Curated OER
In the Company of Wild Butterflies
Students discover the life cycle of a butterfly and explain the different stages. In this exploratory lesson students watch a video and create insect art and they will get an opportunity to view live specimens of butterflies.
The New York Times
Trouble in the Hive: Researching the Decimation of Honeybee Colonies
Teach your class about colony collapse disorder and foster discussion about causes and solutions for the honeybee problem. Class members read and discuss an article and participate in one of two detailed activities about pollination and...
Allegany-Limestone Central School
Plantae WebQuest
Send your young life scientists on a plant webquest that has them reading case studies to decide if seeds are seeds and plants are plants.
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Bees
A Reading Adventure pack explores the busy life of bees. After reading a fiction and nonfiction text, scholars complete three hands-on activities. Participants invent a robot that can do the work of bees, cheers to hardworking bees with...
National Wildlife Federation
What's Your Habitat?
How are third graders like rabbits? They both live in habitats and require food, water, and shelter to survive! An educational science lesson encourages your learners to think about their own habitats and survival needs, before comparing...
Curated OER
All About Plants
Students identify plant needs. In this biology lesson plan, students watch All About Plants and then write a paragraph describing the various details about plants.
Curated OER
Co-evolution of Plants and Pollinators
Pupils, while studying the rolls of pollinators and plants, explore co-evolution of mutualistic relationships.
Curated OER
Edible Plants
Students determine what part of a plant they are eating when they eat different fruits and vegetables.
Curated OER
Bees
Learners design an experiment. In this bees lesson, students research pollination and work collaboratively to discover how bees aid in pollination. Learners use tomato plants and create experimental designs. Lesson adaptations...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Cycles, Systems, and Webs
Fourth graders review the parts of the plant and their functions. In this plant lesson, 4th graders recognize that plants must transfer energy to make food. Students understand the interdependence of organisms in an...
University of New Mexico
New Mexico Land of Enchantment
Third graders research Native American Cultures surrounding New Mexico. They analyze the history and geography of the state. They play a guessing game that incorporates the indigenous plants and animals of New Mexico. In groups, learners...
ARKive
Butterflies and Blooms
The Northwoods of Wisconsin are lovely in the summer,and they are also home to many flower and butterfly species. Investigate the ways in which seasonal flowers and butterflies are interdependent on each other for survival with a fun...
Arts & Humanities
Make Your Own Flower Garden
Get into art with a little lesson on flower parts. The class reviews basic information regarding flowers and then they use a paper mosaic technique to create visual representations of the lovely plants.
Cornell University
Garden Math
Young scientists must put their math caps on and figure out what fraction of each flower is in a raised flower bed. They must problem solve to simplify the fractions, and then graph the amount of flowers that are in different flower beds.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Preparing for Project BudBurst
Plants take cues from the environment—change in daylight hours and temperature—to complete their seasonal life cycles. Lesson four in the series of six has classes collect phenology data on plants. After taking initial observations,...
Curated OER
Earth's Heavenly Treasures: Hummingbirds
Young ornithologists watch an informative video and use the Internet to gather data about the life, size, habitat, and migration of hummingbirds. The interdisciplinary lesson includes activities that target art, science, math, and...
Curated OER
Rooftop Gardens
Second graders investigate how to help a city building remain cooler on the inside. They create a rooftop garden in order to shield the building and lower the internal temperature. The garden is meant to replace the black tar paper that...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Plant Phenology Data Analysis
Beginning in 1851, Thoreau recorded the dates of the first spring blooms in Concord, and this data is helping scientists analyze climate change! The culminating instructional activity in the series of four has pupils graph and analyze...
Kentucky School for the Deaf
Levels of Organization within an Ecosystem
From tiny organisms to entire biomes, young scientists examine the interdependent relationships tying all living and non-living things together with this collection of ecology resources.
American Museum of Natural History
What's This? Reproduction
Attracting the right mate is as important for humans as any other species. An interesting lesson teaches individuals about several strategies that animals and plants have adapted to attract their mates. From colorful nests to powerful...
Curated OER
Paper Production
Students compare paper making by hand and by assembly line. In this manufacturing instructional activity, students compare and contrast the two main ways to make paper, by hand or by machine. Students research paper making and have...
Curated OER
Flower Power
Students use video learning to explore how flowers make seeds and dissect their own flower, and make a flower with its reproductive parts out of construction paper.
Curated OER
Fall vs. Spring
Students compare and contrast the seasons of fall and spring. In this fall and spring lesson plan, students learn the differences between fall and spring through books and pictures, identify the differences, draw their own pictures, and...
Curated OER
Orchid in Blind Contour Format
Students create blind contour drawings. They compare methods of drawing including blind contour and contour approaches. Students follow a blind contour method to produce a drawing of a flower and then complete the piece with a watercolor...