Lerner Publishing
Meet the Dinosaurs
Take your class of youngsters on a prehistoric adventure with this four-lesson series on dinosaurs. Accompanying the Meet the Dinosaurs books by Don Lessem, these lessons engage children in writing their own dinosaur books, making...
Curated OER
Perched Parrot Decorative Chair
Young scholars discuss the rainforests and why they are important to the Earth's environment. They study the habitats and characteristics of various animals that live in rainforests. Students build a decorative chair using a rainforest...
Curated OER
Backyard Critters
Students explore the characteristics of invertebrates in their backyards. They observe, describe, and classify specimens. They conclude with a "snail race."
Curated OER
Science: Animal Body Parts
Students examine animal vocabulary words and identify which animals have those characteristics. In small groups, they play an animal card game involving more vocabulary words. Students continue to drill on terms by completing...
Curated OER
What Is It?
Play the game of Tag and differentiate between plants and animals. Explore the characteristics of plants. Identify the major parts of plants (e.g., seeds, stem, pistil) and describe their basic functions. Compare the requirements of some...
Curated OER
Get Ready, Get Set, Hibernate
Students match each body part or idea from a work bank about methods of animal adaptations for winter survival. They observe as the first one, food is covered with the whole class before completing the rest of the diagram. They discuss...
Curated OER
Let Me Tell You About My Favorite Animal
Students create books about their favorite animals using graphic organizers.
Curated OER
Plant and Animal Cells
Students investigate parts of a cell. In this plant cell lesson plan, students determine the difference between plant and animal cells. Students discover that coral is an animal based on cell characteristics. Students create puppets to...
Curated OER
The Rainforest Walk
Fourth graders research the characteristics and inhabitants of the rainforest. They demonstrate their ability to communicate using e-mail and create a class presentation of their research.
Curated OER
TIDES
Second graders are taught the concept of camouflage through the game hide and seek. They view photographs of camouflaged animals on the TIDES website. Students create a poster that camouflages a particular animal based on what they have...
Curated OER
The Marvels of Mud
Young scientists roll up their sleeves and get a little dirty in this three-day earth science investigation. Following the scientific method, children monitor the growth of algae in pond water samples in order to determine the role that...
Roald Dahl
The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me
Follow up a reading of The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl with this collaborative lesson on teamwork. Starting with a fun team game, learners go on to investigate examples of teamwork in the story before working in small...
Cornell University
Let’s Raise Lacewings
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.
University of Hawaiʻi
Taxonomy and Me!
Taxonomy is the study of organisms and how you phylum. Three biology activities are included, helping scholars understand four of the six kingdoms, specifically Protista, Plantae, Fungi, and Animalia. Scholars observe and classify in...
ReadWriteThink
The Chinese New Year Starts Today
As part of a celebration of Chinese New Year, class members research the Chinese zodiac and examine the description of the personality attributes associated with the animal of their birth year. Individuals then craft a persuasive essay...
Curated OER
Caring for a Pet
Students identify the responsibilities of pet owners. In this animal welfare lesson, students read the book Animals As Friends and list the characteristics of a good pet owner. Students use a tally sheet to determine what pets students...
Curated OER
Where Do Eggs Come From?
Students study the many characteristics that they share with other animals and how those characteristics relate to the proper care of animals. Students also study facts about chickens and chicken-related vocabulary. Finally, they study...
Curated OER
Habits: An Introduction
Second graders identify different types of habitats animals live in to have a better understanding of the world around them. They choose a habitat, draw a picture of an animal that lives there and list the unique attributes the habitat...
Curated OER
Naturalist's Notebook
Students observe and record the behavior of a San Diego wetland animal and the characteristics of its environment. The amount of time that each animal spends resting, grooming, eating, flying, and social or individual play becomes the...
Curated OER
Wildlife Animal Skulls
Students observe skulls of wild animals and determine their characteristics for survival. They evaluate the skuylls to discover the diets, and if the animals were predators or prey. They complete worksheets on mystery skulls.
Curated OER
Inside the Egg, Hatching Chickens
Pupils conduct an egg candling activity to show the life inside a fertile egg. Students discuss the needs the egg has of the hen, as well as similarities and differences between plants and animals. Pupils complete a life cycle wheel...
Curated OER
Introduction to the Animal Kingdom
Students are asked: Are there animals that don't move during their lives. They are asked what is an animal? Students discuss what animals need to survive. They are taught the trends in animal evolution. Students discuss the three...
Curated OER
Feeding Frenzy
Learners examine, through experimentation and simulation, how insect mouthparts are adapted for particular food sources, discuss how various animals have adapted to survive, play Feeding Frenzy game, and complete activity sheets.
Curated OER
Engineering and the Senses: Smell
Students define the sense of smell. In this smell sense instructional activity, students review their five senses and define the importance of smell. Students practice smelling and identifying items in bags. Students discuss the...