Use salmon eggs as a cell model for demonstrating the movement of water over concentration gradients. Junior scientists examine the same process microscopically with an onion cell. They use a thistle tube and a semipermeable membrane to...

It's okay to play with your food—just this once! Scholars design and create meshes and chutes to sort pasta by size and shape. They test their designs and make improvements as necessary.

So, this is not technically a activity, but rather a chapter of reading material, pictures, and diagrams introducing young biologists to the cell. Cell theory, diversity, size, and shape are described. The internal organization and...

Third graders draw shapes that are congruent with each other and identify other congruent shapes. In this congruency lesson plan, 3rd graders also apply specific colors from the color wheel in their shapes.

A presentation on Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection could be a good addition to your biology class. It provides general information about how animals adapt to their surroundings, as well as how organisms create more...

Help young scholars see the important role camouflage plays in the survival of animals with a fun science lesson. Starting with an outdoor activity, children take on the role of hungry birds as they search for worms represented by...

Youngsters test magnetic strength by measuring the mass of paper clips that they "hook" with a magnet. Your first and second graders should love the hands-on activities associated with this plan. The reproducible materials are quite good...

Stop and drop what is in your hand! Pupils investigate how form effects drag in the 12th part of a 22-part unit on aviation. Groups create equally weighted objects and determine which one falls the fastest by collecting data.

Life comes in all different shapes and sizes, and fish are no exception. Here, young scientists create fish prints as they learn how specific characteristics allow different species to survive in their particular habitats.

Explore the concept of density within states of matter—gases, liquids, and solids—through a group experiment in which young scientists test objects' texture, color, weight, size, and ability to sink or float.    

Learners explore the tools of navigation.  In this shapes instructional activity, students navigate using direction cues to create a shape.  Learners follow specific steps to create their shapes. Students use compasses to see...

Present the class with a question on whether the water level of a pond will rise they take a large rock out of a boat and drop it into the pond. Groups come down on all sides of the question and try to justify their answers. The activity...

Explore the connection of surface area to bonding within atoms. Learners complete lab investigations to model changing surface area with different sizes and concentrations of atoms. A flour fireball demonstration follows the labs to...

Third graders examine the phase change between solids and liquids and determine it to be a physical change. Ice is the perfect item to use to demonstrate this phase change. Pupils experiment with measuring and weighing solid ice and the...

Young learners listen to a read aloud of Gail Gibbons book, Apples and the story A Red House With No Windows and No Doors. They compare characteristics of a number of kinds of apples, graph them and create a apple print picture. Learners...

Students make jewelry using different shapes from magazines, tissue paper, cardboard, and other materials. For this making jewelry lesson plan, students complete this hands on activity to discuss how shapes are used.

Enhance your states of matter lessons with a hands-on science investigation that compares six different balls' color, texture, size, weight, ability to bounce, and buoyancy. 

Take young geologists on an exploration of the collection of rocks and minerals that we call Earth with an upper-elementary science lesson. Through a series of class discussion and hands-on investigations, students learn about the...

Learners characterize a physical change as something that changes to a different size, but retains its basic substance. They measure volumes using milliliters, and perform an experiment that proves that gases expand when hot and contract...

Third graders study the three states of matter and identify the physical changes that take place between them. There is an initial teacher-led demonstration followed by a meaningful whole-class inquiry. These two activities should lead...

Students identify the different factors affecting the size and shape of ocean waves. In this math instructional activity, students calculate wave speed and wavelength given a mathematical formula.

Students photograph five objects from a bag and five objects from the outdoors. Students categorize things by living and non-living and by properties such as color, size, structure and needs. Students draw conclusions about the basic...

Breath new life into your class's study of dinosaurs with this extensive collection of materials. Offering everything from a printable T-rex mask, word searches, and connect-the-dots activities to informational handouts, hands-on...

Fourth graders identify a physical change as one that results in a change in size, shape, or state of matter. After an initial teacher-led discussion and demonstration, groups of students get together to perform an experiment which...