Alachua County Public Schools
Food Chain
Two to four players receive seven cards each, with plants, animals, or nitrates depicted. They place what they have onto their own empty game board with the objective to complete a food chain. The game is a fun way to reinforce learning...
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Erosion
Young scholars examine soil erosion and what causes it. In this soil lesson students complete several experiments on soil erosion and the weathering process.Â
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What type of soil do worms like?- An Investigation
Students study four types of soil and predict which one worms would use for their habitat. They observe worms in each type of soil and monitor their activity. They create class charts highlighting their discoveries.
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Plants and Ecosystems
The relationships within and between ecosystems can be explored. after examining an area for living and non-living things learners complete the same examination in the forest ecosystem. Students identify abiotic and biotic elements in an...
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Plant Parts and their Function
Discover why plants are important to our world. View plant parts and categorize them as stems or buds. Students do a cut and paste of pictures of plants into correct categories.  Students also plant a carrot top,and record the growth and...
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Worm Composting
Second graders discuss worm composting. In this decomposition instructional activity, 2nd graders look at the anatomy of the worm and how it eats food. They have their own worm bin and review what foods can and can not be given to the...
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Plant Nutrition and Nutrients
Students observe seeds growth and examine the different parts of the seedling. In this biology lesson, students compare the growth of seeds planted in soil and in hydroponics. They record their observations in their science journal and...
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Sedimentary Rocks
Fourth graders discuss the basic properties of rocks, the processes
involved in the formation of soils, and the needs of plants provided by soil. They write descriptions in their Science journal and identify and discuss each type of...
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Teaching Kids about the Environment
Fifth graders identify the species of plants and animals found in an environment. They compare these findings to plant and animal species found in an unlike environment. Students acquire and compare soil samples from the two sites chosen.
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Wonderful Worms
Students identify living and non-living things and explain the importance of earthworms to the soil. They name some basic facts about earthworms, recognize basic worm vocabulary words and demonstrate vermicomposting techniques.
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Earth Changes
Students explore the make-up of the earth and the changes it undergoes in an earthquake. In this earth science instructional activity, students have two activities as part of a unit. First, to use a Styrofoam ball to model the earth's...
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Lake Effect
Fourth graders explore some of the effects Great Salt Lake has on Utah's local weather/temperature moderation, lake effect storms, and temperature inversions. They observe the differences of specific heat between soil and water and...
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Earthworms and Making a Wormery
Learners explore the environment by researching insects. In this earthworm lesson, students utilize soil and plexiglass to build a see through wormery in which learners can observe the worms at work. Students identify the benefits of...
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The Mulch Mystery!
Fourth graders make a detailed observations about non-native and native grasses. They define reasonable policies that they expect to follow while working in the CRWA. Students list, in small groups, two treatments that have been used in...
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Compost and Composting Experiments
Students investigate the composting process through a variety of experiments. In this ecology lesson, students discuss the benefits of composting. They examine how compost affect plant growth.
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Dishing the Dirt Part 1
Students create a soil center on their school grounds. They begin to write in their science journals. They participate in an experiment that helps the community begin their own gardens.
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Looking At Water: a Walking Field Trip
Fourth graders observe the effects of water on the soil and record those effect by drawing sketches of water erosion and conservation practices.
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Wonderful Wetlands
Fifth graders describe a wetland habitat and its components. They provide, in writing, at least one example of a wetland food chain, relate wetlands to ecological functions, and relate the importance of wetland functions to their own...
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Digging in the Dirt
First graders awareness is raised that not all dirt is the same. They compare and observe particle sizes in three different kinds of soils. They keep a record book of what the discover and talk about how some soils are alike and some...
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Computer Lab Lesson Plan - Science
Students examine rocks and minerals. Using the internet, students research rocks and how they are formed. They use word processing software to list minerals and materials that form specific rocks.
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Data Sampling
Students discover data sampling. In this science lesson plan, students explore data sampling and turn the data collected into useful information by making graphs and using them to solve problems.
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Crazy Hair
Young scholars decorate small styrofoam cups with faces and plant grass seeds in the cups in this Science and Art lesson for the early-elementary classroom. Emphasis is placed upon the science of seed growth. The lesson includes...
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Root, Root, Root for the Nutrients
Pupils observe the growth of a seed, predict what will happen when seeds are planted without soil, and conduct an experiment using a hydroponics system.
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Big Fat, Juicy Worms
Students collect and study information about worms. They discover how an earthworm helps process and loosen the soil. They write in their journals as well.