Browse Lesson Plans

American Robin: A Robin's Menu Through the Seasons

Explore and write about what kinds of plants and animals robins eat.

Discipline: Biology, Science

American Robin: Build a Robin's Nest

Ask questions before reading about how robins build nests, revisit the text for details, reflect on what's learned and get Writer's Woskshop ideas.

Discipline: Biology, Science

American Robin: Eggstra! Eggstra! The Story Behind a Robin's Eggs

Read about how the way robins lay eggs is different from other birds.

Discipline: Biology, Science

American Robin: Territory Study

Read and write about the place where nesting and mating occurs.

Discipline: Biology, Environmental Science, Science

Causal Patterns in Density

Use brass and aluminum cylinders while controlling for mass and volume to make the property of density more obvious.

Discipline: Physical Sciences, Science

Causal Patterns in Ecosystems

Demonstrate the invisible role of decomposers in a food web, using glass worm tank and bread mold activities.

Discipline: Earth Sciences, Environmental Science, Science

Challenges with Sinkers

Manipulate aluminum foil and clay to make shapes that sink slowly.

Discipline: Physical Sciences, Science

Classifying Living Things

Record student observations on the similarities and differences between plants and animals on a Venn diagram and determine the basic needs of each.

Discipline: Biology, Science

Comparing Animal Skeletons

Dissect a “mystery object” – an owl pellet with bones in it. After studying the human skeleton, students can begin to identify the bones in the pellet.

Discipline: Biology, Science

Describe a New Substance

Weigh amounts of baking soda and vinegar then mix them together. Weigh them again afterwards. Try this with open and then closed containers.

Discipline: Physical Sciences, Science

Dissolving Race

Compare a sugar cube and an equivalent amount of granulated sugar, each dropped in an equal volume of water. Mix granulated sugar with cold and warm water.

Discipline: Physical Sciences, Science

Earth's Interior

Simulate the wave movement caused by earthquakes with a Slinky®, use Silly Putty® to show the qualities of both liquids and solids and illustrate convection currents with a specially designed fluid.

Discipline: Earth Sciences, Geology, Science

Electrostatics Exhibits

Rub a clear plastic tube with different kinds of cloth to see how many Styrofoam chips can be picked up or moved around.

Discipline: Physical Sciences, Science

Energy Flow in Communities

Begin a simple terrarium and maintain a Communities Chart to track the feeding relationships inside. Each time something is added, the impact is recorded on the increasingly complex chart.

Discipline: Earth Sciences, Environmental Science, Science

Evaporation and Condensation

Take two wet paper towels and enclose one. What will happen the next day? Watch as water droplets condense on the outside of a plastic cup filled with cold water.