Browse Lesson Plans

Gray Whales: The Monumental Migration

An introduction to Gray Whale migration, (pdf booklet for kids).

Discipline: Science

Gray Whales: Whose Point of View? The Journey of Three Generations

Read the "Whale Journey" picture book about the gripping tale of the life cycle of the gray whale. Choose one of the whales in the story for a writing activity.

Discipline: Science

Groundwater

Draw what a groundwater table might look like. Then use groundwater models to test the drawing.

Discipline: Science

Life Cycles (Session 3)

Observe adult, larvae (mealworms), and pupae of the darkling beetle. Monitor over the next several days and determine the life cycle.

Discipline: Science

Life Cycles (Session 4)

“Mystery objects” – a brine shrimp egg and a seed that looks similar – are placed in both salt water and soil to see which thrives in each environment.

Discipline: Science

Living, Dead or Nonliving

Distribute a mystery material or “green stuff,” and ask students to determine what category it belongs to: living, dead or nonliving.

Discipline: Science

Take readings of a thermometer in a glass of ice and then in warm water. Watch the volume of the red liquid in the thermometer expand, to develop ideas about the effect of energy on the change of state of matter.

Discipline: Science

Moon's Distance from Earth

Work with models to represent the relative distance of the Moon from the Earth, then measure the angular size of the Moon with pinky fingers to check the estimate.

Discipline: Science

Observing Properties

Introduce a variety of solid objects and use senses to sort them. Then explain the criteria used for the sorting schemes.

Discipline: Science

Plate Tectonics

Use interactive, computer-based inquiry to create models of plate interactions and record explanations of the models.

Discipline: Science

Rocks

Examine rocks that contain fossils, observe their characteristics and research to find out what kind of rock it is.

Discipline: Science

Scale Model of the Solar System

Draw scale models of the solar system and then go out to the playground. Establish the Sun’s position and ask students to stand where they think the planets are in relation to it.

Discipline: Science

Soil

Compare the soil on school property to that of six very different locations. Then, try to guess where the soil was obtained.

Discipline: Science

Systems and Interactions

Use Playdoh® and wax paper to simulate the collision between two tectonic plates.

Discipline: Science

Variation, Heredity and Evolution

Grow "fast plants" and measure the variation in height. Calculate the average height with different numbers of plants to show the importance of sample size.