Curated OER
Whale Song Acrostic
What do whales sing about? Invite your class to imagine the thoughts of whales before writing acrostic poems on the topic. The plan blends together a bit of life science with plenty of opportunities for creativity and writing.
Smithsonian Institution
Water/Ways: The Poetry of Science
Water is the source of life. It appears in poetry in both peaceful and torrential descriptions; it appears in earth science in its liquid, gaseous, and solid states. Combine these interpretations of our planet's most precious and...
Minnesota Department of Natural Resoures
Tree Life
The life of a tree is the focus of a packet consisting of several activities all covering a different subject. Second graders measure shadows, make pinecone critters, write poems, count rings, complete a word search, play tree tag, and...
Curated OER
This is Your Life
Middle or high-school pupils choose a scientist to research. They collect biographical information and explore their contributions to scientific understanding. With all that they compile, they create a scrapbook of the scientists' life....
Rainforest Alliance
Knowing the Essential Elements of a Habitat
To gain insight into the many different types of habitats, individuals must first get to know their own. Here, scholars explore their school environment, draw a map, compare and contrast their surroundings to larger ones. They then write...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Rocks
A Reading Adventure Pack focuses on rocks. Scholars participate in three activities after reading a fiction and nonfiction text—The Jade Stone, a Chinese folktale adapted by Caryn Yacowitz, and Rocks in His Head by Carol Otis Hurst....
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Ecosystems
Explore the Earth's different ecosystems through four lessons, an assessment, and extension activities. Lessons include informative text and step-by-step instructions to apply knowledge in interactive, and thought provoking ways; such as...
Curated OER
Life Cycles
Students explore the life cycle of living things through the eight lessons of this unit. The butterfly, frog, chicken, and plant are inspected and form the basis of the work done in this unit.
Wildwood Trust
Habitats
The circle of life is all around us, from the black bears in the nearby mountains to the pile of dead leaves in the backyard. Encourage young scientists to take a critical look at the world around them with a set of lessons about natural...
Curated OER
Insects
Students study the characteristics and basic needs of insects. They compare and describe similarities among insects. They examine the body structure, covering, and movement of insects and also, examine insect life cycles in this unit of...
Curated OER
Snowflake Bentley
Students explore crystals through the story Snowflake Bentley and then create crystal pictures of their own. In this interdisciplinary lesson, they create a crystal web chart on chart paper, design artificial snowflakes, and write poems...
Curated OER
Luz: Poetry and the Physics of Light
Learners explore color, light, refraction and reflection. In this light lesson students measure solar position and compare it to time.
Curated OER
Weather and Water in Ghana
Students research the rainy and dry season to investigate Africa's weather. In this African weather lesson, students use the given websites to research the rainy and dry seasons of Ghana in Africa. Students then read stories about life...
Curated OER
Science: Bees: An Interdisciplinary Approach
Students investigate the world of bees and describe their characteristics. by identifying the bees' parts, they demonstrate how these parts function. In the lab, students dissect bees and view the various parts under microscopes. ...
Curated OER
Jane Goodall, Renowned Naturalist and Champion of Chimpanzees
Students study the life of Jane Goodall and how she made an impact studying chimpanzees. In this endangered species lesson students write in their journals.
Curated OER
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Civil Rights Leader
Students investigate and read about the life and contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr. They listen to a biography and take notes, complete a pictorial story, and complete a writing assignment in response to questions about civil...
Scholastic
Minibeasts
Lead young scientists to discover insects outdoors. After investigating, students will record observations, learn about these fascinating creatures, craft, and role play.
Curated OER
Plant Systems
Students examine plant systems. In this life science lesson, students explore leaf and root systems on paper in a terrarium that they design and construct.
Curated OER
Amphibians
Fourth graders Make flashcards for the following words, memorize them and get quizzed by the teacher: Amphibian, Lungs, complete metamorphosis, tadpoles, tail-less, tail, vertebrate, cold-blooded, gills, swamp, pond.
Curated OER
Fungi
Learners examine the characteristics of fungi. In this biology lesson, students investigate the factors needed for fungi growth. They collect data and observations and write a report about them.
Curated OER
Presto Change-o: Caterpillars to Butterflies
Students use the Internet to explore the four stages of a butterfly's life cycle. They make a model of a butterfly using macaroni, sticks and leaves.
Curated OER
The Coral Reef
Fourth graders discuss life in a coral reef, and view photographs and a computer program about coral reefs. They design and create colorful watercolor, ink, and crayon drawings of coral reefs.
Curated OER
Land Use in New Hampshire: Farming
Students examine how the environment as affected people farming in New Hampshire. They visit a field trip to a local farm to make observations. They create a poem based on their observations.
Curated OER
Time Train
Students are read a short book "Time Train" by Paul Fleischman. Using the text, they identify the clues to let them know the train is traveling back in time. They make a time line of the trip and make a cutout of meat-eating and...