ReadWriteThink
Persuasive Essay: Environmental Issues
Young environmentalists learn how to craft a persuasive essay about an environmental issue they consider important. After studying the components of a persuasive essay and examining a student model, writers brainstorm possible topics and...
Baylor College
How Much Water Do Humans Need?
Physical or life science learners measure the amounts of water eliminated by intestines and the urinary system, and the amounts lost via respiration and perspiration. In doing so, they discover that the body's water must be replenished...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension: History of the Periodic Table
Although the article that launches this lesson plan is about the history of the Periodic Table, the objective is reading comprehension. Using the eight-page informational text, learners answer five comprehension questions and craft one...
Curated OER
An Introduction to Acids and Bases
Investigating pH is intriguing, especially with these activities designed for an introductory chemistry or physical science class. Pupils use litmus paper to distinguish acids and bases and then make indicators from food products....
Berkeley Engineering and Mentors
Marshmallow Catapaults
After a brief lecture on levers, torque, projectiles, and the five-step engineering design cycle, young physical science learners or engineers build catapults out of craft sticks. This is an open-ended exploration of what works and what...
Curated OER
Dream Big
Students discuss the success of privately built and flown space crafts by reading and discussing a news article. They develop adventure trip proposals to present to Sir Richard Branson. Students write essays reflecting on the importance...
Curated OER
Show Some Backbone and Teach Invertebrates
Fifth graders identify two similarities and two differences between two phyla, assign fictitious invertebrate to its phylum and explain why it belongs in that grouping, and construct member of given phylum and explain why it should be...
Curated OER
Eensy Weensy Spider Lesson Plan
Students create their own versions of The Eensy-Weensy Spider. In this creative writing lesson plan, students read The Eensy-Weensy Spider and imagine what else the spider could do. Students then draw a picture depicting the spider...
Curated OER
American Robin: Eggstra! Eggstra! The Story Behind a Robin's Eggs
Students answer questions about robin's eggs. They read about robins, then mark up text for unfamiliar words.
Curated OER
Shoe Box Archaeology
Students assemble a shoe box following a layered pattern alternating between soil and artifacts. The layers of artifacts begin with the grandparents and end with the student's own personal possessions.
Curated OER
Shoe Box Archaeology
Students make a box layered with information about grandparents, parents, and themselves. They dig up each other boxes and try to decipher the personality or lifestyle of the person whose box it is.
Curated OER
Swinging on a Star
Learners explore the issues that might arise if humans were to go on an interstellar space mission. They synthesize their understanding of interstellar travel by writing scenes from a science fiction novel that would depict such a mission.
Curated OER
Cranberry Bog
Young scholars explore cranberry farming in Massachusetts and the rest of the nation. They research on challenges facing cranberry farming industry and then write reflection papers on optimum pest control methods from the perspective of...
Curated OER
Who's in my soil!?!...and just what do they think they're doing there?
Middle schoolers discover organisms that inhabit the soil, the beneficial an detrimental roles these organisms play, and the interactions between the organisms and their environment and other organisms. Students participate in four...
Curated OER
Something Fishy?
Students try to draw and identify a jellyfish from a physical description. After reading an article, they discover new information about cnidarians. In groups, they research and develop dioramas about a specific cnidarian species. They...
Curated OER
Who Gives a Hoot?
Students look at owl migration and its impact on the environment and the food chain after reading an article from The New York Times. Students then apply this information to and research different food chain situations for other species...
Curated OER
Forest Grump
Students consider the definition of an ecosystem, its parts, and how these parts can be affected when the ecosystem is endangered. They examine dangers being faced by the Canadian boreal forest by reading "For Billions of Birds, an...
Curated OER
Travels of a T-Shirt
Eighth graders recognize the natural resources used in an energy web. In this consumerism instructional activity students identify solutions to over consumption and the impact of consumerism.
Curated OER
Strong Vibes
Students consider how the tension of a rubber band relates to the stress build-up in earthquakes. They conduct research and write fictional television coverage about a Pacific Northwest town that is hit by an earthquake.