Alabama Learning Exchange
The Water Cycle
Learners identify the stages of the water cycle. They listen to the book "Magic School Bus: Wet All Over," examine the Build Your Own Water Cycle website, predict and measure the amount of water in a jar for a week, and read a short play...
Virginia Department of Education
The Hydrologic Cycle
There is the same amount of water on earth now as there was when it was formed. The water from your faucet could contain molecules that dinosaurs drank! Young scientists build their own hydrologic cycle model and observe it for five...
Curated OER
Unit 1: Water is Life: The Heart and Science Behind this Phrase
Water, water, everywhere — but will there be enough to drink? Check out these detailed lesson plans to meet NGSS water cycle and CCSS literacy standards in your science classroom. Learners do a close reading of a challenging, poetic text...
Curated OER
Models of the Water Cycle
Young scholars describe and review the stages in the water cycle. In groups, they build their own models of the water cycle and demonstrate where the water goes in a closed system. They answer discussion questions after the experiment to...
Curated OER
The Water Cycle - Family Page
Students discuss the steps of the water cycle. They create their own model of the water cycle. They complete the Family Page at the end of the lesson plan.
Curated OER
Prairie In A Bottle
Second graders observe images of prairie ecosystems and discuss the needs of living things. They create a prairie habitat in a closed jar to observe the water cycle and plant growth.
Curated OER
Creating the Water Cycle
Students create a terrarium to examine the stages of the water cycle. In small groups, they plant and water a seed in an enclosed plastic container. Each day they diagram and write observations of the terrarium using water cycle vocabulary.
Brooklyn Children’s Museum
Volcanoes!
Give young geologists an up close and personal look at volcanoes with a series of hands-on earth science lessons. Whether they are investigating the properties of igneous rocks, building their own volcanoes, or making fudge to model the...
University of Wisconsin
A Rain Garden Year
Pupils become plants in an interpretive play that depicts what happens throughout the seasons in a rain garden. As you narrate, students bloom, flower, and go to seed accordingly. The lesson is first in a series of lessons written for...
Curated OER
Building Soil Nature's Way: Exploring decomposition and soil health
Students explore decomposition and soil health by creating their own garden. In this agriculture lesson, students build a "lasagna garden" with organic matter found in the area and plant perennials native to their region. Students are...
Teach Engineering
Photosynthesis—Life's Primary Energy Source
Wouldn't it be great if you could produce your own food? Scholars learn about the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in plants. They consider how to use photosynthesis as a model of an efficient system and how to apply...
Curated OER
Gardening with Your Students
By growing a class or school garden you can teach students about the environment, the life cycle of a plant, and healthy eating.
National Wildlife Federation
Penguin Fun Facts
What's black and white and can dive up to 1,800 feet under water? That's right, penguins! Learn this and many other amazing facts about these unique birds with this handy reference sheet.
Amateur Athletic Foundation
Olympic Lingo
Instead of bingo, why not play some Lingo? This vocabulary game is just like bingo, but it's all about words and focuses on building vocabulary. The resource provides a blank Lingo card, a filled-in sample, and a vocabulary list. All of...
Eastern Michigan University
Energy Flow in a Wetland Ecosystem
How is energy transferred within an ecosystem? What would happen to a food web if one of the organisms was removed? Elementary or middle school ecologists examine these questions and more in a comprehensive 5E learning cycle lesson....
Virginia Department of Education
Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a instructional activity highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and...
Exploratorium
Geyser
Although it requires a little extra preparation the first time you use this geyser demonstration, it can be used repeatedly once it has been constructed. This demonstration is useful in showcasing how heat leads to increased pressure and...
Curated OER
The Miracle Fish: Learning to Design an Experiment
Students develop procedures to explore the behavior of fish. In this scientific experiment lesson students from a hypothesis, write a question, identify different variables and controls in their experiment.