Science Teacher Resources
Learning more about the world around us helps with skills in analysis, observation, evaluation, and innovation. Any science class is a perfect place for students to practice these skills—and Lesson Planet is the perfect place to find the resources that science teachers need!
No matter what field of science you’re teaching, proper planning is the difference between a successful project and a disastrous lesson. Use a planning guide for science projects that offers multiple ways for students to present their experiment results. Additionally, a fun penny assignment connects to any science class and makes a great class opener!
Bring social studies and science together with an app that focuses on scientists from the Renaissance, including influential thinkers who have been overlooked by the history books. Take a step into the more recent history of scientific thought with a video on Barbara McClintock and other genetic scientists, or another video on Darwin and his work with natural selection.
Take science out of the lab and into the kitchen with a video on molecular gastronomy. For science fiction fans, a video investigates the science of Star Wars (and another video checks out the science in HBO’s Game of Thrones).
Science is a realm of wonder and never-ending learning. Keep that learning going with our teacher-curated resources at Lesson Planet!
Showing 47,724 resources
Scholastic
Study Jams! The Moon
Take your class to the moon and back with this compact slide show. A mix of computer-generated images and photographs are supported by explanatory text. Observers learn about the moon's movements, its physical features, and its phases....
Scholastic
Study Jams! The Nitrogen Cycle
Expose your class to the steps of the nitrogen cycle with this short clip. Colorful computer imagery and animation explain how nitrogen travels from the atmosphere as a gas into plants and soil, where bacteria convert it into nitrates....
Scholastic
Study Jams! Animal Adaptations
Physical and behavioral adaptations are discussed by two teen girls as monarch butterflies flutter by. They also describe the process of natural selection. With colorful animation and relatable teen language, learners are sure to adapt...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Arthropods
No need to be crabby! Here is a resource that teaches your class about the characteristics of arthropods and provides stunning photos of several of them. In addition to the superb slides and their informative accompanying captions, the...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Air Pressure & Wind
Blow your class away with a gust of humor as they watch this video about air pressure and wind. Along the way, they find that the density of air (as determined by temperature, altitude, and water vapor content) leads to air pressure...
Curated OER
Sunspots and Space Weather
This assignment is out of this world! It is an online worksheet about sunspots and solar cycles, a sort of WebQuest if you will. Links to two NASA websites and spaceweather.com are written into the questions so that your aspiring...
Curated OER
Light - Stop Faking It!
This well-designed presentation covers many important aspects of the science behind light. In it, pupils view slides that have a lot of the important vocabulary associated with science, slides of famous scientists who made important...
Curated OER
Superpowered Interdisciplinary Projects: Using the Science in Saturday Morning Cartoons
How to leverage cultural background knowledge to increase student investment.
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Machines
What do science and dance have in common? Simple machines, work, and force! First, children discuss machines, wheels, inclined planes, and wedges. They create inclined planes with their bodies and make up dances about wheels and wedges....
Curated OER
STEMbite: Engaging Plants
The science teacher discusses features of weeds in his backyard and how their thorns are used by the plant to engage animals. Other methods that plants use to engage animals include appearance, scent, and the taste of their products. Mr....
National Geographic
Sea Turtles and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
There are seven species of sea turtles, five of which live in the Gulf of Mexico. Young scientists learn about each and then examine the impact of the Deepwater Horizon (BP) oil spill on the populations. A video, Internet links to sea...
TED-Ed
What on Earth is Spin?
If your head is spinning when you consider teaching the action of spinning, this video is sure to settle things. First, the motion is defined and described. The conservation of angular momentum, the Coriolis effect, and the air pressure...
TED-Ed
What is a Fungus?
After watching a short film about the anatomy and physiology of fungi, discuss with your class the seven provided Think questions, or make up your own. The animation is in the style of colorful artistic drawings and text that appears in...
American Chemical Society
Exploring Moisture on the Outside of a Cold Cup
As a stand-alone or as part of the intended unit, this is a valid investigation of what causes condensation to occur. Â By limiting the amount of air around a cold cup of water and comparing it to one out in the open, they find that the...
Physics Girl
Zero G Ferrofluid Fail
What is it like to go up in a zero gravity airplane? Physics Girl shares her experiences and the science experiments she brought along as part of her video series. From the way your body feels to the failed experiments, she laughs and...
Curated OER
Air Pollution: The Issue of Global Warming
Here is an outstanding 10-page lesson plan on global warming. Learners discover that there is a lot of controversy surrounding this topic in that the science behind global warming is difficult to prove. The best thing about this plan is...
Curated OER
Solar Electricity ~ The Colour Sensitivity of a Photovoltaic Cell
Teacher's notes, a materials list, detailed procedure, tips, and extension ideas are all included to make teaching this lesson on photovoltaic cells a sunny spot in your day! After some brief background reading, physical science...
Curated OER
Project Geode
Young geologists attempt to predict the appearnace of a geode's internal structure based on how it looks from the outside, its mass, and its physical characteristics. For this geologly lesson, learners use scientific equipment to collect...
Curated OER
Where'd You Get Those Genes?
Really a unit, this resource exposes middle schoolers to genetics at their level. They read interviews and biographies, trace a family tree, play games that simulate inheritance concepts, and more! Teacher's procedures, student...
Curated OER
Erosion
Young scientists identify erosion, explain the causes of erosion, and name some techniques that can slow the process of erosion. Learners are divided up into groups of four and perform a simulation of soil erosion in class. The...
Curated OER
Water Pollution
Fifth graders study the impact of human activity on water quality and on the ecosystems of Earth. After a discussion on the various ways that water can be polluted, groups of youngsters get together to figure out the best way to clean a...
Curated OER
Simple Machines I - Inclined Planes, Wedges, and Screws
The principles and uses of inclined planes, screws, and wedges are the focus of a science lesson. In it, youngsters come up with every day examples of simple machines, and build an example of one in class. That project is then used to...
Desert Discoveries
What's In A Habitat?
The concept of a habitat being a home for animals is the main thrust of this life sciences resource. Learners complete a cut-and-paste activity using a fine worksheet that's embedded in the plan. They must place four very different...
Desert Discoveries
Conservation Cartoons
Third graders read and create cartoons about endangered and threatened species of plants. Pupils are split up into groups. They each consider a conservation cartoon and attempt to decipher its meaning. They must decide if they agree or...
