With school days seemingly getting shorter and packed with more and more obligations, teachers integrate core subjects like science and reading in the hopes of delivering a curriculum that is meaningful and content rich. Using trade books, primary teachers can develop and deliver science content designed to introduce students to proenvironmental…

Students love learning about animals: how animals behave, what animals eat, why some animals are more dangerous than others are, and why animals look the way they do. In this 5E lesson, students investigate why some animals look the way they do--specifically, the advantages of camouflage and mimicry. What are an animal's advantages of being…

Several classroom activities using a model of a seashore and an oil spill demonstrate the basic properties of oil spills in oceans. Students brainstorm about how to best clean up the mess. They work in teams, and after agreeing on how they will proceed, their method is tested by measuring the amount of oil removed and by rating the cleanliness of…

This activity promotes ways to save electricity in the home. Students identify electronic devices in the home and examine wattage, hours of use per month, estimated wattage per month, kilowatt hours per month, average retail price per kilowatt hour in each state, and the estimated cost per month. Students gain an appreciation for how saving power…

This activity ties together the recycling of aluminum and the protection of rain forests. Students use critical thinking to study the effects of open pit mining of bauxite in rain forests and then draw their own conclusions about how to minimize the impact of bauxite mining and boost recycling efforts within their communities. Drawing conclusions…

The chief purpose of this activity is to strengthen students' understanding of concepts of floatation such as surface area and pressure (weight per unit area) via snowshoes. Students brainstorm, make predictions, perform calculations, and practice communication skills through interviewing elders and experts. This activity lets students see the…