I'm continuing the New Notebook blog series with this post about life cycles. In Texas, our focus is on comparing and contrasting life cycles.

See our plant life cycle activities and why my students are so excited to write about science! Includes FREE lesson visuals for teaching about plants.

During our rock and geode collecting field trips, we'd wondered how rocks were formed, and so we began to learn more about the rock cycle through kid-friendly videos, projects, and snacks.

This colorful magnetism poster would be a great addition to your science center during a unit on magnets. Instructions for printing and use Print on A4 paper. This item is part of a set of Magnets resources available in my store.

Learn about the life cycle of an elephant with over 30 pages of free worksheets about Elephants for elementary students.

These printables are mostly black and white so they will save ink when printing . Click on the little image to go to the download via G...

This is a Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle Mini Quadrama educational paper toy model that you print and assemble yourself. This model includes factual information about the Monarch Butterfly and its amazing metamorphosis. The mini quadrama acts as a unique visual aid through which the stages of the life cycle can be better understood. The individual illustrations of the eggs, larva, pupa, and adult are as close to life size as possible. Eggs - a bit under 1/16” Larva - approximately 1 1/2” in length Pupa - approximately 1 3/4” in length Adult - approximately 4 3/4” from wingtip to wingtip When assembled, the mini quadrama measures approximately 6” at its widest points, and 2 1/4” tall. The life cycle pieces will make the finished model taller than 6”. Be prepared to print extra adult butterflies, they are fun to play with! ------ This is an INSTANT DOWNLOAD, no physical item will be shipped. The files are in PDF format, some may be zipped for faster download. Designs can be printed on any weight paper or card stock. This model works well with paper, but the colors seem to print brighter on cardstock. All models/toys are designed to print on standard letter size 8.5” x 11” paper. Always print pages at full size, 100% scale. Resizing can negatively effect construction. (If printing at a commercial printer, make a point of informing them of the scaling. I have had many that automatically resized my prints without asking.) Colors may vary depending upon screen/printer. Any glue formulated for paper can be used to assemble this model, I use white glue. I also recommend using a toothpick to apply the glue, as it is easier to keep the glue on the desired areas that way. A craft knife is the best tool for cutting out the designs, but scissors are also acceptable. Adult supervision is necessary if young children are involved in the assembly. Scoring along the fold lines before cutting is recommended for smoother edges and easier assembly. I use a bone tool for scoring. ------ For personal use only Do not copy, alter, share, swap, trade, give, sell, or distribute Digital Designs by Rae in any way. Individuals: You are welcome to print as many copies as needed for parties, playdates, etc. But do not share the digital files with others. Please direct them to my shop to purchase their own. Educators: You may print as many copies as needed for class projects, student rewards, etc. Do not share the digital files with others. Please direct them to my shop to purchase their own. ------- No refunds. Due to the nature of my products, I cannot offer refunds.

UPDATED: I fixed the freebie so you should be able to download now! :) As most of y’all know, I LOVE me some science. This is how I introduce science in my classroom. We do

Explore the circle of life with this informative coloring sheet! Help your student color and learn the names of each stage of a turtleâs life.

Help your homeschooler learn about animals with this free printable animal classification and sorting activity. The 20 animals in this activity are separated into four categories: fish, mammals, insects and birds. This activity is super fun for kids and moms will love that it builds vocabulary, critical thinking and observation skills as well.

You have over 600 muscles in your body! Kids can try this muscle anatomy word search featuring 14 important muscles.

Flex your mind muscles with a body science worksheet! Your child will learn the fundamentals of what makes up our muscles.

Learn about the life cycle of an ant with FREE Ant Worksheets! Simply print these insect printables for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, & 6th grade.

I finished the three main bulletin boards that are in my classroom over the weekend! I am so happy with the way they turned out. My first ...

See our plant life cycle activities and why my students are so excited to write about science! Includes FREE lesson visuals for teaching about plants.

What would you do if something big and hungry wanted to eat you? Some animals face this problem every day. Explore the ways animals protect themselves from predators.

