Chicago Botanic Garden
Leaf Litter Ecology Lab
Some organisms spend their entire lives in leaf litter. The third in a series of six is a great lesson exploring the community of leaf litter. Groups gather and then spread leaf litter over white paper and remove leaves/twigs while...
Curated OER
“THE LORAX” by Dr. Seuss
Few children's books convey the message of conservation as well as Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. Read the story aloud, emphasizing the interconnectedness of plants and animals in an ecosystem and discussing different ways people can help the...
Disney
Where Do Brown Bears Live?
What do brown bears in Alaska's Katmai National Park need to survive? Pupils explore the unique habitats, diet, and survival needs of this animal. They predict the consequences of removing any integral part of the bear's survival, and...
Rainforest Alliance
Protecting the Critical Habitat of the Manatee and Loggerhead Turtle
Explore ocean habitats with a lesson plan that showcases the home of manatees and loggerhead turtles in Belize. Here, pupils compare and contrast the homes of ocean animals to those of humans, listen to an original short story about the...
Curated OER
Exploring Biomes Lesson 1: Mapping Biomes
Environmental science learners examine satellite imagery of temperature, vegetation, precipitation, and productivity. They use these maps to understand how scientists divide the planet into major biomes. As part of a larger unit on...
August House
Go to Sleep, Gecko
Use this multidisciplinary lesson to delve into these subjects: English language arts, math, science, drama, and character education. After reading, discussing, and making interpretations about Go To Sleep, Gecko!: A Balinese Folktale by...
Curated OER
Using Vegetation, Precipitation, and Surface Temperature to Study Climate Zones
Using NASA's Live Access Server, earth scientists compare the temperature, precipitation, and normalized difference vegetation index for four different locations. They use the data to identify the climate zone of each location using...
Curated OER
Mealworms
Crawl into the world of the darkling beetle with this scientific investigation. Watch as the insects move through the larval, pupal, and adult stages of life, recording observations along the way. Discuss the necessities of life as young...
NOAA
Plankton
Dive into the world of plankton. The 17th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program introduces different types of plankton. Young scientists then use what they have learned to classify...
Teach Engineering
Live Like an Animal
When your parents say that your room's a pig sty, tell them about biomimicry. The sixth installment of a nine-part Life Science unit has scholars research the shelters used by animals in the natural world, like turtle shells. Using the...
California Academy of Science
Nuclear Energy: What's Your Reaction?
OSHA confirms that rules governing worker safety at nuclear power plants ranks higher than worker safety in offices. Scholars must consider safety, cost, alternatives, and other factors before recommending whether a town should build a...
Curated OER
Plant Party
Learners identify plant parts. In this plants lesson, students bring in a vegetable. Each student classifies which part of the plant their vegetable comes from (flower, root, ect.) Learners identify the parts of their vegetable and later...
Curated OER
Introduction To Floral Morphology
Students create a model of the four basic whorls of flowers using a water bottle, construction paper and Q-tips. They then examine fresh flower specimens to see how the basic structure can vary in different species of flowering plants.
Curated OER
Looking at Flowers
Students use their bee sticks to cross-pollinate their Fast Plants and also focus in on the anatomy of flowers. They analyze how the parts of a system go together, and how these parts depend on each other. Finally, students describe...
Curated OER
Getting a Handle on Your Bee
Students observe dried bees, carefully glue them to toothpicks, and use them for cross pollinating their Brassica plants. They also describe reasons why two similar investigations can produce different results. Finally, students...
Curated OER
Plant Structure
In this plant science worksheet, students complete a crossword puzzle with 48 questions. They identify the different parts of a plant.
Curated OER
Fabulous Fantastic Flowers!
Students study flowers and identify their major parts. In this flowers lesson plan, students research flowers, learn about their life cycle, label their major parts, and make tissue paper flowers.
Curated OER
From Flower to Fruit
Students examine how flowers have essentially four parts. They learn both the male and female reproductive parts of the flower, then explore self-pollination and pollination by insects and other animals.
Curated OER
Desinging and Using a Dichotomous Key
Pupils are examine the purpose of dichotomous keys. In groups, they design their own in order to describe the characteristics of plants and weeds native to California. To end the lesson, they define new terminology associated with the...
Curated OER
Cells are 3-D!
Students design three dimensional models of plant and animal cells. They identify the cells parts, and compare animal and plant cells.
Curated OER
What is in Soil?
Fourth graders identify and examine the components that make up soil. Individually, they use a magnifying glass to identify the organic and inorganic material in their soil sample. To end the lesson, they record the differences in the...
Curated OER
Label Your Body
Students assimilate the names of the parts of the body. They practice spelling body part words using a worksheet. They trace the outline of their bodies, add features and label the body parts from the vocabulary list.
Curated OER
It Ain't Easy Being Green!
Pupils explore the needs of plants. In this science lesson, students plant seeds and place one in a sunny spot and the other in a dark area. Pupils observe what happens.
Curated OER
Plant Identification Pictionary
Students participate in a plant identification game. Using worksheets, they collect plant samples and identify the basic parts of the plant. They note the similarities and differences between the various diagrams. They use heavy books...