Penguin Books
The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Young Readers Edition
As the saying goes, you are what you eat. A useful set of lesson plans encourage young readers to take a second look at their eating habits. Pre- and post-reading questions bring in reflective writing and discussion while extension...
Newspaper Association of America
Community Connections with Geography and the Newspaper
Understanding geography and government begins at the local level. Using maps and the parts of a newspaper, a unit plan introduces the concept of community. It starts with the creation of classroom and school maps, and then moves through...
Perkins School for the Blind
Building an Organic Molecule
Glucose is a simple sugar and a molecule that can be illustrated through modeling. Scientific investigators with visual impairments use hands-on models to reconstruct the process of bonding molecules. The tools used in this activity are...
Ask a Biologist
It’s a Plankton Eat Plankton World
For as small as they are, plankton sure play an enormous role in maintaining marine ecosystems. Dive into an investigation of these tiny organisms with a hands-on life science activity in which children cut out pictures of sea animals...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Reading Primary Sources: Darwin and Wallace
Take your classes back in time. Learners read real historical texts from both Darwin and Wallace as well as an announcement of their findings. Using guiding questions, they make inferences and draw conclusions from the information in the...
Curated OER
Whose Parts Do I Have? (Wings and Things)
Learners identify an animal and a body part and then matches a body part to a specific animal. This will assess their ability to sort organisms and objects into groups according to their parts and describe how the groups are formed and...
Curated OER
Bacteria
Students study the advantages and disadvantages of bacteria. In this bacteria lesson students draw and label the different types of bacteria.
Curated OER
Ornithology and Real World Science
Double click that mouse because you just found an amazing lesson plan! This cross-curricular Ornithology lesson plan incorporates literature, writing, reading informational text, data collection, scientific inquiry, Internet research,...
Baylor College
Pre-Assessment: The Brain
Break your class in to the general structure and function of the brain. Brainiacs discuss what they know about it and create personalized brain development timelines. They also take a true-false, pre-assessment quiz to get them thinking...
EngageNY
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 12
How can opinions slant facts? Workshop participants learn how to examine primary and secondary sources and identify the author's point of view. They also examine how visual art impacts the meaning and rhetoric of sources. Full of...
Curated OER
Exploring Arizona's Biotic Communities Lesson 1: Mapping Biotic Communities
As part of a unit on Arizona's biotic communities, young ecology learners create a map. They describe how humans and animals adapt in their habitat. They take notes and create graphic organizers from articles they read. Beautiful maps,...
BioEd Online
Skeletal Structures
What better way to study the structures of organisms than by creating a new being? After considering different types of skeletal supports (exoskeleton and endoskeleton), budding biogeneticists work together to create their own animals -...
Curated OER
Body Tissue
Human anatomy learners will grow more knowledgable about body tissue by viewing this presentation. Injected with a little humor (e.g. using a toilet paper roll graphic in place of the word "tissue"), it is sure to keep them engaged. The...
Baylor College
Needs of Living Things: Post-Assessment
Assess your class's knowledge of the needs of living things with the final lesson in a series. Given a large piece of paper and coloring utensils, young scientists draw a picture of themselves and a plant or animal of their choosing,...
Baylor College
What Is a Neuron?
Your class won't get on your nerves while doing this modeling activity! After teaching the structure and function of a neuron using the included diagrams, give individuals some clay and chenille stems so that they can make their own...
Baylor College
Neural Network Signals
Using a simple circuit with the battery representing the brain, future physiologists test to see which solutions conduct electrical "nerve impulses." Enlighten learners with plentiful information on electric signals in the nervous system...
Channel Islands Film
Island Rotation: Lesson Plan 3
How far have California's Channel islands moved? What was the rate of this movement? Class members first examine data that shows the age of the Hawaiian island chain and the average speed of the Pacific Plate. They then watch West of the...
Curated OER
Exploring the Celestial Neighborhood
Ninth graders study the origin and organization of the solar system. They investigate the Earth's place in the system and how planetary motions explain natural phenomena observable from Earth.
Curated OER
Using Multicultural Literature with Science
Fourth graders listen to The Great Ball Game and discuss the roots of the tale. In this multicultural tale students identify the realistic facts about the Abnenaki Indians. Students use the Internet to find out about the author and...
Curated OER
What's This Solar System All About?
Sixth graders complete a unit of lessons on the solar system. In small groups, they participate in a Webquest, watch movies, complete graphic organizers, and answer questions, create a model of the planets, and develop a Powerpoint...
Curated OER
Protozoans
In this protozoans instructional activity, students observe pond water using a microscope to identify the four classes of single-celled organisms including sarcodines, ciliates, flagellates and sporozoans.
Curated OER
Wanted: A Breath of Fresh Air
Students examine the causes and effects of air pollution, as well as ways in which various industries and government organizations are aiming to control it. They research the topic on the Internet and create posters based on their research.
Curated OER
Animal Communication
Students use three nonfiction selections in order to investigate the concept of animal communication. They use a graphic organizer for the information as it is gathered in the reading.
Curated OER
Death On Board La Belle: Finding Clues from Old Bones
Students practice analyzing skeletal remains for clues by using the Internet. In this scientific investigation lesson, students research the La Belle shipwreck using the Internet and written materials, later completing a Skeletal Report...