Minds in Bloom is pleased to present Bethany Lau with her post on teaching heredity. We think you'll enjoy it! Science in elementary school should be all about fun. In fact, science at all levels

Mackenzie has been studying the nervous system these last few weeks and we've been wrapping it up by focusing on the brain. The topic of th...

See our plant life cycle activities and why my students are so excited to write about science! Includes FREE lesson visuals for teaching about plants.

Young children have a natural curiosity about the living things that they encounter. Observation is a great way for students to answer questions about how plants live, their parts, and characteristics. All plants need nutrients, air, water, light, and a place with space to grow. They have specific structures to meet their needs. This ten-day unit is designed to fulfill the SOL requirements for first graders' in-depth exploration of plants. Virginia Standards of LearningStandard 1.4 The student will investigate and understand that plants have basic life needs and functional parts and can be classified according to certain characteristics. Key concepts include (a) plants need nutrients, air, water, light, and a place to grow; (b) basic parts of plants; (c) plants can be classified based on a variety of characteristics. Background Information Plants have different structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction. The functions of plant parts include the roots which hold plants in place and absorb water, seeds which make new plants, leaves which make food for the plant, and stems which hold the plants upright and transport materials up and down the plant. Plants can be categorized by their different characteristics, such as edible/nonedible, flowering/nonflowering, and evergreen/deciduous. NOTE: Students do not need to know the terms nonedible, edible, evergreen, and deciduous. The focus should be on the concept, not the terminology. Vocabulary In order to successfully complete this unit, students need to know the following words: seed, roots, leaves, stems, plant, flower. Day 1: Introduction to PlantsObjective Students will: Identify and describe the basic needs of a plant. Students will participate in an introductory activity that requires them to guess a mystery item (a plant) contained in a brown paper bag. Divide students into small groups and then display the bag. Tell the students that the bag contains a mystery object. Write sun, water, soil, and air onto the Interactive Whiteboard. Explain that in order to reveal the mystery object, each group must determine what the words on the board have in common. Select a volunteer from each group to share how the words are related. Reveal the plant and discuss how each word is important to the life of a plant. For example, the teacher could say, "The sun gives energy for the plant to make food. Plants use minerals in the water to help them grow. The soil provides nutrients for the plant. The plant takes in carbon dioxide from the air to help make food." Read the book, Seed, Soil, Sun by Cris Peterson. Facilitate a plant walk on the school's campus (if weather permits) and instruct students to complete a checklist of different plants they saw. Teach students "The Needs of a Plant" song to review the basic needs of plants. Day 2: The Parts of PlantsObjectives Students will: Identify the basic parts of a plant. Create an illustration of the basic parts of a plant. Read the book, Plants are Living Things by Bobbie Kalman. Discuss the basic parts of plants on p. 10 of the book. Model how to create an illustration of the basic parts of a plant (see example). Instruct students to complete the Plant Vocabulary worksheet. Teach students "The Parts of Plants" song. For the lyrics, click here. Day 3: Flippin' Over Plant PartsObjectives Students will: Identify and describe the basic parts of a plant. Create a stepbook foldable that identifies and describes the basic parts of a plant. Read the book, From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons. Lead a discussion about the different plant parts and their roles in the life of the plant. Model how to create a stepbook foldable, using four sheets of paper. Staple the booklets along the top. Display the example for reference. Instruct students to write a short sentence under each flap describing the importance of the labeled plant part. Students will use the foldable to review the five basic parts of the plants in pairs. Day 4: Leafy ComparisonsObjectives Students will: Identify the functions of