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Students collaboratively investigate our planet’s five mass extinctions and the possibility of a sixth mass extinction. Then, students explore the Anthropocene Epoch’s cultural and environmental complexities and impacts before selecting a biome and endangered species that exist within it to be the focus of their research throughout the rest of the unit. They predict how human activity has impacted these biomes and species. This lesson is part of the Engaging in the Fight Against Extinction unit.

In this media-rich lesson, students conduct simple experiments to investigate how light travels. They examine the paths that light takes with different materials and observe shadows, reflection, and refraction.

In this interactive lesson, students learn that animals take care of their young in many of the same ways the adults in their lives take care of them. Students watch videos from NATURE and engage in a variety of activities to check for understanding and reinforce learning. First or second-grade students should be able to do the lesson independently or in pairs; younger students and struggling readers may need additional support. 

In this lesson, students will place isopropyl alcohol, mineral oil, and corn syrup in water to see if any of these liquids dissolve in water. Students will extend their understanding and definition of “dissolving” and see that certain, but not all, liquids can dissolve in water.

Students will identify and control variables to help design a solubility test for different liquids in water. Students will be able to explain, on the molecular level, why certain liquids, but not all, will dissolve in water. They will also be able to explain that the solubility of a liquid is a characteristic property of that liquid.

​In this lesson, students prepare for BioBlitz by defining biodiversity and examining the characteristics of various plants and animals as examples of taxonomic groupings. A bioblitz is a short, intensive study of the biodiversity of an area. Students learn about the number of species identified globally in key taxa and use this information to make predictions about the biodiversity they may observe during their local bioblitz. 

In this lesson, students will examine the various parts of flowers through the use of dissection. At the end of the lesson, students will play a quick game of pollinator tag to help students understand how pollination works.

Use this game from The Ruff Ruffman Show to help children learn motion and stability: forces and interactions through physical science. Use the engineering design process to build, test, and redesign structures to help the hungry hamsters reach their food.

This resource is part of The Ruff Ruffman Show Science Collection.

In this lesson, students will conduct two chemical reactions. In the first, the temperature will go down (endothermic), and in the second, the temperature will go up (exothermic). Students will see an animation to show that it takes energy to break bonds and that energy is released when new bonds are formed. Students will use this idea to explain why a reaction is either endothermic or exothermic.

Students will be able to define an endothermic and exothermic reaction. Students will be able to use the concept of energy in bond breaking and bond making to explain why one reaction can be endothermic and another reaction can be exothermic.

What makes a shadow? Do shadows change? Can a person escape his or her shadow? These and many other questions provide the framework for students to explore their prior knowledge about shadows as fiction, informational texts, and poetry. In this lesson, language arts skills are linked to the learning of science in a literacy-based approach to the study of shadows. Through discussion of the literature on shadows and the use of questioning techniques to probe prior knowledge, students begin to explore scientific concepts and develop and test hypotheses. After studying shadows, recording observations of shadows, and hearing poetry about shadows, students create their own poetic response incorporating their knowledge. The inclusion of poetry in the lesson encourages aesthetic appreciation of scientific phenomena and invites students to observe the world around them from new perspectives.

In this activity, students experiment with batteries, wires, bulbs, and switches to assemble series and parallel circuits and to test for conductivity in sample items.

Imagine your favorite food. Do you know why you like it so much? It is all up to your sense of taste. Find out how it works!

The tongue has thousands of taste receptors that respond to chemicals in the food you eat. Nerves in your tongue and nose send signals to your brain, allowing you to taste the food you eat.

This resource presents a short slide show about how humans detect and interpret taste. After utilizing this resource, the students can complete the short test to assess their understanding.

Observe and read about Earth’s cosmic neighborhood and objects found in space with this annotated slideshow of NASA images. This slideshow can pique students’ interest and provide opportunities to ask questions about various objects found beyond Earth’s surface as they consider what telescopes have revealed. This is a great activity to introduce objects in the solar system before students make their own models. 

Support materials include Background Reading, Teaching Tips, and Discussion Questions. This resource was developed through WGBH’s Bringing the Universe to America’s Classrooms project, in collaboration with NASA.

The resource contains weather and climate data-collecting activities along with variations for several grade levels. Students create tables and graphs as they record weather patterns throughout the school year. Students describe, compare, and summarize their findings. There are extensions to learning, as well as opportunities to integrate math, social studies, and ELA.

The teacher will present an informational text from the website, ReadWorks. Students will interact with this non-fiction text by annotating the text digitally. The students will answer the questions associated with the article as an assessment. This learning activity can provide the background information needed for students to design a solution for cleaning a polluted environment, serve as reinforcement after students have already learned this concept, or be used as an assessment at the conclusion of a lesson. 

In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Dr. Shini discusses what torque is, how it works, why it works, and what it all has to do with this thing called "Moment of Inertia."

In this interactive lesson, students learn about the advantages and disadvantages of the two basic forms of reproduction. Students develop their literacy skills as they scientifically explore sexual and asexual reproduction. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words (reproduction, offspring, traits, clone, genes, natural selection), and explore content through video and interactive activities.

See how a transmitter sends radio waves to a receiver, which turns them into electrical signals used to operate and control devices. Learn more in this animation from Design Squad Nation.

The teacher will present an informational text from the website, ReadWorks. The students and teacher can interact with this non-fiction text by annotating the text digitally. The students will answer the questions associated with the article as an assessment. This learning activity can be used as an introduction to seasonal patterns of sunrise and sunset, serve as reinforcement after students have already learned this concept, or be used as an assessment at the conclusion of a lesson.

Batteries power much of your daily life. This episode of Crash Course Physics discusses how they work. It also explains how terminal voltage results from the natural internal resistance of every real battery.

Weathering and erosion are continuous processes that gradually change the natural environment over time. Weathering is the process of wearing down materials into the sediment. Erosion occurs when this sediment is moved.

The classroom resource provides a video that will describe how weathering and erosion shape Earth's surface over a long period of time. There is also a short test that can be used to assess students' understanding.

In these Hero Elementary activities, children investigate what makes objects easier or more difficult to move. They try to build structures that are well-balanced and don’t fall down, and they test their structures with a push.