Curated OER
Solids And Liquids
Students discuss the properties of solids and liquids. They complete a worksheet to show the boiling and melting points of several substances and consider if these factors affect how humans use materials.
Curated OER
Earth, Sun and Moon
Students investigate that the sun is at the center of the solar system through role play. One student is the sun and one student is the Earth. The students then show how the Earth orbits around the sun. Students view a flashlight and...
Curated OER
Forces and Movement
Students investigate the forces of pushing and pulling by participating in a whole group activity involving a toy car. Students then participate in a small group experiment involving a toy car, small weights and various materials....
Curated OER
Reversible and irreversible changes
Students define the words "reversible" and "irreversible." They complete a worksheet that shows a number of changes. Students must decide which are reversible and which are irreversible.
Curated OER
Pushes and Pulls
Pupils discuss and investigate how various vehicles move. In a small groups, students then create a wheeled vehicle and find a way to make it move using various resources provided by the teacher.
Curated OER
Moving and Growing
Students learn to understand the role of both skeletons and exoskeletons. In this lesson on exoskeletons, students locate and label bones on diagram of a human skeleton, and observe and discuss bones of chicken and fish. Students then...
Curated OER
Health and Growth
Young scholars identify healthy foods. In this nutrition lesson, students review the five food groups and categorize healthy and unhealthy foods on a chart. Young scholars develop their own menus.
Curated OER
The Role of Fire in Healthy Prairie, Brush and Forest Lands
Pupils create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast wildfires and prescribed fires. In this earth science lesson, students conduct a series of experiment to explore fire characteristics. They describe favorable conditions to start a...
Curated OER
Aerobic and Anaerobic Conditioning
Students view the A.D.A.M. computer simulation of aerobic and anaerobic exercise. They break into groups and members brainstorm and list as many aerobic and anaerobic exercises as possible in five minutes.
Curated OER
Know your Heart Parts and Functions
Students put together a 3-D interactive "heart" puzzle and learn the names of heart parts.
Curated OER
Illnois River and Lake Mussel Habitat Diorama Activity
Students identify the environmental elements of river and lake mussels. They compare the elements to the time before settlement and during industrialization. They also participate in a field trip to a mussel exhibit.
University of Southern California
Mastering Microbes
Small but mighty! Learners explore the role of microbes in a healthy ecosystem. An engaging lesson plan asks pupils to design an aquaponics system that demonstrates that healthy microbes are necessary to maintain the ecosystem.
Curated OER
Moving and Growing
Students know that humans and some other animals have bony skeletons inside their body. They know that other animals have skeletons on the outside of their bodies. They explain the role of both kinds of skeletons.
Curated OER
Helping Plants Grow Well
Students explain the effect of water, temperature and light on plant growth.
Curated OER
Plants
Students illustrate the major parts of a plant, classify some plant foods we eat as roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds. They also name some animals that use seeds, leaves, and fruit for food.
Curated OER
If It Smells Good, Is Edible, and Attracts Wildlife, Then It's a Practical Garden
Students explore landscape design. In this practical gardening lesson, students design landscape plans that call for shrubs, trees, and plants that can be used for aesthetics, cooking, and wildlife.
Curated OER
Solve the Case!
Learners discover the habits of panthers by solving fictitious crime mysteries. In this animal life lesson, students utilize their research from previous lessons to solve mysteries in a panther activity. Learners answer...
Curated OER
Web of Life Game: Trout
Students explore the concept of food webs. In this food web lesson, students demonstarte the connection between species. Students use a ball of string show how the food web works, then have a class discussion.
Curated OER
Water and the Earth
In this water and Earth worksheet, students read a 2 page article on water and the Earth, name the clouds in 2 pictures and then list 4 sources of water in nature.
BBC
Ourselves
Young biologists identify parts of the body, sort humans from other animals, and list the difference they see. Learners are split up into groups of three, and each group must find pictures in magazines of humans and other animals. They...
California Academy of Science
Composting: A Scientific Investigation: California Academy of Sciences
Garbage, recycle, compost: Does it really matter where we put our trash once we are done? By making detailed observations over seven weeks, kids will see which materials break down naturally to become a healthy part of the soil, and...
WK Kellogg Biological Station
Sounds of Selection
Do you want a creative and fun way to teach about natural selection? Hop to it by turning your middle school princes and princesses into frogs trying to catch as many bugs as possible in a Hungry Hungry Hippos style game. For high...
Desert Museum
Daisy Ecology
Here's a fine instructional activity that combines poetry with life sciences. Learners carefully listen to a poem that's all about a food chain. As the poem is read, learners name the producer, the herbivore, the carnivore, and the...
NOAA
A Laboratory Simulation of Ocean Surface Currents
Stimulate interest in ocean currents with a simulation. The first installment of a five-part middle school series teaches future oceanographers about the forces that interact to cause ocean currents. A simulation shows how wind and...