leaves for a plant. Sort, identify, and describe the similarities and differences of a variety of leaves. Three types of leaves. Read the book, Leaves by Vijaya Khisty Bodach. Discuss the functions of leaves, describe the different kinds of leaves, and the leaves in which we eat. Review the basic parts of plants using the maple tree illustration on p. 22. Begin the leaf sorting activity by giving one leaf to each student. Explain that one way scientists classify leaves is by looking at a leaf's edge. Introduce the three categories on the Leaf Sorting Activity handout. Show examples of smooth-edged, lobed, and toothed leaves. Place students in pairs to sort various leaves. Instruct students to paste the leaves in the appropriate column and share why the leaf fits into that category. Select groups to share their leaf classifications at the end. Read Look Once, Look Again: Plant Leaves by David M. Schwartz, which taps into readers' sense of sight. Day 5: Leafy LearningObjectives Students will: Collect a variety of leaves on a leaf hunt (if the weather permits). Create a leaf rubbing. Record the similarities and differences between various leaves. Read We're Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger. Facilitate a leaf hunt to collect various leaves that have fallen. Encourage students to collect at least four smooth-edged, lobed, and toothed leaves. Instruct students to place leaves into their individual plastic bags. Discuss the differences between deciduous and evergreen trees. Once in the classroom, instruct students to choose two of their leaves to create a leaf rubbing. Instruct students to choose crayons that match the color of each leaf. Demonstrate how to use a crayon to make a leaf rubbing. Instruct students to study the rubbings and identify similarities and differences between the two types of leaves and record these comparisons. Select students to share their rubbings in small groups and discuss the similarities and differences, as well as the types of leaves (i.e. smooth-edged, lobed, toothed). Click here for the handout. Day 6: Garden in a Glove Sprout RaceObjectives Students will: Identify the needs of plant seeds. Investigate the germination of seeds. Observe the growth of various seeds over a period of time. Facilitate a Think-Pair-Share activity in which students answer the following question: Do all plants take the same amount of time to sprout? Instruct students to record their thoughts, then share with a partner and the class. Discuss that like humans, plants also go through stages as they grow. Show students the life cycle of a plant poster. Read Oh Say Can You Seed: All About Flowering Plants by Bonnie Worth and review the stages of growth in flowering plants. Explain that the students will set up an experiment to compare five seeds (Garden in a Glove, Ag In the Classroom) and observe the seeds for several days until germination is complete. To keep track of the seeds' progress, students will make a seed journal using brown construction paper and writing paper. For the first day, students will make predictions about when they think the first signs of growth will occur and what seeds will sprout first. Explain that students will record observations in their "Sprout Race" journals every day until the seeds have matured into sprouts. Read The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle on YouTube. Click here for the link. Day 7: Getting to the Root of ItObjectives Students will: Identify the function of roots. Recognize the importance of roots in the life cycle of a plant. In advance, gather a hair dryer, a small potted plant, a container with moist soil, and plant clippings with no roots. Ask students why they think roots are important and list their responses on the Interactive Whiteboard. Place the plant clippings in the container with moist soil. Ask students to predict what might happen to these two plants on a windy day. Select students to share their responses. Turn the hair dryer on a low setting and point it toward both plants. Ask students to describe what happened (i.e. the plant clippings pull out of the soil because they have no roots). Read Roots by Vijaya Khisty Bodach. Discuss the function of roots and different roots in which we eat. Show students two plastic cups that contain garlic cloves (i.e. teachers should plant these at least 3-5 days in advance). Explain that one cup contains a garlic clove that was planted pointing up, while the other was planted pointing down. Instruct students to record their observations on this handout. Explain