Curated OER
What's Your Favorite Season?
Students explore earth science by creating illustrations in class. For this four seasons lesson, students identify the four different types of weather that take place during the year and read the books Harvest Year and Snow Comes to the...
Virginia Department of Education
A Salt Marsh Ecosystem
What a web we weave. Pupils use yarn as the primary resource to create a web depicting the intricacies of a salt marsh ecosystem. They participate in a question and answer session, which leads to an in-depth facilitated discussion...
Virginia Department of Education
Evidence of Evolution
What an impression fossils make! In this activity, aspiring paleontologists view fossils and construct a timeline to further understand how the lack of natural adaptation caused historical organisms to become extinct. While they...
Virginia Department of Education
Owl Family Natural Selection
How do genetic mutations within a population lead to future variations? Provide your class with the resources to answer this question and more upon completing an activity on natural selection. The entire class participates in a...
Curated OER
The Four Seasons
Students examine four paintings by Robert Harris and identify the season portrayed. Using the characteristics for each season, they write a poem and create a drawing of their own. In groups, they describe the different types of...
Curated OER
What is Weather?
Students identify different types of weather and explore the weather for each season of the year. They complete a class seasonal weather chart, listen to the book "Oh Say Can You Say What's the Weather Today?," and create a magazine...
Curated OER
Water 1: Water and Ice
Students examine the changes as water goes from solid to liquid. In this states of matter instructional activity, students observe and record the changes to water as it changes from solid to liquid and back to solid.
Curated OER
Teach it to me - Seasonal Calendar
Students document the weather. In this seasons instructional activity, students study the weather, record the temperature outside and photograph what the weather conditions look like. All information gathered by the students will be made...
Curated OER
Knowing North: Understanding the Relationship Between Time and The Sun
Students determine how to find North using a watch and their shadow. In this finding North lesson, students go outside on a sunny day and work with their shadow and a wrist watch to find out which direction that North is. They examine...
Foundation for Water & Energy Education
How Can Work Be Done with Water Power? Activity C
Third in a set of lessons regarding reservoirs, dams, and hydropower, this involves a two-day hydropower plant simulation. Collaborative groups build, maintain, and finance the plant. The transparency of the reservoir setup can be...
Curated OER
Can You Name the Four Seasons?
Students explore names, characteristics and traditions of the seasons and observe weather changes throughout the year.
Curated OER
Dressing for the Season
Students discuss what types of clothing to wear for the different seasons. They dress a paper doll every morning based on the weather outside. They also discuss what is a typical day in each of the different seasons.
Curated OER
The Weather Around Us
First graders explore weather patterns. For this weather lesson, 1st graders research the daily weather by creating a graph of the daily weather conditions. Students use the computer to access information regarding the weather forecast....
Curated OER
Classroom Meteorologists: An Experiential Approach to Learning about Seasons and Weather
Students examine several concepts about weather in the seven lessons of this unit. This year long activity helps students to gather data seasonally about wind, clouds, precipitation, and temperature. Earth's three climate zones are...
Curated OER
Using Vegetation, Precipitation, and Surface Temperature to Study Climate Zones
Young scholars begin their examination of the climate zones found around the world. Using a software program, they identify the relationship between the vegetation, climate and temperatures of the different zones. They also plot...
Curated OER
Introducing Temperature Measurement
Pupils read a thermometer, associate weather conditions and seasons with temperature changes and keep a record of daily temperature.
Curated OER
Planting Seeds Around the World
First graders discuss the book The Lorax and research what living things need. In this environmental lesson, 1st graders investigate how humans affect the growth of plants. Students conduct an experiment with sunflowers.
Curated OER
Our Desert Backyard
Students make observations of their own backyard. In this environment lesson, students keep records of the plants and animals they see in their home or school yard. Students make notes of how the weather and environment changes over...
Virginia Department of Education
Ecosystem Dynamics
Searching for an eccentric way to enhance lessons on ecosystems while ensuring pupils remain creative and motivated? Upon viewing The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, designated groups design and construct a pop-up book that...
Virginia Department of Education
Predator-Prey Simulation
Do your pupils have the misconception that environmental predators are "bad" and harm smaller creatures? The simulation explains, in detail, the important role predators play in maintaining a stable ecosystem. Through web-based research,...
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
Ecology and the Conservation of Natural Resources
Students examine the habits of various organism and evaluate the need for conserving natural resources. They role-play as migrating birds traveling between habitats encountering hazards along the way. They observe animals in a...
Curated OER
Exploring Animal Habitats: Winter Changes
Students explore animals during the winter months. They discuss the changes that animals make during winter in order to survive. Students discuss migration, hibernation, and staying active during winter months. Students create various...
Curated OER
Clouds and the Weather
Fourth graders analyze the relationship of clouds and local weather. Students also observe and record cloud data and weather conditions daily as they research different cloud types. The data is analyzed looking for trends in daily...