NorthEast Ohio Geoscience Education Outreach
Ecosystems and Change
Pairs of ecologists select an animal and investigate an ecosystem from its point of view. This simple lesson involves Internet research and putting together a presentation of collected information.
Captain Planet Foundation
George Washington Carver and the Sweet Potato
Learn about George Washington Carver's important contributions to agriculture by studying the sweet potato. First graders read about the inventor's observations and prepare sweet potato slips for the class garden. Additionally, they...
Captain Planet Foundation
Worm Your Way Out of This
How can you provide healthy soil for your garden? Study worms, bacteria, and other microorganisms in a lesson about decomposition and organic compost. After discussing what you know about worms and watching a video, watch what worms do...
Captain Planet Foundation
Adopt-A-Plant
Note the way that plants change during the season by adopting a plant on your school campus. After your class chooses their plant, they research the plant's needs, how it differs from other plants, find ways to support their plant's...
Captain Planet Foundation
Plant Parts Salad
How are vegetables beneficial to a healthy diet? Have kids examine different types of vegetables, such as zucchini, broccoli, and carrots, and determine which parts of the plant they represent. Then, they taste the vegetables as a class....
Captain Planet Foundation
Shape Shifters in the Math Garden
Combines mathematical measurement with gardening skills. Third graders hunt for worms in the garden and try to find the longest one. They also measure and weigh vegetables that they harvest from the garden, measure rainfall amounts, and...
Captain Planet Foundation
Sorting Out Soils
Sift through soil and learn about why it's important for organic processes. After discussing what makes up soil, such as the living organisms and what types of soil have more nutrients, kids sample layers of mulch and deeper soil to...
Captain Planet Foundation
Which Plant Is Which?
Learn about dichotomous keys, plant identification, and how to care for the planet with a lesson plan that includes several hands-on and innovative activities. Kids go on a plant scavenger hunt and classify the plants that they find...
Curated OER
Food for Spaceflight
When astronauts get hungry in outer space, they can't just call and have a pizza delivered. In order to gain an appreciation for the challenges associated with space travel, young learners are given the task of selecting, testing, and...
Curated OER
Designing a Crew Exploration Vehicle
Take your class on an out-of-this-world adventure with this fun engineering design lesson. Working in small groups, young scientists design, build, and test crew exploration vehicles using some creativity, teamwork, and an assortment of...
Captain Planet Foundation
Sense of Place
Explore the five senses with a kindergarten lesson on gardening. After taking a walk through the class garden, kids note what they see, hear, feel, taste, and smell, and then decide what is living in the garden versus what is not living....
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 includes a game about consumers and producers with a...
UNICEF
Get Real on Climate
Climate change isn't just about a warming planet; it will affect humans' health, spread of disease, changes in heat waves and droughts, and changes in storms and wildfires. Participants explore global climate change through discussions...
Captain Planet Foundation
Rotting Away
What happens at the end of a plant's life cycle? Show kids the natural way that plants show that they're decomposing, as well as the importance of compost, with a lesson about living organisms. After reading Log Cabin by Anne Schreiber,...
Science 4 Inquiry
Journey Through the Spheres of the Earth
Each of the Earth's spheres interacts with the other spheres in predictable ways. Young scientists explore these interactions through a hands-on activity, graphing, and watching a video. They summarize their knowledge in a video or...
Curated OER
Science As Inquiry
Students practice problem solving through the inquiry approach. They are divided into small groups and given various problems to folve regarding the germination of radish seeds.
Tech Museum of Innovation
Analogous Models
What goes into a museum display? A secondary-level STEM project prompts groups to design a museum display for the Tech Museum of Innovation. They create an analogous, interactive model illustrating a science concept to complete the lesson.
Critical Thinking Cooperative
Doing Our Share
Whether at home or in the classroom, each member of a community has certain responsibilities they must tend to. With the help of the children's story Piggybook by Anthony Browne, kids learn how to assign jobs in a fair and safe manner...
Cornell University
Exploring Rocks and Minerals
Investigate the properties of rocks and minerals through a rockin' hands-on activity. Learners test rocks for various properties and, using a guide, attempt to identify different samples. They use various properties including hardness,...
Virginia Department of Education
Adaptation and Evolution
Um may be the atomic symbol for confusion, but it won't be needed in this lesson. Scholars rotate through seven stations completing experiments, hands-on activities, writing exercises, and analysis. Stations include material on...
Curated OER
habitat Powerpoint Project and Webquests
Using a provided PowerPoint template and a list of relevant web sites, 4th graders create an animal habitat presentation. This lesson plan includes relevant web sites, vocabulary, PowerPoint template, rubric and full lesson plan. This...
Curated OER
The Solar System
Looking for a cross-curricular project for language arts and science? Use this lesson to reinforce knowledge of the Solar System, as well as expository writing skills. Elementary and middle schoolers choose one aspect of the Solar System...
Curated OER
From the Mouths of Space Scientists: An Introduction to Space and Weather
After researching the Greenland Space Science Symposium, curious thinkers create a PowerPoint or video presentation. They use the information they gathered to construct their presentation.
American Physiological Society
An Inquiry into Alcoholic Fermentation
Introduce life science learners to their new "best buds" yeast! Using a wide variety of materials, lab groups design an experiment that illustrates how yeast acquires the resources it needs to undergo cellular respiration. The teacher's...