that roots always grow down. Explain that a garlic clove is a kind of seed called a bulb and when it is planted, pointing down, a sprout still grows up from it; however, it takes longer to come out of the dirt. Provide students with time to play the interactive game, The Great Plant Escape. Day 8: Carnation CapersObjectives Students will: Identify and describe the functions of a plant's stem. Observe and investigate plant stems in tinted (i.e. food coloring) water. Place students into pairs and give each pair a blue carnation to observe and analyze. Instruct students to answer the following questions on Post-It notes, Why is the carnation blue? Aren't carnations usually white? If you wanted to change a white carnation into a blue carnation, what would you do? How could you find out if your idea was correct? Select students to share and post these responses on the Interactive Whiteboard. Conduct a brief demonstration to show why the stem of a plant is so important by filling a cup with water, tinted with food coloring and adding a rolled paper towel. Ask students to share what they observed and how it is related to plants. Give students food coloring and cups with tinted water to color carnations. Give each pair of students a carnation with a split stem to investigate what happens if both stems are placed into different colored water. Ask students the following questions: How do the carnations that drink one color of water look? How do the carnations that drink two colors of water look? Is there a difference? Do the flowers drink the different colors at the same speed? Read Stems by Vijaya Khisty Bodach. Explain that a plant draws water up to its stem similar to the water in which humans drink through straws. Distribute the Keyword Method handout for students to complete. Click here for the handout. Day 9: Tops and BottomsObjectives Students will: Classify various edible vegetables, according to their parts of the plant. Create a salad that contains various edible vegetables. Identify top and bottom vegetables. Is it a top or a bottom? Students will find the answer to this question during a brief sorting activity. Explain that a vegetable is the part of the plant that we eat. Read Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens, emphasizing how Hare was able to trick the lazy Bear. Display an assortment of vegetables and have students sort them by plant part. Select students to help to create a salad to taste the different vegetables. As each item is added, explain which plant part it is from and the function of the plant part. Provide students with time to play the interactive game, Build a Salad. Instruct students to complete the Tops and Bottoms assessment. For this handout, click here. Here are some examples of edible veggies: Stems: asparagus, leeks, celery Leaves: cabbage, lettuce Flowers: cauliflower, broccoli Roots: carrots, beets, radishes, parsnips, turnips Tubers (underground stems): potatoes, yams Seeds: peas, corn, sunflower seeds, chickpeas Fruit: tomatoes, cucumbers, orange segments NOTE: This lesson involves food; therefore, teachers should review student allergies prior to the lesson. Day 10: Review ConceptsObjectives Students will: Review the basic needs and parts of plants. Create a foldable that identifies and describes the different parts of plants. Read Plant Secrets by Emily Goodman to review the basic parts of plants. Model how to create an envelope foldable that identifies and describes the different parts of plants to glue into their science notebooks. Instruct students that they must draw the life cycle of a plant inside of the foldable. Provide students with ample time to play the following interactive games: (1) Plant Life Cycle Sequence Game; (2) Helping Plants Grow Well; (3) Plant Growth Factors; (4) Plant Life, Plants Galore;; (5) Plant Explorer, as well as review their science journals. SPECIAL NOTE: All handouts and foldables should be pasted into the students' science notebooks and used as a studying tool. End-of-Unit Plants Test Additional ResourcesThe following web sites are a great way for students to build their understanding of plants: Biology of Plants This site provides information on basic plant parts, pollination, and photosynthesis. Plants Quiz This web site quizzes students' knowledge of basic plant parts. SOL Pass This web site contains various plant interactive games, in preparation for the third grade SOL. Trees are Terrific: Travels with Pierre Pierre the acorn leads students on an interactive adventure that explores trees.

