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Excellent activity for grades five and up.  "Students work as teams in mission control and aboard a spacecraft as they test their decision making skills and solve problems during this innovative, inquiry based, space-themed science and math simulation." This activity could meet MANY science standards and math standards including the Design Process, The Nature of Science, and Reading for Literacy in Science.  For the purpose of this assignment, I am assigning it to: 6.2.4  With regard to their size, composition, distance from the sun, surface features and ability to support life, compare and contrast the planets of the solar system with one another and with asteroids and comets.  6-8.RS.1:  Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science texts.   6-8 RS.3:  Follow precisely a multi-step procedure when carrying out experiments or taking measurements.

Roughly every other year, the Challenger Center in Brownsburg gets a grant and invites us to visit for free. Unfortunately for your cohort, we went last year, but I'll invite you back next year if they get another grant. We usually go on a Saturday morning and IT IS AWESOME! I love being in Indianapolis with these fabulous resources available.

Recycled Wire Hanger Bird Feeder - Life Science Science craft project reusing old wire clothes hangers and discarded kitchen fat or peanut butter. Supplies: Lightweight with coat hanger, large lemon, wire cutters, sturdy needle-nose pliers, old junk saucepan, or peanut butter.

Construct a Weather Spinner: - Earth Science Intro to Natural Sciences - your child will learn to see details and patterns in atmospheric conditions.  A simple weather spinner provides an accessible tool for your child to improve her observation and analysis ability, important scientific skills she will use for the rest of her life. Supplies: White tag board or poster board, pencil, crayons, markers, or colored pencils, and a metal brad.

This activity is an awesome life science experiment that students can use for the rest of their lives- making compost! Compost is a great way to deal with waste that often ends up in landfills.  In this activity students will watch different kinds of vegetation decompose and turn into rich, useful soil! This could even be used for a class or school garden!

Great idea for true life applications! (Literally...life science!)

Make Your Own Ant Farm: - Life Science After completion of ant farm, spend days or weeks observing these amazing insects. Supplies: Small glass bowl or jar, glass fishbowl, sand, loose soil, sugar, water, 20 ants (from the same colony), rubber band, cheesecloth, black construction paper, bread crumbs, masking tape, and spiral notebook.

K-3 could do this project, but require more research, writing, or drawings of the project about habitat, colony structure, body-parts and function, etc.

Students will learn to identify the four stages of a butterfly's life cycle.

This is an excellent lesson that can be modified a number of ways.  I find that it fits well with Science and Technology Standards 2.4.1 and 2.4.2.   2.4.1:  Identify parts of the human body that can be used as tools. 2.4.2:  Identify technologies developed by humans to meet human needs.  Investigate the limitations of technologies and how they have improved quality of life. Students could identify how teeth can be considered a tool.  They could discuss the toothbrush (and its evolution to items like Sonicare.)  The experiments will help them understand the limitations of the toothbrush, and how their choices affect their teeth.

There's no better way to learn about metamorphosis than to observe the life cycle of a living creature up close. This activity allows students to see the life cycle of mealworms.

5.3.1 Observe and classify common Indiana organisms as producers, consumers, decomposers, predator and prey based on their relationships and interactions with other organisms in their ecosystem. I would use parts A and C as descriptions of the project and disregard part B. Sticky Note: Grades 2-5 all have portions of Life Sciences devoted to ecosystems and this project could be easily manipulated to focus on different aspects of an ecosystem. I would give specific guidelines in some cases, especially for younger grades, but it would be great to allow older students to have time to brainstorm the kind of ecosystem they wanted to complete and allow them to go through the research process to create a good replica of that ecosystem.

Students observe a stalk of celery over one to two days. The celery is placed into water (food coloring is added to the water). The students then record their observations about the water moving up the celery stalk. This is a great way for students to understand how plants transport water from their roots to their leaves!

Standards 1.3.4:  Describe how animals' habitats, including plants, meet their needs for food, water, shelter, and an environment in which they can live. This activity sets up with a display of tundra themed books which begin our Arctic adventure.  Students will record questions and discoveries in an arctic food journal.  Students will discuss the habitat, why it is the RIGHT place for Polar Bears to live, and how certain animals have adapted to ensure their survival in their home habitat.

A good starting point for  a unit on the parts of a plant and the life cycle of a plant.

This activity is unique because it combines science with a practical application that provides a solution to a problem. In this activity, students will be put a small bowl of hot oatmeal into a plastic baggie, test the temperature, and seal it.  Then students will place three sheets of aluminum foil or three sheets of newspaper over the baggie.  After 15 minutes the students will re-test the temperature using a thermometer and discover which material saved heat!

First graders love to create stories. Their especially imaginative brains are always coming up with plots and characters for even the simplest of things. This knack for creative story building is something that can help your child in any subject. In first grade, part of your child's science unit will be learning about the characteristics of different habitats. He'll discuss geography, learn about different kinds of environments, and talk about what kinds of animals live where. By creating a shoebox habitat with your child, you will expand on what he is learning in school and allow him to put those budding creative instincts to good use!

SO excited to find this!  For all third grade teachers, this complete program provides content and activities for third grade science standards.  (Animal behavior, adaptive behaviors).  

Simple demonstration on how gears work and can create great conversation on how they work and what they have meant to society. 

Take a nature walk and have students pick one kind of leaf. Then follow these directions on how to make an imprint with clay. They can take home a "Leaf Token" as a keepsake at the end of the unit.

Indoor Gardening with Kitchen Waste Introduce experiment by talking about the six basic parts of plants: roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruit, and seeds.  Grow a garden by using plant scraps that usually get thrown away. Supplies: 2-3 carrot tops, cut about 1 inch from the top, shallow bowl, pebbles (optional), sand, water, 1 fresh pineapple, pot of damp soil.

Multi-grade project that can you can differentiate according to skill and prior knowledge (experience). Older grade levels can research other possible materials to recycle from the kitchen in other ways.

1.3.4 Describe how animals' habitats, including plants, meet their needs for food, water, shelter and an environment in which they can live. 1.3.5 Observe and describe ways in which animals and plants depend on one another for survival. 1.3.2 Observe organisms closely over a period of time in different habitats such as terrariums, aquariums, lawns and trees. Draw and write about observations. 1.4.3 Construct a simple shelter for an animal with natural and human-made materials.

K.3.3 Describe and compare living plants in terms of growth, parts, shape, size, color and texture. K.3.1 Observe and draw physical features of common plants and animals.