unlike environment. Students acquire and compare soil samples from the two sites chosen.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Paper Sculpture Habitats

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students develop skills in sculpture. They acknowledge that sculpture can be made in a variety of ways. Students encounter different ways paper can be manipulated. They gain experience in collaboration.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

She Sells Sea Shells in Illinois??

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders sorted shells first by methods they thought appropriate and then were instructed on the scientific method of classification by univalve and bivalve. Students then sorted paper shells as a method of assessing knowledge. It...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Two Rivers Ran Through It

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders discover the problems that early Mesototamian farmers faced while developing agriculture in the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. They design a working model that solves those unique challenges.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Desert Plant Detectives

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students examine and categorize plants in their own schoolyard desert garden and then observe other plant areas of their schoolyard.