Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Critters in the Classroom

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students investigate with sea urchins. In this ocean habitat lesson, students observe sea urchins and other ocean grazers. Students work with lab equipment to examine the anatomy of these creatures.
Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

How to Teach Students about Acid and Acid Rain

For Teachers 4th - 8th
How acidic is your rainwater? Use these lesson plans to get students thinking about how acids affect the environment in which we live.
Lesson Plan
Kenan Fellows

Designing a Water Treatment Plant

For Teachers 8th - 12th
How does dirty water get clean enough to drink? After viewing a PowerPoint that outlines the process water goes through at a water treatment plant, groups work together to design a chlorination chamber for a treatment plant.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Track Traces

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore animal characteristics by participating in an animal anatomy activity. In this animal tracks lesson, students identify the differences between specific animals and the shape of their footprints. Students utilize a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Endangered Species Scavenger Hunt

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders gain a better understanding of endangered species. This lesson requires a field trip to the North Carolina Zoological park. At the park, 7th graders use a worksheet imbedded in this plan to identify and categorize the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chesapeake Bay Population Studies

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Pupils determine how to use a quarter meter quadrant to find population density, relative density, frequency and how to calculate a diversity index while participating in a virtual field trip. They study how to establish a Correlation of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

November Science

For Teachers K
Students review that all people, plants, and animals live on Earth. They classify objects found in the environment as living or nonliving.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Charlotte's Web" - Transfer of Learning Across the Curriculum: From Literature to Science

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students research and write about the parts of a spider's body using educational software. They draw spiders using computer software.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping a Stream

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students map an actual local waterway. They create full color scale drawings that include windfalls, plant cover, streambed composition, and landmarks such as trees, boulders, and slumps. This is a long-term project that involves...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

History of Rock

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders study rocks and their geology.  In this rock history instructional activity students divide into groups and complete and activity and table. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Scientific Approach to Teaching about Evolution

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers examine fossils and analyzing their significance in relation to theories of evolution. Hand-outs are provided. This instructional activity could be supplementary to a broader unit on evolution or geology.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pre-Trip Readiness

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students demonstrate an understanding of one of the forces, floods, affecting Yosemite. After watching a video of a 1997 flood of the valley, students go to a website imbedded in this plan and answer questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wind Effects on Model Building: Building Project Overview

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Young scholars design their own building according to certain criteria. In this semester long physics activity, students calculate forces, compression and tension. They present their finished model in class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning About Animals' Bodies

For Teachers Pre-K - K
Students research different animals (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, birds, fish) and create books, murals, dioramas, puppets, and sculptures to illustrate the necessity of various body parts for overall survival. In this animal...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Precious Water: Is it a Need, a Right, or a Commodity?

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students determine whether water is a need, a right, or a commodity. In this water lesson, students investigate land and water ecosystems through activities. Students also discover water as a resource and energy source as they observe...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

History of Rock

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Learners study a specific type of rock then share that expertise with other students in small groups. They view a rock and write observations about the rock to form small groups. In addition, they present their rocks an obervations to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Queen's Empire

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students conduct Internet research on a variety of ant species and their habitats. They have an opportunity to observe ants in their environment. Areas of interest might include ant identification, colony life, the ant life cycle, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Look At Those Leaves!

For Teachers K - 2nd
Learners observe, measure, and sort tree leaves. They examine leaves individually, in groups, and in relationship to the entire tree. They become familiar with the seasonal changing of leaves. They realize that these and other changes...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Eruption

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students conduct an experiment simulating an underwater volcano based on reading The Magic School Bus Blows Its Top. They create a desktop volcano eruption demonstrating where magma comes from and how lava flows.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Caldecott Tunnel

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students visit the Caldecott Tunnel. They examine dark brown basalt and the gray-green sedimentary rocks and draw picture of the rock layers in the cliff face. In addition, they write a short paragraph describing what you observe about...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Insect Collection

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore how to use several types of insect sampling and collectin equipment. They work in groups to collect insects in different areas of their schoolyard. Students are explained that quadrats are generally used to randomly...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Tour Down the Hudson River

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers discuss how the Hudson River is an ecosystem made up of both biotic and abiotic factors. They view the PowerPoint the Journal Down the Hudson River. Students become aware of where the Hudson River begins and ends, the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Zebra Mussel Population Simulation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are taught how to format and enter data into an Excel spreadsheet. They make a graph, and interpret graphed data. Students discuss the possible impacts of zebra mussels on the Hudson river. They graph zebra mussel data.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Volcanoes

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders use the ERIC database to find information on volcanoes. At the end of their research they present their findings, draw a volcano, and write bout what they found interesting about it. They also classify and categorize the...