Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Time Line of Astronomy Events and Discoveries

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students work in groups to present a segment of a timeline of events and discoveries in astronomy. In this astronomy lesson plan, students teach their classmates about their section of the timeline.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Flowers and Plants

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students are assigned to bring five flowers. They explore flowers to distinguish different physical features of flowers. They compare and contrast different flowers to determine what features they have in common. Students develop an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 3: Nutrition, Labeling and Packaging

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students explore basic nutrition concepts to help them select healthy diet, evaluate food intake, discuss major food labeling issues, design labels for food products, examine history of food packaging development and how packaging...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

State of the Planet's Wildlife

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students view and discuss a video about the challenges facing wildlife on the planet Earth. They define key terms, watch the video, and answer discussion questions about the film.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fossil Hunt

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students ask questions about the nature of science as they experience a 'Fossil Hunt'. They reconstruct a book that has been literally destroyed, just as the fossil record has been changed by billions of years of geological processes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Are You One of Us?

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students investigate how scientists sort and classify organisms. For this sorting and classifying lesson, students examine what systematics are as tools that scientists use. They examine images of invertebrates and sort them while...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

World History: Why Civilizations Fall

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine factors leading to the demise of ancient civilizations. They list causes that led to the downfall of these societies. Students conduct Internet research and participate in online archaeological investigations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Science Italian Style: Eruption!

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Learners explore ways scientists prepare for a volcanic eruption. They observe films of earthquakes, oil spills, volcanoes and hurricanes. Students perform activities to demonstrate the relationship of viscosity to lava flow. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploration Yesterday and Today

For Teachers K - 4th
Students compare and contrast the voyages of early explorers with the space explorations of the present day. After reading the biographies of Benjamin Banneker and Timothy Livengood, students create a Venn Diagram comparing and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring the History of the I&M Canal

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students examine the building of the I & M canal in Chicago. Using the internet, they research the lives of the individuals who worked on the construction and develop a timeline of events. They explore the impact of the canal on...
Activity
National Park Service

Petrified Forest National Park

For Teachers 6th - 9th Standards
Poetry Soup, a reading and writing unit constructed by the Petrified Forest National Park, will have scholars hungry to learn about nature. The cross-content unit contains topics related to history, science, and language arts. Content...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sheffield Island Adaptation Activity

For Teachers 6th - 8th
You don't have to visit The Maritime Aquarium to use this plan, but you would need to find a location where a variety of bird species live, re-write the activity worksheet to incorporate the local species, and purchase field guides for...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Journey with a Scientist

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students work in groups as they read chapters of Charles Darwin's, Voyage of the Beagle. They take notes on the chapter and in their group make a timeline of the chapter. They tape the timelines together in order to depict the entire...
Unit Plan
American Institute of Architects

Architecture: It's Elementary!—Fifth Grade

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Young citizens construct an understanding of urban planning in this cross-curricular unit. Covering every aspect of city development from the political, economic, and social influences to sustainable building practices, this...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tides in the Hudson

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Learners view an illustration of the Hudson River watershed and identify the bodies of water shown. They discuss what happens when fresh and salt water mix. Students view a teacher demonstration of the stratification of fresh and salt...
Lesson Plan
Teach Engineering

Bridging the Gaps

For Teachers 6th - 8th
The London Bridge should not have fallen down. And here's why. After a brief history of bridges and the three main types, class members are introduce to the concepts of tension and compression, the two main forces acting upon bridges. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Transparent Shoebox Dig

For Teachers K - 4th
Take this simulated archaeological dig one layer at a time with your young pupils to encourage observation, critical thinking, and careful attention. Using a transparent box full of layers of sand and artifacts, pupils examine the...
Activity
Lee & Low Books

Classroom Guide for Sacred Mountain: Everest

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
The most famous climbers of Mount Everest could never have made it to the summit without the assistance of the local Sherpa. Christine Taylor-Butler's nonfiction children's book Sacred Mountain: Everest is the focus of an extensive...
Lesson Plan
Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust

The Lost World

For Students 4th - 8th Standards
Fans of Sherlock Holmes may be surprised to learn that in addition to stories of the famous deductionist, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is also the creator of Professor Challenger. An irascible, unpredictable scientist, Challenger was featured...
Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Draw a Monarch

For Students 6th - 12th
Five steps walk scholars through the process of drawing a Monarch butterfly. Participants research the insect, make observations, trace, then color. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Readings in Hudson River Natural History: Understanding Informational Text

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
After reading a series of informational articles regarding the Hudson River Estuary, the class will answer a series of comprehension questions. An answer key is provided but the articles and worksheets are not.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Evolution: Natural Selection

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students analyze and discuss the evolutionary history of dinosaurs.  In this investigative lesson students monitor different organisms in the environment and analyze the pressures that affect the chances of survival. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Digging, Smelting and Forging: But Why in Pennsylvania

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students examine the history of the iron industry in Pennsylvania. In this iron industry lesson, students learn about Israel Acrilius and his role in the iron industry. Students identify natural resources used in forging iron. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scientific Scenes

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students discover how the public's perceptions of science have changed throughout recent history; then research scientific and technological breakthroughs in a variety of areas. They then create plays that allow scientists to encounter...