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Read-Alouds for the Holidays and Winter
These five titles will inspire creativity, research, and reflection in your classroom.
Captain Planet Foundation
Energy Flow in the Garden
How can you tell what an owl has eaten? Study the food chain and flow of energy in an ecosystem by dissecting an owl pellet and noting the bones found inside. Additionally, the lesson plan includes a game about consumers and producers...
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Teaching Kids about the Environment
Fifth graders identify the species of plants and animals found in an environment. They compare these findings to plant and animal species found in an unlike environment. Students acquire and compare soil samples from the two sites chosen.
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Arthur's Eyes
Students learn about the parts of the eye. In this eyes and vision instructional activity, students the story Arthur's Eyes and create a KWL chart about eyes. Students label the parts of the eye, examine the eyes of different animals...
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Food Webs in a Pond
Students explore food chains and food webs in a pond and identify common creatures found in ponds. They look for tadpoles, fish, mites and other creatures in a pond during a field trip for first hand research.
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Pair the Plants: An Introduction to Scientific Names
Students examine why plants have both common and scientific names, then complete the activity by matching each common plant name with its scientific name. They finish by working in cooperative groups to create an ABC of Plants class book.
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Classifying Plants and Insects
Art and science come together in a instructional activity based on Flower Still Life by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder. Learners classify plants and insects in the painting by color, leaf shape, size, reproduction, and season of bloom.
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Are You One of Us?
Students compare and contrast insects and arthropods, identifying characteristics of each. In groups, they sort pictures of arthropods into the five different classes of arthropods. They also sort pictures into insect and non-insect piles.
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Tackling Taxonomy
Students study physical characteristics of separate phyla and place them into similar groups. This lesson is part of a multi-segmented unit on the diversity of life. students develop a classification system by grouping animals into...
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Invertebrate Classification
Young scholars discuss the recent disovery of the "furry lobster" to peak interest in the animal kingdom. They classify various speciments using invertebrate dichotomous keys, identifying major animal phyla and classes. Thy the complete...
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Animals Spiral Puzzle
In this animal puzzle worksheet, students use a set of 8 clues about animals to complete a spiral puzzle. A reference web site is included for additional activities.
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Creative Classification
Students create an animal by using physical characteristics to classify that animal in the Linnaean Classification System. This lesson is part of a multi-segmented unit on the diversity of life.
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Classification
Students work in groups of 4-6 for the experiment/activity part of this exercise. They classify ten animals using the information on the picture to group the animals. Students develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models...
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Who Am I?
Learners classify organisms into one of five categories: producer, consumer, decomposer, predator, or prey. Students play a "Who Am I" game. Signs are hung on the backs of fellow learners They must ask questions to determine what...
Montana Natural History Center
Studying Grassland Ecosystems
At first glance, grassland ecosystems might seem dull and uninteresting, but once you start to explore it's amazing the things you'll find! Through this series of engaging lessons, activities, and experiments, elementary students examine...
ARKive
Temperate Rainforest in the Pacific Northwest
Explore the amazing temperate rainforest of the Pacific Northwest. Your class starts by investigating the animals and plants of the Northwest, specifically Washington, and then research an animal population common to the area. In small...
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Poriferans and Cnidarians
Students study the major phyla of the animal kingdom. For this biology lesson unit, students identify their general characteristics. They define taxonomy terminologies.
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Biodiversity
In this biodiversity learning exercise, students sort and classify animals by their observable features using a dichotomous key. Students then respond to questions about complete and incomplete metamorphosis.
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Bug's Eye View
Students explore biology by writing fictitious stories in class. In this insect life lesson plan, students identify many different types of insects in the animal kingdom and the classifications they fall into. Students collect insects on...
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Where Have All the Endangered Gone?
Students explore animals that are endangered. They choose an endangered animal that they would like to keep from becoming extinct. Students create a persuasive presentation to persuade someone to understand why they feel keeping their...
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Clearly Classified
Learners investigate plants and insects. In this science classification lesson, students create separate categories for insects and plants by characteristics. Learners discover scientific names of insects.
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Botany
For this botany worksheet, students read a 2 page article on botany, choose the multiple choice answer to 3 questions, determine if 3 statements are true of false and fill in the blanks in 5 facts about botany.
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Classification and Identification
Students, after exploring and analyzing diagrammatic and taxonomic keys and their association to marine sciences, identify and classify objects and organisms based on visual attributes/characteristics. They research and create their own...
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Where Do I Belong?
Fourth graders work in groups. They are given magazines. Students cut pictures of five mamals, five birds, five reptiles, five amphibians, and five fish. They place the pictures in a plastic bag. Students switch bags. They are explained...