Curated OER
Reduce and Respect!
Students examine how to reduce trash to help the environment. In this environment lesson, students listen to the story, The Wartville Wizard, before thinking about how they can reduce trash. They decide why it is important to reduce...
Curated OER
Whose Water Is It?
Students role-play as San Francisco residents in 1908 who support or oppose the building of a dam in Yosemite National Park. They create posters and write letters to representatives defending their positions.
Curated OER
Real or hoax?
Seventh graders brainstorm a list of criteria that makes a webpage useful for research and not useful for research. They complete the activity, "Real or Hoax," and discuss fiction and non fiction stories and determine which websites are...
Curated OER
How Does One Cope With Life-Changing Events?
Second graders identify coping skills during times of stress. In this mental health lesson, 2nd graders read the story, Stressed Out Sally and brainstorm events that produce stress. Students rewrite a different version of the story...
Curated OER
Research Project
Students research and discuss the history and traditions of Groundhog Day, facts about groundhogs, and find pictures of groundhogs using the Internet. They draw pictures and write stories about ground hogs.
Curated OER
Destination Outer Space
Fourth graders use effective writing skills, their imagination, and their knowledge of the nine planets as they create travel pamphlets of the solar system.
Curated OER
Creepy Crawlies
Students participate in several insect-themed activities. They read stories on bugs, write stories about insects with student-made illustrations, sing bug-themed songs, design creepy crawlies with typical insect characteristics and make...
Curated OER
Water, Glorious Water
Learners identify the various uses of water. For this water conservation lesson, students read the book, The Drop In My Drink: The Story of Water On Our Planet and write down their favorite uses of water. Learners illustrate how they can...
Curated OER
Fossil Fuels vs. Alternative Fueling Systems
Fourth graders brainstorm the differences between the fossil fuels that people use in their transportation now and what they could use to minimize greenhouse gas emissions. They use a variety of techniques from webquests to writing...
Curated OER
Constellation Companions
Students research the star composition for a constellation after a brainstorming session suggesting why humans have organized the night sky into constellation patterns. They use the research to create their own constellation and myth...
Curated OER
Forests
Fourth graders examine the impact forests have on our lives. They listen to the book "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein, and brainstorm about how forests are important to us. In small groups they create a poster illustrating how the...
Curated OER
Environment: River of Life
Students assess the impact of human activity on the environment. After reading the book, "A River Ran Wild," they role-play and discuss how people changed the river. Students write stories about living along a river from the point of...
Curated OER
Getting To Know the Activists Among Us
Pupils discuss what it means to be an "activist." They identify various types of activist organizations and brainstorm the names of local people and organizations that might fit these categories. They research one of these...
Curated OER
The Little Orange Rooster
Third graders brainstorm a list of heat sources they are aware of. After listening to a story, they identify the different types of machines mentioned and sort them based on whether they run on gasoline or electricity. To end the...
Curated OER
Can I Take Action?
Learners create a solution to a problem related to the environment. They work together to develop the plan and pitch the plan to their class. They discuss the action steps taken in a story they were read.
Curated OER
To Infinity and Beyond
Students explore the planets in our solar system and create a brochure on each planet. They read the book, The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System and write notes about solar system facts and watch a video. After the video, they...
Curated OER
What's Hatching in Kindergarten?
Students identify oviparous animals. They brainstorm a list of animals that lay eggs, read "Chickens Aren't The Only Ones" by Ruth Heller and then add to the list. Students complete a booklet that shows an egg and an oviparous animal.
Curated OER
Migration: A Dangerous Journey
Fourth graders pretend as if they're a whooping crane flying north for its migration. They write questions and predictions about what they are doing and what happen.
Curated OER
Illegal Dumping
Students go on an outing and note garbage near picnic tables. They brainstorm ways to be involved with anti-litter campaigns and write letters to local officials.
Curated OER
Oviperous Animals
Students explore animals that come from eggs using pictures and information taken from the Internet. The reading of the stories, "Chickens Aren't the Only Ones" and"Tap Tap, the Egg Cracked" is used as a introduction to the topic.
Curated OER
Let's Learn About Plants!
After listening to From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons, learners take a walk around their school looking for plants. They use digital cameras to photograph the plants, then construct a class book which has the identities of the plants,...
National Geographic
Ocean Exploration
Dora, Dora, Dora, Dora, Dora! This may be your little ones' best guess as to what it's like to be an explorer! Give them a deeper understanding with this compact examination. A four-minute video introduces them to Robert Ballard, the...
University of Wisconsin
Getting the Word Out
An appropriate way to celebrate and conclude the construction of a rain garden is to share it with the community. Small groups collaborate to design an outreach product such as a PowerPoint presentation, brochure, or poster, to draw...
Curated OER
Why Does the Cocoa Tree Need a Tropical Rainforest to Grow?
Fourth graders explore the requirements a cocoa plant needs to survive. They research where chocolate comes from and how humans can affect the growth of cocoa trees. Students create a 3-D model of a cocoa tree and compare and contrast...