Elementary School Lesson Plans (85 results)

Science Buddies' elementary school science projects are the perfect way for elementary school students to have fun exploring science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Our elementary school projects are written and tested by scientists and are specifically created for use by students in the elementary school grades. Students can choose to follow the science experiment as written or put their own spin on the project.

For a personalized list of science projects, elementary schoolers can use the Science Buddies Topic Selection Wizard. The wizard asks students to respond to a series of simple statements and then uses their answers to recommend age-appropriate projects that fit their interests.

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Paper Bridge Design Challenge Log in to add favorite More Menu Read More Lesson Plan Grade: Kindergarten-2nd Your students have probably walked or ridden over a bridge at some point in their lives. In this engineering activity they will design and make bridges out of folded pieces of paper, and test how much weight they can hold with pennies. How does the shape of a bridge affect its strength? Let your students explore and find out with this lesson! This lesson can be expanded to a second lesson looking at how the material a bridge is made out of can change its strength; see second lesson for details. Read more NGSS Performance Expectations: K-2-ETS1-2. Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem. K-2-ETS1-3. Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs. Teaching the Scientific Method with Paper Rockets Log in to add favorite More Menu Read More Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd-5th 1 2 3 4 5 2 reviews This lesson will introduce your students to the scientific method using a fun, hands-on activity. A middle school version of this lesson plan is also available. Read more NGSS Performance Expectations: 3-5—Science Practices. Tallest Paper Tower Challenge for Grades 3-5 Log in to add favorite More Menu Read More Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd-5th Teach your students about the engineering design process with this fun lesson plan. They will design and build the tallest possible tower using nothing but paper and tape, but there's an additional twist on this classic activity. The tower must support a heavy weight at the top without collapsing! Optionally, they can enter their designs in the 2021 Fluor Engineering Challenge for a chance to win a cash prize for your school! Teachers, note that middle school and high school versions of… Read more NGSS Performance Expectations: 3-5-ETS1-3. Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved. Make an Anemometer to Measure Wind Speed Log in to add favorite More Menu Read More Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd Help the budding meteorologists in your classroom learn how to measure wind speed by building their own anemometers (wind speed meters) with paper cups and straws. Then do a simple experiment in which students change the "wind" speed using a fan and measure how fast their anemometer spins. Read more NGSS Performance Expectations: 3-ESS2-1. Represent data in tables and graphical displays to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season. Sustainability: How Our Actions Affect the Environment Log in to add favorite More Menu Read More Lesson Plan Grade: 5th How do our everyday actions contribute to our ecological footprint? Can we change our individual actions to be more environmentally friendly and create a more sustainable lifestyle? In this lesson, students will evaluate their own environmental impact using an online tool called Your Plan, Your Planet, and evaluate simple ways to reduce their ecological footprint as an individual or community. Read more NGSS Performance Expectations: 5-ESS3-1. Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth's resources and environment. Defining an Engineering Design Problem with Paper Airplanes Log in to add favorite More Menu Read More Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd-5th 1 2 3 4 5 3 reviews Are paper airplanes a nuisance in your classroom? They don't have to be! Those distractions can be a constructive learning opportunity: use them to teach your students about the engineering design process. In this fun lesson, you will be the "customer" ordering a paper airplane, and your student teams will be engineering companies that will manufacture planes. Before they start making planes, they need to define the criteria and constraints of this engineering problem. Read more NGSS Performance Expectations: 3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost. Modeling Blood Flow Log in to add favorite More Menu Read More Lesson Plan Grade: 4th 1 2 3 4 5 1 review Why is it important to eat healthy and exercise? In this hands-on lesson plan, students will build a simple model to explore the effects of plaque buildup in arteries. The model allows them to demonstrate what happens to blood flow when heart disease narrows a person's arteries. Read more NGSS Performance Expectations: 4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. Skydive Into Forces Log in to add favorite More Menu Read More Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd 1 2 3 4 5 1 review Forces, which we might instinctively describe as pushes and pulls, are acting on us at all times, but we cannot always see them. This hands-on lesson offers a fun opportunity to explore "invisible" forces like gravity and air resistance. Students will build parachutes and investigate how they allow skydivers to safely land. Read more NGSS Performance Expectations: 3-PS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object. Sound and Vibrations 1: Rubber Band Guitar Log in to add favorite More Menu Read More Lesson Plan Grade: 1st 1 2 3 4 5 2 reviews Young students know that they can hear sounds, but do they know what causes sounds? In this lesson they will learn that sounds are caused by vibrations, and they will build a fun musical instrument of their own. In the Sound and Vibrations 2: Make Sprinkles Dance, students will learn that sounds can also cause vibrations. Read more NGSS Performance Expectations: 1-PS4-1. Plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that vibrating materials can make sound and that sound can make materials vibrate. Lifting with a Lever Log in to add favorite More Menu Read More Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd-5th 1 2 3 4 5 1 review Can your students lift a book off the floor with just one finger? Find out and learn about simple machines in this fun lesson plan about levers. Read more NGSS Performance Expectations: 3-5-ETS1-3. 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