Scholastic
Mindful Listening
Teach your middle schoolers to use their ears to their highest potential! Pupils practice active listening skills and reflect on how careful listening might prove to be important in and out of the classroom.
Ask a Biologist
Human Skeleton Anatomy Activity
Young biologists piece together the puzzle of the human body with this simple anatomy learning exercise. Presented with a picture of the human skeleton, students are challenged with the task of correctly identifying the 27 bones...
University of Hawaiʻi
Taxonomy and Me!
Taxonomy is the study of organisms and how you phylum. Three biology activities are included, helping scholars understand four of the six kingdoms, specifically Protista, Plantae, Fungi, and Animalia. Scholars observe and classify in...
Terminix
The Pollinator
What do bees and children have in common? They both love their sweets. Decorate a flower pot or bucket to look like a brightly colored flower and fill it with wrapped candy and cheese puffs. Have learners reach into grab the candy,...
Achievement Strategies
CCSS Unpacked Learning Targets for Reading and Writing History/Social Studies
How do all the lessons and activities you have planned for your class align to Common Core State Standards? This can feel like a very daunting question. Help ease the process by referencing a template that not only lists and organizes...
Kids Can Have Fun
Cut and Paste Fish
Just keep swimming with this colorful illustration of fish. This cut-and-paste activity can be used in multiple ways in an elementary classroom.
Polar Trec
Global Snow Cover Changes
Snow is actually translucent, reflecting light off its surface which creates its white appearance. Pairs or individuals access the given website and answer questions about snow cover. They analyze graphs and charts, examine data, and...
American Museum of Natural History
Wonderful World of Wasps
Shockingly, wasps sometimes challenge lions as the king of predators! Learners explore the life of a wasp in an interactive online lesson. They read about the characteristics of wasps and then complete activities to learn about their lives.
Smithsonian Institution
Science Starts With a Question: Energy - Teacher Guide
Get an up-close look at energy transfer. Using a three-part activity, investigators first observe a teacher-led demonstration before building a model marble track to convert potential energy to kinetic energy. Scientists explore six...
Curated OER
Writing a Political Leader
Students investigate politics by writing a formal letter. In this U.S. Government lesson, students discuss political issues they would like to address and research their topic using the Internet. Students locate an appropriate political...
California Academy of Science
What's on a Penny?
As a lesson plan on scientific observation, have your class investigate the features of a penny and a nickel. Working in pairs, they practice writing detailed descriptions using their senses and a ruler to gather information. This is an...
Discovery Education
Sonar & Echolocation
A well-designed, comprehensive, and attractive slide show supports direct instruction on how sonar and echolocation work. Contained within the slides are links to interactive websites and instructions for using apps on a mobile device to...
Baylor College
People and Climate
Model how the sun's energy strikes the planet and help your class relate it to a climate map. Assign small groups an individual climate zone to discuss. They reflect on and research how humans survive in the assigned climate and write a...
Safe Drinking Water Foundation
How Water Pollution Is Cleaned Up
As a follow-up from the previous instructional activity, young environmentalists discuss the benefits of water filtration and whether or not it's the best option. Other alternatives including air stripping, bioremediation, and...
Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Investigation: Chemical Models
Science teams make models of four different hydrocarbon compounds that we commonly use for fuel. Then they demonstrate chemical reactions that result when energy is produced. This can be used as an enrichment when your class is studying...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
How Novel Icefish Genes Can Improve Human Health
Designed to accompany the 13-minute video The Making of the Fittest: The Birth and Death of Genes, this handout serves as both a viewing guide during the video and an analysis of how the adaptations of the icefish might help treat some...
Colorado Unit Writing Project
Simple Machines
Planning an elementary science unit has never been simpler! These twelve lessons guide young scientists through an exploration of simple machines and their many uses in the real world before asking them to apply their learning in the...
Kids Discover
Galaxies by KIDS DISCOVER
An e-magazine with kid-friendly informational text, vibrant visuals, and activities about galaxies.
SeaWorld
Animal Migrations
Here is a fabulous set of activities for your young scientists. Each instructional activity contains map, hands-on, and game activities that will help the class understand why and how animals migrate from one place to another. First...
Curated OER
Natural Disasters and the Five Themes of Geography
Have your class do research on natural disasters and create a presentation using this resource. In completing this activity, learners apply the five geography themes to their research. They write a paper describing their results. It's a...
PBS
Climate Change as a Scientific Theory
Get your class thinking about climate change as a scientific theory. Guided by a handout, emerging earth scientists read articles and take notes about glaciers and sea ice. To conclude, they write an evaluation of the evidence for...
Curated OER
Bugs
This is not just a worksheet, but an entire set of activities and worksheets that can accompany any unit on bugs or insects. Little learners will hone early math and literacy skills as they create mini-books, discriminate between big and...
eGFI
Lesson: Guilt-Free Chocolate
Experiment with chocolate coating on cookies! What a delightful way to learn about food processing and chemical engineering. Throughout this activity, groups collect measurements and make calculations. They conclude by writing...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Making of a Monster
Over the course of a week, the class will study how monsters are portrayed throughout literature. But why? Monsters in science fiction or horror often depict the darker side of human nature; they are described for their horrific physical...