Curated OER
Integrated Pest Management-You're Buggin' Me
Students research certain crops and how farmers protect them, while other students research certain insects and how they attack the crop. Each group then documents a ten season plan and then insect and farmers give an attack and...
Curated OER
Design a Pollinator
Pupils make a scientific drawing of a pollinator with at least five traits that make them well adapted to a given plant(s). They describe in their science notebook the adaptations that make their pollinator well suited to a given plant.
Curated OER
Field Trip to School
Students better explain the diversity and adaptations of living organisms.
Curated OER
Succession and Microclimate
Learners compare the population of insects in different microclimates. In this biology lesson, students collect data using probes to tabulate temperature and soil data. They predict how certain parameters change as an area goes...
Curated OER
Carnivorous Plants: A Bugs Nightmare!
Students research carnivorous plants and how they trap insects. They role play as botanists to write a research field guide about a newly discovered imaginary carnivorous plant.
Curated OER
Caterpillar Camouflage
Students list animals, plant parts, and reasons for caterpillars to camouflage themselves. In this animal and plant adaptations lesson plan, students also play a game where they use colors as camouflage.
Curated OER
Mini-Ecosystems
Students use plastic bottles to create terrariums and plant Venus Flytraps. They observe the plants and the terrariums for illustrations of the water cycle and species' adaptations to a specific environment.
Curated OER
Researching an Animal (Class Book)
Third graders research an animal in order to gain knowledge of the adaptations that allow it to survive in the desert. They present this information to the rest of the class in oral reports, and by contributing to the class book.
Curated OER
Struggle for Existence and Population Growth in Aphids
Students examine the population of aphids. They identify adaptations they have made for their environment. They make predictions, test their hypothesis and collect information that either proves or disproves their theory.
Curated OER
Reading
Learners participate in a jungle run in which they must group with the same people who hold the same cards with pictures of a tree, mushroom, deer or insect. In these groups, they read the definitions of sustainable development. Using...
Curated OER
Science: Backyard Bugs Data Collection
Students practice data collection skills by observing common bugs found in their local environment. Once the data is collected they complete data sheets to compare, contrast, sort, and classify the insects. The instructional activity...
Curated OER
The Birds and the Bees, and the Flowers and the Trees
Students examine the roles in which animals play in the pollination of plants. They recognize that flowers have male and female sexes. Students describe cross pollination and propose reasons for cross pollination through narration of a...
Curated OER
Stream Habitats and Biota
Young scholars identify native and introduced species of fish, shellfish and insects that inhabit Hawaii's streams. They use this information to predict the impact of stream restoration projects in Hawaii.
Curated OER
Echo Location
Pupils participate in a role-playing activity that demonstrates how whales use sound as an adaptation to their environment.
Curated OER
Pede Patterns
Students generate number patterns for certain 'insects' from the mythical planet of Elsinore. Each 'Pede' is made up of square parts and has a number of feet. The patterns all link the number of feet and the number of squares. The...
Curated OER
Have You Ever Wondered?
Students use their personal knowledge and the Internet to discover where and how spiders live. In groups, they discuss their experiences with spiders and how their lives differ from other insects. They use new vocabulary to discuss their...
Curated OER
"Bug Hunt"
Fourth graders find bugs represented on a grid and then identify their name and physical characteristics that provide a picture of the bug using imagery.
Curated OER
Cockroaches
Students listen to a lecture on cockroaches. They work in pairs to design a cockroach trap and attempt to trap a specimen. They complete various other cockroach-related activities.
Curated OER
Pond Ecology
A lab activity is a great way to incite thoughtful questioning and scientific processes. Pupils will collect organisms with a Petri dish, make observations, sketch the organism, ask questions, then attempt to identify the specimen...
Curated OER
Dinner in a Woodland
After reading a short paragraph about what makes up a woodland habitat, fifth graders attempt to identify the primary consumers, secondary consumers, and third order consumers in two separate food chain scenarios. They also name a hawk's...
Curated OER
A Whole Lotta Changin' Goin' On
Here's a fabulous lesson on the life cycle of a butterfly. Youngsters are able to identify and understand the four stages of life. They construct models of a caterpillar and write a sequence story about the life of a butterfly. This...
Curated OER
Gas exchange: Respiratory Systems
The need for a respiratory system in humans versus being reliant on gas exchange structures is demonstrated. There are many details about the advantages and disadvantages of each mechanism. Students are able to learn about the...
Teacher Web
Plant Reproduction—Structure of a Flower
What happened to the plant in math class? It grew square roots. Here, a set of 11 worksheets provide a review of plant reproduction. It includes the structure of a flower and each part's function, pollination, fertilization, seed...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Leaf Litter Ecology Lab
Some organisms spend their entire lives in leaf litter. The third in a series of six is a great instructional activity exploring the community of leaf litter. Groups gather and then spread leaf litter over white paper and remove...