Science and Kids

Students work cooperatively to assemble an ancient creature from its bones (made from paper). The fossil bones are of the same size as the real S. Crassiostris discovered in a limestone quarry. Students act as paleontologists to then infer the food this creature might eat, how it moved and its environment. This is lesson 6 in a series that explores dinosaurs and fossils at the primary level. This lesson includes teacher notes, rubric for scoring, background content, student r page, a writing pa

This engaging PowerPoint presentation will generate much discussion about the needs of animals and how animals meet those needs. Students are guided to observe patternsof how animals meet their needs for survival through their locomotion, body coverings, foods, and homes. Photos and concepts enhance and extend the eight activities in the NGSS lessons “Animal Needs – What do Animals need to Survive?” https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/NGSS-Kindergarten-What-do-Animal-Need-to-Survive-

2-LS2-2 Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants.  Key concept for this performance assessment: Animals can move around to meet their needs, but plants cannot, and they often depend on animals for pollination or to disperse their seeds.  Lessons include extensive teacher background, teaching tips, student recording pages, rubrics for scoring, Comic Book style reading pages for research, Photos and steps for sample pollination mode

This Power Point is designed to be used as a stand alone presentation on parts that plants and animals have to help them survive, grow and meet their needs. This also would be useful in conjunction with a lesson on the NGSS : Solution to a Human Problem - Grade 1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes:1-LS1-1. Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs. http

This Kindergarten lesson is written and illustrated by Karen Ostlund and Sheryl Mercier. Kindergarten students act as engineers as they design a structure to provide shade all day. A full and half size Engineering Journal are provided for recording. The lesson begins with a whole class activity in which students observe and classify objects according to how well they block light. In the individual performance assessment, students design, build, and test their structure to keep out the light a

This sequence of NGSS aligned activities/assessments begins with an assessment of students’ prior knowledge of the Tenebrio Molitor, also known as the mealworm or darkling beetle, which goes through complete metamorphosis during its life cycle. As they study the full life cycle, they make conceptual models by drawing and writing. Prior knowledge is assessed as students write and draw pictures to illustrate how they think mealworms will change over time. Then they cut and paste pictures to mode

In this performance assessment, students use tools and materials to design and build a device to solve the problem of communicating over a distance. Students build a string telephone and investigate how sound travels through the device. Students are given a design challenge to redesign the string telephone to make it more effective in order to demonstrate their ability to construct explanations and design solutions. Then students act as engineers to create and test a device that uses sound or li

Fire their imaginations with a dinosaurs and fossils study. Dinosaurs and Fossils Primary Science Unit has nine hands-on and minds-on science lessons, each followed with a writing assignment. Lessons are sold individually on the Teachers Pay Teachers site. The cost of the bundled lessons is a 25% discount. Lessons: Observing a Dinosaur, Classifying Dinosaurs, Communicating by Graphing, Predict about Fossils, Measure a Dinosaur, Infer with Fossils, Make a Model of a Dinosaur, Define a Di

Plant and Animal Structures and Processes Use Biomimicry to Design a Solution to a Human Problem Grade 1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes 1-LS1-1. Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.* In this series of activities/assessments students use biomimicry to design solutions to human problems. The series of activities begins with a whole class re

This assessment is intended for use after a unit about sound has been taught. The performance expectations in first grade help students formulate answers to questions such as: “What happens when materials vibrate?” Students are expected to develop an understanding of the relationship between sound and vibrating materials. Cause and effect is the crosscutting concept for this disciplinary core idea. Students are expected to demonstrate grade-appropriate proficiency in planning and carrying out i

Students conduct a whole class activity to get ready for the performance assessment by reviewing what plants need to survive and thrive. Students brainstorm a list for plants and for themselves. Then they compare the two lists for similarities and differences. Next, students conduct an individual performance assessment in which they plan and carry out an investigation to answer the question: “Do plants need water and sunlight to grow and be healthy?” They set up a fair test, gather data over a t

How did dinosaurs become fossils? Have students observe pictures that represent the long term steps of fossil creation and predict and learn the order. This is lesson 4 in a series that explores dinosaurs and fossils at the primary level. This lesson includes teacher notes, rubric for scoring, background content, student page, a writing page, and correlation to A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. Dinosaur and Fossil lessons are also included

Have students work on the scientific practice of classification with dinosaur cards and sorting activities. This is lesson 2 in a series that explores dinosaurs and fossils at the primary level. This lesson includes teacher notes, rubric for scoring, background content,dinosaur cards, student recording page, a writing page, and correlation to A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. Dinosaur and Fossil lessons are also included in the book by Kare

Packet 1: NGSS Grade K Investigate Forces with Pushes and Pulls K-PS2-1 This is an NGSS aligned and improved version of Introduction to Pushes and Pulls for Kindergarten by Science and Kids. In these NGSS aligned activities/assessments, primary students observe the effects of force (pushes and pulls) and motion. In the first activity/assessment, students observe and describe objects that are moving and identify the force (a push or a pull or both) that make the objects move. Then they draw and

In this series of two lessons, primary students are introduced to force (push and pull) and motion. In the first lesson, students observe and describe objects that are moving and identify the force (a push or a pull or both) that make the objects move. Then they draw and describe themselves demonstrating a push or a pull that makes something move. In the second lesson, students observe, describe, and draw a toy at rest. Then they put the toy in motion and describe the force (push or pull) used t

Science Assessment Activities for Primary provides your students ten challenging tasks to demonstrate what they are able to do as a result of their science experiences. These hands on activities use inexpensive materials and are flexible enough to use with individuals, small groups, or an entire class. The science lesson assessments include: 1. Teacher instructions for testing the major process skills of scientific inquiry 2. Separate tests for each inquiry skill 3. Material lists 4. Student re

Use these 9 activities to engage your students in using the scientific practices and processes of inquiry to discover properties of objects and materials with candy or any items that you determine are easily available, accessible, and appropriate. The authors, Karen Ostlund and Sheryl Mercier have attempted to capitalize on students' natural interest in candy in order to go beyond just the enjoyment of eating it. Included in the bundled lessons are teaching tips, connect to content, rubrics fo

According to The Framework for K-12 Science: "Children are born investigators: In the early years of life, children engage in and develop their own ideas about the physical, biological, and social worlds and how they work and, thus, can engage in scientific and engineering practices in the early grades. Science and engineering require both knowledge and practice. Science is not just a body of knowledge that reflects current understanding of the world: it is also a set of practices used to establ

This eBook contains the entire hard copy of Assessments for the Science Process Skills of Inquiry for Primary Grades. which are sold individually as Science Assessments for Primary Level 1, 2, and 3. The hands-on student performance tasks in this book are written and illustrated by Sheryl Mercier and Karen Ostlund to document changes in student learning. Teachers of primary students who use these performance assessments will be able to observe and record information regarding student ability t

Have your students make a mini-book for a frog life cycle. Each page illustrates part of the life cycle and includes an assessment page where they put the cycle together themselves. At the end, children have a book of learning to take home. The lesson packet includes teacher guide and background, student pages for the book, rubric for scoring, sample student work, and a measurement activity. This meets the Texas TEKS standard for first grade: 1.10: Organism and environments. The student knows t