Students recognize similarities and differences in plants. In this plants and animals lesson, students begin to classify living things by observable characteristics. Students watch clips from the Internet and play online games. Students...

Students investigate living organisms and define the properties of a living species.  In this life characteristic lesson, students examine plants in their class and discuss whether or not they are alive.  Students create a...

Students explore diverse forms of life by using modern biological classification systems to group animals that are related. Students then study basic scientific groupings like genus, species, mammals, fish, birds, amphibians, and...

Students go on a nature walk and look for specific plants and animals. They check off items they find and determine if they were a plant or an animal.

Young scholars review the classification system for living organisms and apply it the classification of insects and flowers in the still life by Ambrosius Bosschaert. They create a chart classifying the animals and plants in the painting...

Students understand the definition of binomial nomenclature. In this binomial nomenclature lesson, students classify ordinary animals by seeking their scientific names. Students participate in a knowledge hunt using binomial nomenclature.

Fourth graders describe the characteristics that determine if something is living, dead, or non-living. They determine the difference between living and non-living things. Students determine if an object is living or non-living and...

Sixth graders identify plant adaptations. In this adaptations lesson, 6th graders use digital cameras to photograph plants found on their campus. Students describe the adaptations for each plant.

Sixth graders define terms prey, predator, and scavenger, describe predator-prey relationship, discuss effects of a lack of predators in an environment, and separate the role of the scavenger from that of the predator.

Young scholars complete a food chain. In this ecosystem lesson, students learn about producers, consumers and decomposers. Young scholars identify herbivores, carnivores and omnivores and complete two worksheets.

Students explore the classification system of organisms: taxonomy. They examine prepared slides of Protozoans and record information on a Taxonomy Recording Sheet. Two additional classifying activities are also included in this...

Explore the concept of scientific classification and the similarities and differences between plant and animal species. Your class will participate in hands-on activities by investigating dichotomous keys and classifying their shoes. To...

How can you tell if something is living or nonliving? Introduce a set of criteria which can be used to determine which things are alive and which are not. The class discusses the basic needs of all living organisms, checks out an...

Second graders explore biology by researching animal characteristics. In this adaptation lesson, 2nd graders identify the history of several animals and research the changes that have occurred to their anatomy over thousands of years....

Fourth graders discuss different classification schemes for living organisms. They group common household items to discover many ways to classify organisms. Students compare/contrast characteristics of each classification.

Students identify animals in ecosystem depicted on 16th Century ceramic basin and classify them as herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores based on physical characteristics and prior knowledge, determine which life forms in ecosystem are...

Fourth graders study food chains, producers, consumers, and decomposers. They play a food chain game and create food chain mobiles or posters. They take a nature hike around the school and observe various parts of a food chain.

Fifth graders, in groups, make a list of at least three animals that would survive well in a particular environment. After an allotted time, they pass their list to another group, where they will add to it. They discuss adaptations each...

Students complete an animal classification activity. In this classification lesson plan, students learn about the seven classification levels of animals. Students are given several animal sheets in which they separate...

Students compare and contrast characteristics of conifer and hardwood trees. After collecting samples of branches around the school, they classify the branch as hardwood or conifer. Groups of students identify given twigs. They go...