GRADE K – Animals, Plants, Senses
Alphabet Soup http://www.alphabet-soup.net/index.html
LOTS of activities, games, songs, puzzles, and fun for Kindergarten teachers and kids around a range of themes including zoo animals, farm animals, insects, apples, plants, bears, dinosaurs, and more.
Using Live Insects in Elementary Classrooms http://insected.arl.arizona.edu/lessons.htm
Series of activities about observing insects: body parts, habits, habitats, etc.
Teaching About the Senses http://atozteacherstuff.com/Themes/5_Senses/index.shtml
Lesson plans and activities about teaching the 5 senses.
Enchanted Learning http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html Gazillions of images/words and background information on many subjects, in many languages. Coloring, labeling, songs and rhymes, picture books, rebuses – the possibilities are endless!
Monterey Bay Aquarium http://www.mbayaq.org/lc/ Lots of learning about life in the ocean, including live webcams, activities, and games.
Paso Partners http://www.sedl.org/scimath/pasopartners/welcome.html The best source for Spanish bilingual science
lesson plans. For K the units include 5
senses, spiders, and dinosaurs.
Grade 1 –Habitat, Adaptation/Diversity, Plants and
Animals Meeting Needs
ABC Teach Theme Pages: Habitat
http://www.abcteach.com/directory/theme_units/habitats/
Teaching tools and activities on a variety of habitats.
Camouflage Activity http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/camouflage/camouflage.html
Online activity showing animals camouflaged in their natural habitat.
Franklin Institute’s Living Things http://www.fi.edu/tfi/units/life/ Rich website with lots of background and great links to lots of information from the basic to the very sophisticated.
The Secret Life of Trees http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/trees2/ Slide show/animation (with sound) introducing kids to tress. In Spanish and English. Navigate back to the Urban Extension’s kids page for more activities and information about insects, worms, and more!
National Geographic’s Habitats: Home Sweet Home http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geographyaction/habitats/educators.html
Find habitat-specific lesson plans, National Geographic photos, links, and multimedia adventures, as well as ideas for exploring and protecting your own habitat.
National Wildlife Federation
http://www.nwf.org/wildlife/ All kinds of wildlife activities and
information, including wildlife in your backyard.
Grade 2 – Animal and Plant Life Cycles
Berkeley Swallowtails http://www.berkeleyswallowtails.com/ Lovely pictures and stories about anise
swallowtails from a local family.
Incubation and Embryology http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/eggs/index.html All about chicken hatching! Lessons, activities, and information, as well as how-to’s about incubating and raising chickens in the classroom.
Monterey Bay Aquarium http://www.mbayaq.org/lc/ Lots of learning about life in the ocean, including live webcams, activities, and games.
The Secret Life of Flowers http://www.exploratorium.edu/gardening/bloom/index.html Animated/narrated exploration of plant reproduction.
Silkworms http://www.pclaunch.com/~kayton/silk.htm Heaps of information about raising silkworms in the classroom, plus pictures, science questions, history, etc.
Grade 3 – Animal and Plant Adaptations
Animal Adaptation Activities - http://www.k12.de.us/warner/activities.html Activities on a variety of adaptations – monkeys, otters, birds, teeth, feet, defenses.
Animals, Adaptation, and the
Biodiversity – Everything Counts! http://www.ology.amnh.org/biodiversity/index.html Explore the Tree of Life with a scientist,
check out the biodiversity of a city park, or shop in the “global
grocery.”
Dinosaur Eggs - http://www.nationalgeographic.com/dinoeggs/ A different kind of egg hunt! Follow scientists on a hunt around the world for fossilized dinosaur eggs and learn about dinosaur embryos, mothers, and babies.
Biodiversity: Everything Counts http://www.ology.amnh.org/biodiversity/index.html Check out the Tree of Life with a scientist,
explore the biodiversity of a city park, or shop in the “Global Grocery.”
LHS/MARE “Build A Fish” game http://sv.berkeley.edu/showcase/flash/fish.html
Assemble fish adapted to their habitat!
Life Has a History http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/education/explorations/tours/intro/Introkto4/tour1nav.html Introduces students to the history of life and how it results in today’s biodiversity.
Grade 4 – Web of Life, Ecosystems, Microorganisms
Bucket Buddies http://www.k12science.org/curriculum/bucketproj/ Real-time, on-line data collection project in
which students answer the question: Are pond organisms the same all over the
world?
CA Integrated Waste Management Board http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Schools/Curriculum/default.htm Online curriculum for downloading including Closing the Loops, Project Learning Tree, and The Worm Guide, plus an on-line kids game The Adventures of Vermi the Worm.
Infection Detection Protection http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/infection Background, on-line games and quizzes, and
links to lots of other resources about microbes. Some of the best clicks are the Shockwave
games like Bacteria in the Cafeteria, and Infection!
Plants and Animals: Partners in Pollination http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/partners_in_pollination/lesson2_main.html
Smithsonian website with lesson plans and background material exploring the interrelationships of plant and animal life cycles.
Soil Biological Communities http://www.blm.gov/nstc/soil/Kids/index.html Wilbur the soil wizard guides students through topics including what soil is, why it’s important, animals found in it, roles of fungi and bacteria, and much more.
Worm World http://www.blm.gov/nstc/soil/Kids/index.html Activities and information about worms as
recyclers.
Grade 5 – Internal processes of plants and animals
The Digestive System http://library.advanced.org/15873/zoo/digestive/ Explore the human digestive system and
compare it to those of other animals.
Franklin Institute’s Walk-Through Heart http://www.fi.edu/biosci/heart.html Heart activities and information based on
the famous walk-through model heart.
Illuminating Photosynthesis
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/methuselah/photosynthesis.html# Explanation and animated puzzles/games
exploring photosynthesis at the most basic level.
Innerbody http://www.innerbody.com/htm/body.html Use this interactive website to build students’ knowledge of the human body and its systems.
Imaging Station http://www.exploratorium.edu/imaging_station/index.html This section of the Exploratorium’s website allows you to look at different kinds of plant and animal cells, structure, and organs. Research stories, beautiful photos, and video of developing organisms.
The Great Plant Escape http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/ Mystery cases for student sleuths to solve about plant systems. The site also features project suggestions, more activities, and background info.
ReviseWise Science: Plants http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/revisewise/science/living/06_act.shtml
Background and on-line activities and quizzes about plant parts, processes, and functions.