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.

What are the differences between coniferous and deciduous trees? Supplement your tree lessons with a set of activities that has learners describing, naming, comparing, and reading about deciduous and coniferous trees. The activities are...

First graders follow directions when sorting objects. They illustrate how objects are categorized by drawing at least two of the categories that they sorted the objects into. Students work in small groups at completing the task of...

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 discover different types of gourds.  In this plant comparison lesson, students compare and contrast several types of gourds based on shape, color and texture.  Students observe a video clip based on sorting gourds.  

Fifth graders examine different types of rocks and classify rocks by their different characteristics. In small groups they sort their rocks into two categories, then create three categories to sort by on a sorting worksheet. Next, they...

Liquids, gases, and solids are the states of matter in which scholars investigate in a lesson plan that offers in-depth information and engaging activities that look into the three states and the changes their properties make when mixed...

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. 

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.    

Students collect and compare bugs using magnifying lenses and graph data based on their comparisons. For this bugs lesson plan, students also make an aspirator by using a jar, tubing, and screen.

In this classification learning exercise, students are given nine pictures of different types of fish. They cut them out and use a key to classify each into a category based on their characteristics.

Students identify the physical properties of items using the sense of touch. In this touch and discover lesson, students describe items.  Students sort items using a Venn diagram.

Young scholars classify objects based on their attributes. They explain how archaeologists use classification to help answer research questions.

Using this resource, your team of green thumbs discuss why plants are a part of a healthy diet and the different ways they are used in daily life. They then observe the characteristics of different seed as they attempt to match...

Everything is in the genes. Individuals observe 14 different traits of themselves. Using pipe cleaners and beads, the learners create models of a chromosome representing their traits. The class then compares and contrasts everyone's...

Begin your states of matter lessons with a demonstration designed to introduce the concept that all matter has properties. Reinforce this concept through vocabulary exploration, and the creation of atom models; salt, water, and carbon...

Students describe visual, textural, and other physical qualities of sample rock specimens. Using compare and contrast skills, students sort and classify the specimens according to their assessments of the qualities present in each....

Students investigate how flowing water influence landforms. In this earth science lesson, students observe water behavior as it flows from the stream table at various inclinations. They discuss whether water shaped Mars landforms or not.

Students define the sense of smell. In this smell sense activity, students review their five senses and define the importance of smell. Students practice smelling and identifying items in bags. Students discuss the importance of smell to...

Students explore the sense of hearing. In this 5 senses lesson, students consider how humans and animals use the sense of hearing along with their other senses. Students discuss the body parts responsible for the 5 senses and...

In this auroras activity, students read 2 descriptions written about a massive solar storm that occurred in 1859. Students read each description and compare the specific points in each. They create a time line of the events that occurred...

Students conduct an experiment using sand, a jar, and a paper clip to analyze the effects of different kinds of sand vis a vis its sediment. They graph their findings and analyze for factors of size, shape, and density.

Students organize rock samples according to their properties. In this earth science lesson, students predict whether they are igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary. They compare their prediction with the actual type.

Students analyze the size, shape, and form of several different seeds. In this all about seeds lesson plan, students complete four activities involving characteristics of seeds. Students observe the seeds, record information about the...