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Unit Plan
Cal Recycle

Conserving Natural Resources

For Teachers K - 3rd Standards
Trying to plan an engaging elementary science unit on natural resources? Conserve your energy! This five-part series of lessons and hands-on activities has exactly what you need to teach young scholars about the importance of conservation.
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Lower Elementary Lessons for Classroom and Garden

For Teachers Pre-K - K Standards
Learn important science topics by exploring the hobby of gardening. A 16-lesson unit explores several science topics through the lens of gardening. Pupils learn about erosion, soil characteristics, capacity, and several other topics as...
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Rock On! Featuring the Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic Trio!

For Teachers 1st - 3rd Standards
Get your classroom rocking with this four-lesson earth science unit. Through a series of shared reading activities and hands-on investigations, young geologists learn about the three types of rocks and the unique properties of each.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Soil Composition

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students examine soil. In this soil composition lesson students participate in soil sedimentation and filtration activities. The students discuss what non-living and living things are in soil and why it is so important.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Edible Soils

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students create soil profiles, including rock, clay, silt, sand, and humus, in clear plastic cups out of edible materials.
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Unit Plan
George Watts Montessori

Upper Elementary Lessons for Classroom and Garden

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Plant knowledge by doing to create long-lasting results. Creating a school garden gives young scholars the opportunity to study several science topics. By working through the unit of 16 lessons, pupils use their gardens to complete...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is Soil?

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students examine soil. In this earth science lesson, students define and describe weathering and erosion as it relates to soil. Students compare and contrast potting soil with forest soil and complete a science observation worksheet.
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Lesson Plan
National Park Service

Reduce Our Carbon Footprint, Let’s Compost!

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty with this elementary and middle school compost lesson. All you need is a large plastic container, a couple old newspapers, some organic waste, and a few hundred worms and you're ready to start...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Marvels of Mud

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
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...
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Activity
US Environmental Protection Agency

Aquifer in a Cup

For Teachers K - 3rd Standards
Young scientists create their very own aquifers in this science lesson on ground water. After learning about how some people get their drinking water from underground wells, young learners use sand, modeling clay, and aquarium rocks to...
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Top 10 Summer Science Lesson Plans

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Make this summer an exciting learning experience for your students with these engaging science activities!
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Animals, Soil, Trees

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders describe the various kinds of soils and how plants and animals are affected by them. They describe the baic needs of plants, scoring at least a 3 or 4 on a 4-point rubic. Students are able to predict and/or infer what...
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Lesson Plan
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American Forest Foundation

Who Speaks for the Trees?

For Teachers Pre-K - 8th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
S2tem Centers SC

Seasons

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Create a Soil Aggregate

For Teachers 2nd - 7th
Learners simulate the conditions which occur in a soil aggregate. They explain how IPM affects the environment. They identify the cast of characteristics to develop their aggregate.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

WET Science Lesson #3: Comparison of Aquatic and Terrestrial Plants

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Elementary life science explorers compare and contrast aquatic and terrestrial plants (elodea and soybeans) in a Venn diagram. Some background information is provided to support direct instruction, and general instructions are provided...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rock, Soil, or Water?

For Teachers K
Pupils participate in an activity in which they identify properties of water, soil and rocks. They work together to identify different types of rocks. They ask questions to complete the lesson.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Organic Farming / Agriculture

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Want an organic farming resource packed with experiments, background information, science fair projects, and topics of interest for further research? Here it is. Young environmental scientists can explore concepts involved in organic...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Compost Lesson

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
If you are looking for how to introduce elementary environmentalists to the process of composting, here is a comprehensive outline for making it happen. The plan is to set this up at the beginning of a school year in order to observe the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Is That Legal? A Case of Acid Rain

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Develop an environmental case study! Elementary learners discover how a case study is used as an analysis tool. The goal of this activity is to show pupils how techniques of persuasion (including background, supporting evidence,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Water We Drink

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders relate that the quality of their drinking water is subject to the condition of the environment and water found in streams and creeks in their community. They track the travel of a wad of paper from a student's desk to a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making a Soil Separator

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students investigate botany by creating a soil separating device.  In this plant life lesson, students identify the needs of plants and how important the right soil is in the growing process.  Students define different soil types and...
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Lesson Plan
National Park Service

Living & Non-Living Interactions

For Teachers 2nd - 6th Standards
What better way to learn about ecosystems than by getting outside and observing them first hand? Accompanying a field trip to a local park or outdoor space, this series of collaborative activities engages children in learning about the...
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Activity
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Science & Plants for Schools

Photosynthesis - A Survival Guide

For Teachers 5th - 11th Standards
Young scientists learn what it takes for life on Earth to survive with this series of photosynthesis resources. Offering twelve different activities ranging from independent practice worksheets to in depth scientific experiments, this...