Curated OER
Folktales and Ecology: Animals and Humans in Cooperation and Conflict
Story elements such as conflict, character analysis, resolution, and moral are discussed and charted as elementary children read folktales involving animals. An element of science is also introduced as learners discover what a keystone...
Curated OER
Night of the Twister
Pupils use reading strategies for Night of the Twister. In this reading strategies lesson, students name five major catastrophes and books about each. Pupils complete a vocabulary section, make inferences and predictions, read the story...
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,...
Virginia Department of Education
Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
Curated OER
Surface Air Temperature Trends of the Caribbean
Students use real satellite data to determine the changes in near-surface air temperature at different times of the year over the Caribbean Sea. They discover how Earth's tilt causes seasonal differences in incoming solar energy. They...
Curated OER
Pendants
Students examine visual arts by creating a piece of jewelery. In this art analysis lesson, students identify the work of Keith Haring by researching the Internet. Students utilize tools and clay to create their own wearable art which...
Curated OER
Sex on TV: Teens and Parents Talk
Students observe human psychology by completing a media analysis worksheet. In this parent and teen communication lesson, students identify the main programs on television today and how sex is used to sell the program as well as...
Curated OER
Being Responsible for Earth
Eighth graders explore the characteristics of responsibility. In this character lesson, 8th graders complete a self-evaluation. Students view a responsibility video. Students write a newspaper article on selected environmental issue.
Curated OER
Disorders of the Brain
Students, in groups, conduct research about a specific disorder of the brain, create a character study of a person with that brain disorder, and then present the information to the rest of the class.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Faces of Climate Change
How does climate change affect you? First in a three-part series, the activity focuses on how individuals living around the world are affected by climate change. Individuals take on the role of a given character and share their...
University of California
Plankton
Plankton: so much more than just a SpongeBob character. Three different activities have kids looking at both phytoplankton and zooplankton in pictures, as well as collecting their own samples (depending on your access to a saltwater...
Curated OER
Genetic Analysis
Students formulate a hypothesis regarding the validity of the current status of the Arizona Hedgehog cactus as a distinct variety of cactus. They design a procedure to isolate DNA from the tissue of plants, given a list of chemicals and...
Curated OER
Science: Handwritten Personality
Students watch an episode of "Frontiers" and discover the scientific basis for handwriting analysis. In the video, they discover how size, shape, and slant of handwriting suggest personality traits. After a discussion, students offer...
Curated OER
Classification of Animals
Sixth graders examine two-way classification systems using four mutually exclusive groups and two dimensions simultaneously. They then are given a set of plastic animals, asked to create a two-way classification system, then asked to...
Curated OER
Tree I.D.
Students explore various tree species. In this tree species instructional activity, students collect leaves on nature walks and use Internet sources to identify the trees that the leaves belong to. Students graph their data as well.
Curated OER
Policy Debate / Community Meeting on Climate Change
Students investigate how natural hazards can present personal and societal challenges as well as the cost involved. They assess the risk analysis considerations with global warming and their impacts on an ecosystem. An estimate of the...
Curated OER
Garden in an Egg Carton
Students investigate the growth of seedlings planted in egg cartons in the classroom. Measurements are taken as the plants grow and charts created to organize the data.
Curated OER
Hero Or Zero?
Learners investigate science and technology by reading a children's book. In this reading comprehension lesson, students read the story Archibald Frisby and discuss the ways we use science and technology in everyday life....
Curated OER
My Owl Babies Miss Momma
Students investigate the relationship between children and parents by reading a book about owls. In this story analysis lesson, students read the book Owl Babies and participate in a role play based on one of the characters....
Curated OER
Constrating Cinderellas/ Connecting LA Cenerentola
Students contrast the traditional Cinderella character with a modern, independent and socially conscious Cinderella. To activate prior knowledge by eliciting from the students some of the familiar story elements of the traditional...
Curated OER
The Transit in Pictures
Students investigate the Transit of Venus and create and produce a public service commercial promoting the Transit of Venus and providing information about its safe viewing.
Curated OER
I Can See You
Second graders explore living without sight. In this senses instructional activity, 2nd graders review the different senses and what they use for each sense. Students discuss what it would be like to not be able to see and they read a...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Attitude Determines Altitude
A fabulous lesson which combines mathematics with space science. Middle schoolers work in cooperative groups in order to research early astronauts and their accomplishments. They look at a variety of rocket and space shuttle designs, and...
Curated OER
Evaluating the Strength of Scientific Evidence: The Rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker
A happy discovery occurred in Arkansas in 2004: a woodpecker, believed to be extinct since the 1940s, reappeared! Or did it? Middle to high school ecologists examine scientific evidence and use critical-thinking skills to determine...