Top 10 Summer Science Lesson Plans

Summer is a time for fun, relaxation, and spending time with friends and family. However, just because kids aren’t in school doesn’t mean they can’t be learning. Whether you’re a homeschooling parent or a teacher looking for some academic enrichment for your students during the summer, the following summer science lesson plans are for you!

1.  By this time of year, most plant life is in full bloom! Gardens are wonderful springboards to inquiry, and students can plant their own seeds in a sectioned-off corner of the yard or in something as simple as Styrofoam cups. For added fun, you can purchase clear plastic cups and plant seeds near the edges. When they begin to grow, the roots will be visible. In the lesson Soil, Water, and Plants activities, elementary students examine the relationship between water retention and plant growth by comparing the qualities of soils and designing their own experiments based on their findings.

2.  If your students still can’t get enough of plants, try collecting and classifying leaves using Does One Tree a Forest Make?  In this activity, students take a walk and look at and identify trees. One leaf for each tree is collected. A chart is developed that represents the population of trees in a given area.

3.  Most children have a natural fascination with insects, and it’s easy to capitalize on this during the summer. Exploring Insects & Spiders, Grades 3-5, contains many different ideas for building excitement in junior entomologists: exploring various websites, indentifying spider and insect body parts, compare/contrasting spiders and insects, identifying butterfly or moth species found in their state, observing an ant colony, and many others.

4.  Inevitable time at the swimming pool can also provide for some interesting experiments with buoyancy. Blowing Ballast  allows students to participate in a hands on experience with this fascinating scientific concept by building a model of a submersible using a plastic bottle and a balloon.

5.  Rocket-building is a great activity any time of year, but some rocket activities are best done outdoors.  Rockets on a Shoestring Budget allows your students to experience the problems facing engineers designing rockets limited by budget and supplies. Using film canisters with internal-sealing lids, filled with water and antacid tablets, students create pop rockets.

6.  With many children staying up later to take advantage of long summer days, summer is a great time to begin keeping track of moon phases. In The Phases of the Moon, students explore the phases of the moon by making nightly observations. They also perform activities to simulate the phases of the moon, and create models to indicate the locations of the sun, moon, and Earth during each phase.

7.  As Independence Day drawers nearer, fireworks are on everyone’s mind.  A Burst of Light: Mineral Use in Fireworks  allows students to examine the role of minerals in fireworks by conducting flame tests on minerals found in the grocery store.

8.  What child doesn’t love to build sand castles? In Engineering For The 3 Little Pigs, students engage in a lesson which demonstrates the importance of rocks, soils and minerals in engineering ,and how using the right material for the right job is important. Students build three different sand castles and test them for strength and resistance to weathering. Then, they discuss how the buildings are different, and what engineers need to think about when using rocks, soils and minerals for construction.

9.  Challenge your students’ inquiry skills this summer by asking them to solve the problem of What Will Keep Ice Cold?  In this lesson, students investigate three types of cups to determine which material insulates an ice cube. They define conductor and insulator, and test metal, plastic and Styrofoam to determine which category they should be included in.

10.  Encourage your students to utilize their creative side by integrating science with art in It’s Art . .  . Naturally.  In this lesson, students consider the ways nature has been used in art, and then design and create their own original sculptures using materials from nature for a class exhibit.