Téléchargez le vecteur libre de droits Diagramme montrant le cycle de vie du tournesol 414277 de Vecteezy pour votre projet et explorez plus d'un million d'autres vecteurs, icônes et cliparts !

Studying compost?  Perhaps you are doing a recycling unit with your students?  This resource has all you need to introduce key vocabulary and concepts about compost. Includes 2 x labeled composting life cycles (1 colour and 1 black and white) 3 part cards 4 part cards Life cycle black and white booklet for students to make their own booklet Key vocabulary match up cards 2 Handwriting worksheets that use key vocabulary  Sorting activity: What can and cannot be put into compost? Story writing prompts with paper to write on. 1 page sheet explaining how to make compost   32 pages PDF - This is a Downloadable Resource

This skeletal system worksheet, featuring a funny diagram of a human skeleton, is just the thing kids need to master their skeletal system vocabulary.

I tried out a new STEAM lesson that combined learning about food chains while making art. I introduced this lesson with a Prezi: http://prezi.com/pim43kss-493/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share We used national geographic magazines to find pictures of animals to help create our collage. The students pre planned everything out in their sketchbooks before starting on their food chain collage. Here are a few examples of our final projects! I love how they turned out and the creativit

Thank you to April Larremore and Stephanie Pollard for this cute idea! The kids loved making these 3 dimensional flower diagrams. Green straws make the stems and cupcake papers make the flower. Sunflower seeds are glued in the middle of the cupcake paper. I also had the kids break apart one seed and put part of the shell down in the soil to represent where the plant sprouted from. Any kind of seed could be used.

See our plant life cycle activities and why my students are so excited to write about science! Includes FREE lesson visuals for teaching about plants.

Kids practice identifying liquids for a lesson on the states of matter in this 1st grade physical science worksheet. Download to complete online or as a printable!

Hi Friends… I hope this post finds you well and enjoying your summer break. I just returned home from a relaxing vacation in Punta Cana! It was a ton of fun and I really needed the R & R 🙂 I actually wrote this blog post on the plane there…BUT… the flight didn’t have any … Science FUN with Interactive Notebooks! Read More »

I was first introduced to the idea of creating Animal Dioramas when my son (who was a first grader at the time), brought home a shoebox and a basic instruction sheet from his teacher to create a diorama of any animal and its natural habitat. Being a mom, I was so excited about the opportunity to help my son create something he was so excited about! Being a teacher, I knew that I had to do a project like this with my own students, but I had no idea where to start. I shared the idea with my second grade colleagues, and they all loved it! We worked together to create a basic letter to send home to parents, but struggled to find just the right way to show students exactly what the project is and how to do it. (I don't know about your class, but I have to break everything into very small steps for most of my kiddos!) So, I decided to create a unit that would have everything you could ever need for doing a project like this. Trust me, if you want to do this project with your class - this unit will save you SO much time and make your life so much easier! To start off, our science focus for the entire month is ANIMALS! We spent time reading about animals and life cycles in our science books, and this week we are learning all about animal habitats. I found some really amazing videos on habitats on our district portal, but you can also find some really cute and informative videos here (around 3-5 minutes each): Animals and their Habitats Habitats Home Sweet Habitat Earlier this week, I sent home a letter to parents to let them know that we will be starting our dioramas soon! I also asked parents to send shoe boxes to school with their child, if possible. You may want to send home your parent letter 1-2 weeks before you intend to send home the assignment. I like to send everything home with the student on a Friday, so they have the weekend to start gathering supplies and begin working on their project. I usually give students 3-4 weeks to complete the project at home. My student dioramas are due on May 6th, which gives me plenty of time to have them present their projects and have them on display for our Open House the following week! After that, I'll be happy to send them home with the students. This is what I sent home with the students to kick off our Animal Diorama and Research Report Project! (Of course I stapled them together so the pages didn't go flying all over the place when they went outside, but for the purpose of this photo - I laid them out so you can see them!) That's it! Easy-peasy! Just send the directions for the project, the animal research report poster, the student grading rubric, and the presentation outline home and have your students work on their projects on their own time. My second grade team and I decided to have one day where we all will keep our classrooms open or an hour or so after school so students can come in and work on their projects, use classroom supplies, get help with research, etc. We will be doing the majority of the research in the classroom, and will be writing the research reports as well. I just prefer to do that part with the students, so I can guide them through the writing process. The majority of our research will be done on the internet during our computer lab time. I've found these websites to be VERY helpful and easy for kids to find the information they need for their reports! A-Z Animals Kids National Geographic - Animals San Diego Zoo: Animals A-Z While we are in the computer lab, I had the students record their research information on this sheet: Once the students had recorded all of their information, we spent the next day taking their key ideas and putting them into complete sentences about their animals. I also have a simpler version if that works better for your class! From there, the students would write their final draft on a separate sheet of paper (also included in the unit). You can find all of these pages, grading rubrics, parent letters, as well as a how-to instructional presentation to show your students how to do the project HERE! Now, the only question is... what will your students create?