NASA
Modeling the Periodic Table
Imagine a race to complete a puzzle where each person has the same 50 pieces, knows they are missing other pieces, and must figure out how everything fits together. The winner gets fame, listed in books for years to come, and a financial...
Discovery Education
Perfectly Decomposed!
We all know someone who won't eat the banana with a brown spot, the grape with a dimple, and the apple with a bruise. Scholars use different fruits to explore what happens when fruits really start to decompose. They set up an experiment...
Curated OER
Life in the Crystal Palace
Marine biologists research sea ice communities. Assign some groups to construct paper models of sea ice communities in winter, and some to construct models of them in summer. The lesson is simplistic, but the Internet resources provided...
Curated OER
Dining Out With Fishes and Birds of the Hudson
While this lesson focuses on the birds and fish found on the Hudson River, it could be adapted for use in any classroom. Using a vocabulary list, learners explore the meaning of words like adaptation, habitat, barbel, and more. Then,...
ARKive
Marvellous Mini-beasts – Design a Species
Here is a creative activity that teaches kids how species evolve different characteristics for survival. The instructional activity begins as the class discusses and examines the adaptive traits of mini-beasts or insects. Then, in small...
ARKive
Penguin Diversity – Mask Making
Penguins are very diverse and well-adapted birds; they live on islands, in warm and cold climates. Little ones examine penguin diversity and discuss the highly functional adaptive traits that have helped them survive in some of the...
Curated OER
Earth's Water
If the majority of our planet is covered with water, why do we need to bother conserving it? With a thorough and varied investigation into the location and types of water on the earth, learners will gain an understanding of why this...
Curated OER
Water in the Atmosphere
A slide show serves as the backdrop for a lesson on the moisture in Earth's atmosphere. Through it, mini meteorologists learn about the attributes of the atmosphere and actually use data-collecting weather tools to make observations and...
National Park Service
Erosion
A set of PowerPoint slides supports a lecture or class review of weathering and erosion. Viewers learn the definition of each and examine various photos for evidence. Erosion is further depicted as caused by wind, water, and ice....
Rainforest Alliance
How Far Away Is a Tropical Rainforest?
If driving to school only takes 10 minutes, then how long does it take to drive to a tropical rainforest in Colombia? Explore the focus question in a lesson plan that uses measurement tools and formulas to figure out the time...
Concord Consortium
Track of Dreams
Don't run from the resource—sprint to it. Using an engaging performance task, scholars consider a set of constraints on the creation of a track. Given several possible designs, they determine if the designs meet the constraints. If not,...
NOAA
How Do We Know?: Make Additional Weather Sensors; Set Up a Home Weather Station
Viewers learn about three different weather measurement tools in installment five of the 10-part Discover Your Changing World series. They build weather vanes to collect data on wind speed, barometers to determine air pressure, and...
Curated OER
Pendulum Lab
Students predict how changing the pendulum components affect its period. In this physics lesson, students calculate the period using different masses. They analyze lab result and complete assigned worksheet.
Curated OER
Maintaining Body Heat
Students observe and compare heat loss in different objects with surface-to-volume ratios. They transfer this comparison to the physical characteristics of animals in their environment. They focus on how whales maintain their body heat.
Curated OER
Electrical Circuits - Current & Voltage in Series Circuits
Students investigate the relationship between current and voltage in a series circuit. In this physics lesson plan, students measure the current across each light bulb. They predict what happens to the circuit if one bulb is blows out.
Curated OER
Look Mom, No Wings!
Students explain how drag, weight, lift and thrust work together to make something fly. In this physics lesson, students measure their jump height and record data on the table. They reason out why they can't remain airborne for long.
Curated OER
Aerobic And Anaerobic Activity
Third graders engage in the study of aerobic and anaerobic activities. They discuss the differences in the type of exercises involved. Students identify the types of activities they enjoy based upon the information given. Then students...
Curated OER
Change the Beat
Brainstorm the reasons why a healthy heart is important. Using a diagram, label and locate the heart and discuss its function. Practice finding your heartbeat and describe the effects of physical activity on the heart. Also perform an...
Curated OER
Trees of Mississippi
Students research tree species found in Mississippi, and record the tree types, numbers of trees, and locations. Students then research the forest industry sites, and determine possible relationships between industry location and tree...
Curated OER
Where Do I Live?
Students gain a better understanding of the population of the region they live in by comparing U.S. census data on the internet.
Curated OER
Tracks along the Trail
Students identify animal tracks outdoors. In this animal life lesson, students go outdoors and find several different animal tracks to identify. Students also discuss how animals must adapt in the winter months.
Curated OER
Mature Forest Mime
Students come to understand vocabulary words through pantomime. In this vocabulary lesson, students first review several vocabulary words and their meaning, then they work in groups to pantomime the definitions.
Curated OER
Fitness Trail
Students design a fitness trail which incorporates warm-up, aerobic, and cool-down phases. Each student develops their own plan and monitors their own progress through the use of an exercise log.
Curated OER
Life in the Arctic
Students create a model of an arctic animal. In this animal adaptation activity, students research an arctic animal, create a 3-D model of their animal, and explain the physical characteristics animals in the arctic need to survive.