New South Wales Department of Education
Photosynthesis
Venus fly traps photosynthesize and consume insects because the soil they live in does not provide enough nutrients. Scholars analyze historical scientific experiments to learn how scientists discovered photosynthesis. From their...
California Academy of Science
A Day inthe Life of a San Francisco Native Animal
Although the lesson is specifically about the San Francisco Bay area, it's good enough to be adapted to any local region. Children research what the landscape in San Francisco was like prior to settlement, they consider the types of...
California Academy of Science
A Day in the Life of a San Francisco Native Animal
Before Google, before Sillicon Valley, before the Gold Rush, the San Francisco landscape was a biome filled with grizzly bears, mule deer, tule elk, coyotes, gray fox, gophers, and moles. To explore the early days of yesteryear, kids...
Curated OER
Dating a Volcanic Eruption
Students discover the various ways in which tree rings can give information. After a brief disucssion of concentric tree rings, they use cross section cut outs of tree rings to identify the time and type of various naturally occuring...
Curated OER
Bottle Habitat
In groups of four, learners construct aquatic habitats in pop bottles. They create charts and record data from observations over a four week period. Then they graph their data and write explanations for what they observed.
Curated OER
"Garden Springs Gardeners"
First graders ponder the question of how plants help their lives. They observe and compare properties of several different plants. Differentiate between living organisms and nonliving objects.
Curated OER
Parts of an Ecosystem
Fourth graders study the Great Salt lake and the ecosystem that encompasses it. They study the relationship between an individual of a species, a population of that species, a community that includes that population, and the...
Curated OER
Weathering Rocks
Fourth graders investigate what natural events cause rocks to break apart and differentiate between erosion and weathering. They conduct an experiment with plaster of paris to observe why some rocks are hard and others break, and...
Curated OER
Where Do Plants Get Their Food?
Students think about the historical development of the scientific method. They design an experiment that replicates van Helmont's, using only specified materials. Pupils then improved upon van Helmont's procedure and also consider the...
Curated OER
Observing Decomposition
In this science worksheet, students focus upon the concept of decomposition and collect data in order to make interpretations or observations.
Curated OER
A Day in the Life of a San Francisco Native Animal
Learners write from an animal's perspective. In this writing lesson students explore the landscape of San Francisco prior to the arrival of the explorers. Learners research animals indigenous to the area.
Curriculum Corner
Coniferous and Deciduous Trees
What are the differences between coniferous and deciduous trees? Supplement your tree lessons with a set of activities that has learners describing, naming, comparing, and reading about deciduous and coniferous trees. The activities are...
Curated OER
Water's Edge Café
Learners observe water birds feeding at a local wetland, record what they see, and construct an appropriate menu for a "Waterfowl Cafe." They also play a "flocking" game.
Curated OER
Stream Scanners
Students investigate quality of water in a stream, lake, or pond by examining chemical, physical, and biological characteristics.
Curated OER
How Can Clear of Tress Destroy a Community?
Fifth graders brainstorm the relationship between trees and humans to determine how humans benefit from trees and how they benefit from us. They discuss oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange, soil stablization, animal habitat, shade, medicine...
Curated OER
Lesson 6: Paniolo Country Grazers in the Dry Forest
Students explore grazing animals in a dry forest. In this science lesson, students act out the role of a grazer in the dry forest. Students cut their growing lawn and observe what happens after being cut. Students explore differences...
Curated OER
The Long Road to Coffee
Students organize picture cards of the sequene of how food gets from a farm to their home. They then sequence cards of how coffee grown in Colombia gets to their home comparing the differences.
Curated OER
School Yard Park/Ecosystem
Fifth graders observe and categorize different sections of a park and it's ecosystem. In this categorizing lesson plan, 5th graders collect different facets of nature from a nearby park (without disturbing the ecosystem). They map,...
Curated OER
Soil Microbiology- Nitrogen cycle
Young scholars take a virtual trip to a Catfish Aquaculture Pond and analyze soil bacteria to determine how many nitrogen cycle bacteria are present. They graph the number of colonies present and use data to determine ammonium levels in...
Curated OER
Publishing With Photos!
Students create books with photographs as illustrations. In this book making lesson, students create books for different subjects to accompany what they are learning. They take photographs to match what they have written.
Curated OER
How Much Water Do Plants Need?
Students experiment with the effects of varying amounts of water on household plants. They give different amounts of water to plants and then observe and record the effects.
Curated OER
Root Caps and the Effect on Gravity Sensing
High schoolers conduct an experiment to determine how the absence of a root cap affects a plant's ability to sense gravity. They make comparisons between capped and decapped roots.
Curated OER
Endangered Species 1: Why are Species Endangered?
Emerging ecologists examine endangered species by visiting the US Environmental Protection Agency website. They consider human contribution to the decline of different species. They research an endangered animal and then craft a poster...