Curated OER
How to Recycle a Rock
Third graders explore the rock cycle and explore how rocks are made, changed, destroyed and recreated. They create representations of these processes with hands-on activities.
Curated OER
Race to Reuse
Students discover the benefits of recycling by participating in a group activity. In this environmental care instructional activity, students analyze trash bins and discover new uses for items to be thrown away. Students read...
Curated OER
Caring for Our environment
Second graders study the environment by reading and discuss information on pollution in the texts. In this environment lesson students read Wicker School Takes Action, and City Green and discuss what we do with our trash. ...
Curated OER
Climate Change
Students brainstorm types of weather present threats to the world, specifically climate change and the environment. In this climate change lesson, students complete and discuss a set of worksheets about "going green," climate change,...
Curated OER
PAPER RECYCLING
Students examine the availability and use of important resources, people practice conservation. They explore the needs of an expanding human population, societies practice resource management and employ technology.
Curated OER
Earth Day
Students practice addition and estimation. They use tens models to solve the problems related to grocery bags and Earth Day. Afterwards, they complete an activity sheet and draw a large grocery bag decorated with Earth Day messages.
Teach Engineering
Life Cycles
Breathe some life into product design. Pupils learn about the stages of product creation, use, and disposal—sometimes called a cradle-to-grave assessment. They see how this cycle relates to the life cycle of organisms.
Curated OER
What's Outside the Window
What do your students see when they look outside the window? This project lets their imagination go wild, and lets you see what kind of daydreaming they do best. They each draw, paint, and color an image of what they imagine as they are...
Curated OER
Owls: Top of a Food Chain
Although written for middle schoolers, there is no reason that a 3rd, 4th, or 5th grader could not also learn about food chains through the dissection of owl pellets. After you introduce the topic, learners complete an owl research...
California Academy of Science
Where Do I Put My Trash?
Where does the trash go after you put it in the garbage can? The class discusses sustainability, recycling, compost, and landfills as they play as fun relay game. In teams, they race to be the fastest group to successfully sort...
Curated OER
Properties and Perfectly Polymeric Sodas
Learners examine physical and chemical properties of plastics, interfaces of plastics, and forms of plastics. In three lab activities, students discover the two characteristic responses of plastics to heating, thermoplastic or...
Curated OER
Where is Away?
Focusing on where are garbage goes once we dispose of it, learners explore environmental concerns. Using a clear format, this lesson leads learners through a discussion of waste reduction, recycling, and composting. Then, they discuss...
Curated OER
To Rot or Not!
Students discover that composting helps reduce landfill waste and is good for the soil. They explore the techniques of composting through a variety of media, art activities and hands-on experience.
Clean Up Australia
Why are Batteries Harmful to the Environment?
Open this lesson by reading together about primary and secondary batteries (such as nickel-cadmium cells), problems they can cause in the environment, and how humans can minimize the damage. Afterward, little ones examine a collection of...
Curated OER
An Experiment With the Cuisenaire Rods
Here you'll read about a teacher who conducted several experiments to determine the effectiveness of Cuisenaire Rods. Each activity is described along with the teacher's findings. Are cuisenaire rods effective? Try using them and find out.
Curated OER
Disperse or Decrease
Students explore the dispersal of animals.. Students take on the role of a specific animal. They simulate finding a new home due to overpopulation. Through hands-on activities performed during the simulation, students discover the area...
Curated OER
En mi familia
Read En mi familia and discuss families with your young Spanish learners. Who is in their family? What are the roles of each person there? Does one person generally cook? Youngsters learn the vocabulary for activities that people do in...
California Academy of Science
Energy: A Day in My Life
If only we could harness the energy of fifth graders, our energy problems would be over! The class discusses where different forms of energy come from and how we use them. They complete a chart of the activities that they do daily...
Curated OER
Mixing Colors with Corn Syrup and Food Coloring
Anyone who has worked with small children know that color identification and color mixing can be fun! This simple idea has a lot of potential. It suggests to mix food coloring with corn syrup to provide an opportunity for color mixing...
Curated OER
Toward a Sustainable Agriculture
Read about sustainable agriculture and complete related Internet activities. After reading background information about the economics of sustainable agriculture and the problems with the industrial food system, your high schoolers click...
Curated OER
Maus I and II: Pictionary
Why is visual literacy so important in understanding Maus? Introduce your class to basic elements of graphic novels with a game of pictionary. A list of 13 words are included, but you could potentially add some World War II-related...
Curated OER
Tissue Paper Puzzle Art
Get creative and use a tissue paper collage to make wonderful window hangings for the classroom. You'll find the materials list, objectives, and instructions needed to complete this fun activity. This project encourages eye-hand...
Curated OER
Caps for Sale!
If you can find the book Caps for Sale in the target foreign language, this is a great activity to accompany it! After reading and modeling the story, the teacher models a dialogue that would take place between a salesman and a...
Curated OER
Toward a Sustainable Agriculture
Your class considers a case study of a sustainable agro-ecosystem and view a PowerPoint presentation about a sustainable farm. They complete a case study worksheet. Extension activities are included.