Students use descriptive vocabulary to discuss the attributes of matter. Then, they sort objects or pictures by the type of matter they are comprised of. Finally, students match objects of matter with similar attributes and create a...

Second graders practice problem solving strategies. In this problem solving lesson, 2nd graders use strategies such as guess and check, acting out, drawing pictures and looking for patterns to solve problems. Students work in groups to...

Second graders explore a bag of mixed pattern blocks. As a class they discuss different attributes of these shapes. For this math lesson, 2nd graders search to find shapes that are similar by placing shapes on top of one another to...

Students familiarize themselves with the three most common geometric shapes: circles, triangles and parallelograms. They sketch, sort, and name the shapes.

Students listen to the book, "The Grouchy Ladybug" by Eric Carle and sequence the events in the story. Using a graph, they draw and color the animals that the ladybug meets next to the corresponding time from the story, and conduct...

Students explore the diet of insects. In this "insects" biology instructional activity, students take a nature walk and collect various natural materials they think may be eaten by insects. Students sort and classify these materials into...

Students explore the properties of matter. In this properties of materials lesson, students examine wood, metal, rubber, Styrofoam, and plastic. Students identify the attributes of each of the materials.

Learners build a Lego design and then work with a partner to reproduce that design. They guide the building of the reproduction by description only and then check their work.

First graders gain a better understanding of types of clouds. They recreate clouds using Kidspiration. The types of clouds they study about are cirrus, cumulus, and stratus clouds.

Students sort gingerbread men, then identify the sorting rule that they used.

Second graders identify different polygons and their attributes. In this geometry lesson, 2nd graders get to know polygons by studying the vocabulary and finding polygons in their classroom. They create these shapes and then find their...

Second graders culminate their study of shapes by describing the shapes using the proper mathematical descriptors.

Students use fruit counters. In this patterns lesson, students identify different fruits, sort the fruits by color, shape and size, and make a pattern using the fruits.

Students work collaboratively to design and construct a roof out of Legos for a house that was built in a previous lesson. The roof must be structurally sound and pass certain criteria determined by the teacher.

Learners examine rocks. In this geology lesson, students collect rocks from the schoolyard and classify them by color, weight, and size. Learners use a rock guide to identify each of the rocks.

First graders work in small groups to observe the tendency to float or sink for a variety of objects in water. They sort the objects and discuss their observations. They use aluminum foil to construct a boat and test it for weight capacity.

Students identify money values. In this money lesson, students sort and group coins by value and investigate the cost of supplies needed for a snack. Students prepare snacks for a snack sale.

Students study animals and practice classifying them through observation activities. In this animal classification lesson, students complete a KWL chart about animals. Students then sort pictures of animals into chart categories based on...

Students listen to Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss, then identify the patterns.

Learners research topics related to zoos and zoo animals. They compare and contrast the size of animals, make a book of facts about bears, draw snakes, and write animal stories and poetry. They complete a series of writing and creative...

Students explore gingerbread stories. In this poetry instructional activity, students read the folk tale "The Gingerbread Man" as well as Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett and identify rhyming words. Students also make art projects,...

Young scholars use Legos to build representations of a variety of numbers. They then sort and order their representations and pair them with the written number.

Students explore the observable properties of matter and utilize them in classification. They use a binary classification system to divide objects, then justify their scheme.

How can you tell if something is living or nonliving? Introduce a set of criteria which can be used to determine which things are alive and which are not. The class discusses the basic needs of all living organisms, checks out an...