Curated OER
The Garbage Patch: Two Earth day Lessons
Students view a seven minute video called Gorilla in the Greenhouse. In this Earth day lesson, students review the history of Earth day. Students work in groups to describe the life cycle of a plastic bag. Students understand that...
Curated OER
Earth Day Number Sense
Elementary schoolers count and order objects using numbers 1-300. They bring recyclable items from home. Students group the items, skip count by 2's, 3's, and 5's, and arrange the items on a number line. Recyclable plastic bags are put...
Curated OER
Earth Day
Students complete a variety of Earth Day activities. In this recycling and the environment lesson plan, students listen to Earth friendly music, create a car out of juice boxes, use soda cans and bottle caps to create a Halloween...
Curated OER
Earth Day - Grow A Seed Garden
Young scholars discover how things grow and how they can take better care of the environment in this Earth Day lesson for the elementary classroom. The activity can be accomplished in one day and left in the sun until the "beans" begin...
Curated OER
Earth Day: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Young scholars list ways to reduce, reuse and recycle, and produce an acrostic poem reflecting their understanding about Earth Day. They also use the Internet to integrate technology into learning.
US Department of Energy
Draft-O-Meter
Help your class improve the energy efficiency of their homes with the draft-o-meter. Simply tape a sheet of plastic wrap to a pencil and use it to observe any air leaking through windows, doorways, and other locations around the house....
American Forest Foundation
Who Speaks for the Trees?
Help young conservationists appreciate the important role that trees play in ecosystems around the world with this collection of six engaging activities. From a shared reading and class discussion of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, to in an depth...
World Wildlife Fund
Land of the Midnight Sun
From days of 24 hour sunlight, to endless nights that last for days, the Arctic is a very unique place to live. Examine the seasonal changes that occur in the northern-most reaches of the globe and the impact they have on the plants and...
Sea World
Seaworld Science Activity
A fun collection of activities about marine life would be a great addition to your elementary science unit. From cute penguins to scary sharks, the unit features crafts, experiments, and basic research projects that will teach your...
Curated OER
Connect the Spheres: Earth Systems Interactions
Is everything really connected? Take your class on a walk outside, where they will make observations and write them down on a worksheet. Once they are back in the classroom, learners will work to determine if and how things like birds,...
Curated OER
Use Google Maps to Teach Math
Capture the engagement of young mathematicians with this upper-elementary math lesson on measuring time and distance. Using Google Maps, students first measure and compare the distance and time it takes to travel between different...
Curated OER
Models of the Earth and Moon
Learners explore the earth's rotation and phases of the moon. In this planets lesson, students rotate and revolve around a light representing the sun. Learners use movement and props to simulate what causes the phases of the moon as well...
Curated OER
Planetary Place Value
Third graders explore place value to the ten thousands place. This incredibly thorough, 24-page lesson plan has learners construct, order, and compare numbers to 9,999. This three-day lesson plan includes reteaching and extension...
Curated OER
Our Intriguing Star, the Sun!
Explore the sun in a lesson plan about space. The instructional activity spans ten weeks, with students performing activities to answer weekly questions about the Sun and Earth.
Curated OER
The Marvels of Mud
Young scientists roll up their sleeves and get a little dirty in this three-day earth science investigation. Following the scientific method, children monitor the growth of algae in pond water samples in order to determine the role that...
Curated OER
Environmental Fair
Students investigate environmental issues. In this environmental lesson, students find an object that is considered trash and make something useful out of it. Students present their creative project.
California Academy of Science
Energy: A Day in My Life
If only we could harness the energy of fifth graders, our energy problems would be over! The class discusses where different forms of energy come from and how we use them. They complete a chart of the activities that they do daily that...
Space Awareness
History of the Universe
Your pupils may believe that you and their parents are the oldest things in the universe, but surprise! There are elements of the universe that are even older. Elementary scientists create a class timeline to demonstrate the expansive...
Curated OER
The Starry Night Time and Day Time
Second graders complete a unit of lessons on the solar system. They complete various art projects inspired by Van Gogh's 'Starry Night,' create a moon phases book, create a moon phase wind chime, develop a timeline of space exploration,...
Berkshire Museum
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle: Sorting Through Personal Choices
Raise children's awareness about the importance of conservation with this hands-on science instructional activity. Start by breaking the class into groups and having them collect trash from around the school or local park. Students then...
Curated OER
The Planet Earth
Students explore the planet Earth, outer space, and Earth's axis. They demonstrate reading comprehension skills, including literal meaning, inference and critical analysis.
S2tem Centers SC
Seasons
Winter, spring, summer, and fall—take the learning of the seasons beyond the elementary level to the middle school classroom. Curious learners begin by watching videos about the seasons and the rotation of planet Earth. Then, they...
National Security Agency
Let's Party With Place Value
Put on your math caps and explore place value and ways to represent numbers. Learners read, write, and represent whole numbers. They interact with numbers as they read and explore a teacher-created story, play games, and practice their...
PBS
Breaking it Down
After challenging themselves to correctly choose the form of erosion and length of time required for a given landform to develop, earth science class members model mechanical and chemical weathering with various lab demonstrations over...