Curated OER
Classification of Pasta, Rice and the Nine Planets
Eighth graders create a classification system of the planets and give a written rational for their choice of categories. For this investigative lesson students participate in an activity that helps them to explore classification.
Curated OER
The Food Pyramid
Learning about nutrition and how to eat healthy foods is very important for kids these days. Here is a lesson plan, designed for 4th graders, that teaches these important skills. Pupils plan nutritional meals by using the USDA's Food...
Curated OER
Hawaii's Freshwater Animals - Species Report
Students explore biology by creating a report for the class. In this oceanography lesson, students research and identify the survival characteristics of a list of freshwater animals by utilizing the Internet and library. Students...
Curated OER
Scale Drawings of Birds
Students create their own copies of Phoenix Birds using a grid system.
Curated OER
Arizona Plant Booklet: An Introduction to Arizona Plants & Cacti
Young scholars explore variety of plants & cacti in their Arizona community by collecting samples and taking photographs. Can be adapted to other areas.
Curated OER
The Great Plant Escape-Plant Parts
In this plant parts worksheet, students use provided links to compete questions about plant and their parts. Suggestions and links for additional resources are given.
Curated OER
Decidedly Different
Fifth graders inquire as to why scientists use observable characteristics, how they sort the characteristics, and why they do so. They write journal entries to be used throughout this unit.
Curated OER
Mystery Minerals
Learners minerals and how they form. They investigate the classification of minerals according to physical properties. Students watch a video about mineral characteristics. In groups, learners participate in hands-on activities and...
Curated OER
SORTING ALL SORTS
Students examine how the method of classification is used. For this sorting lesson students take a pre-test, classify organisms and complete a crossword puzzle.
Curated OER
Sorting Through Spiders
Young scholars utilize their own drawings of spiders to analyze and sort the attributes that each student drew.
Curated OER
Insects
Students construct a viable insect collecting apparatus. Students determine the effectiveness of the instrument he has designed by collecting specimens.
Illinois State Curriculum Center
Gender Roles and Careers
Should men be willing to work for women? Can women think as logically as men? Here is an interesting activity in which learners complete a survey regarding gender roles and then consider whether their scores reflect traditional or...
Curated OER
Spot Identification of Some of the Most Common Insect Orders
Students investigate the basic characteristics of insect orders and develop short-cut techniques to identify insects into twelve of the most common orders. They use captured specimens and photographs to practice identification and then...
Curated OER
Collecting and Pressing Plants
Young scholars engage in a lesson that is concerned with the study of native plants and classifying them according to a kind. They press them into a journal while identifying them according to species. Students compile the samples into a...
Curated OER
Identifying Wyoming Trees
Learners identify trees based from their leaves. In this leaf lesson plan, students use The Rocky Mountain Tree Finder by Tom Watts in order to identify tree leaves. They look for leaf shapes, veins, and structure.
Curated OER
INSECTS
Seventh graders select, collect, and classify various insects by constructing an apparatus from materials that aid in the capture and containment of the insect.
Curated OER
Sea Turtles
Students investigate eight different species of sea turtles while being involved in classroom lecture and video presentation. The characteristics used to identify sea turtles is taught to help students identify unknown species.
Curated OER
Tree Identification
Students list four ways to identify trees. In this tree identification instructional activity, students use tree identification techniques such as leafs, bark, wood grain, soil type, and climate to create tables and graphs.
![O. Henry Middle School: Texas Native Plant Dichotomous Key [Pdf] Graphic](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "O. Henry Middle School: Texas Native Plant Dichotomous Key [Pdf] Graphic")
Other
O. Henry Middle School: Texas Native Plant Dichotomous Key [Pdf]
A key for classifying Texas native plants. Observe the characteristics of a plant and make choices as you work through the key to find out its binomial name.
Other
Alice Ferguson Foundation: Bridging the Watershed: Plant Identification
Use this interactive guide to identify plants based on their leaves. For each step, you are given two choices, and you continue down the branches until you discover a plant's name.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: A Student Produced Field Guide to Neighborhood Trees
During this project, students will be working cooperatively to create a field guide of trees in the neighborhood near the school. Students will make observations of trees near the school. They will then learn about tree anatomy and...
James Madison University
James Madison University: Dept. Of Geology and Environmental Science: Minerals
Descriptions and pictures of over thirty minerals are available at this website. Documents describing the properties of minerals and how to use the properties for identification templates to make models, and dichotomous keys make up the...
SRI International
Performance Assessment Links in Science: Identifying Creatures
Students use a 10 step dichotomous key to identify three mythical animals of their choice. The pictures of the animals and the key are both provided.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Identifying Plant Family Characteristics
Learners make observations of similarities and differences between three types of garden plants to determine why they are grouped together in one plant family.