Science Lesson Library

There are many ways to start an inquiry. One effective way is to use a story that focuses children’s attention on a specific topic.

Take a peek at what the students learned about flight and how that informed their creative designs!

Get your students outside and excited about making observations! We suggest a field trip to a location with potential to see a variety of birds, but the school playground is a good spot, too!

Students construct their own bird nest made of items they think are good options for a bird's nest.

Demonstrate an understanding of forces and how they lead to movement and changes in movement.

Provide students with an opportunity to learn the use of balance scales in a practical outdoor setting.

Students observe bird nests and discuss which materials are best used in their construction.

Grade One Teacher Zoe Donoahue is leading her students on an inquiry into water and she is sharing the journey with The Robertson Program.

Grade Four Teacher Robin Shaw is leading her students on an inquiry into water and she is sharing the journey with The Robertson Program.

Sticks and stones can make two and three-dimensional shapes that students can use to explore geometry in an outdoor setting.

Students use balance scales to become more familiar with the concepts of weight, balance and measurement.

Introduce your students to a database of bird information contributed by everyday birders. As your navigate the website, they will encounter bar charts, data regarding habitat, location, population and migration.

In an attempt to explore this question and other aspects of Gravity further, students designed and implemented a number of creative experiments.

Students quantify distance by walking along a pathway from one location to another wearing pedometers.

Analyze the immediate and long-term effects of energy and resource use on society and the environment and evaluate options for conserving energy and resources.

Children engage in an exploration of magnets, further discovering what items are magnetic and what items are not.

Children will understand that both live and recorded sounds make use of vibrations, and be able to describe how a sound makes them feel and identify different qualities of a sound.

Students make and measure imprints outside and learn how they represent non-standard units of measurement.

Students use standard units of measurement to measure and compare the circumferences of trees.

Snowfall can be a learning opportunity when students measure and compare the depth of the fallen snow each week.

Carol Stephenson, Kindergarten teacher at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute for Child Study Laboratory School, brings us inside her classroom to share how she fosters inquiry-based learning with her students.

Introduction to the moon and our solar system.

Tracking the moon and sun.

Analyzing our moon data.

The movement of objects in the solar system.

Earth/Moon orbits and moon phases.

Research project.

Investigate energy transformation and conservation. Demonstrate an understanding of the various forms and sources of energy and the ways in which energy can be transformed and conserved.

Raadiyah Nazeem is leading her students on an inquiry into salmon and she is sharing the journey with The Robertson Program.

Students will learn that sounds travel differently depending on their environment and the materials and surfaces around them.

This lesson explores what happens when individuals act only in their best interests to get the greatest number of fish. The simulation will allow students to see the different possibilities of working together to conserve resources.

Assesses the impact of space exploration on society and the environment.

In this multi-part lesson, students investigate the properties of water in its various states.

Water connections.

Math explorations - central tendency and capacity.

Introduction to drinking water advisories.

Mapping drinking water advisories.

Have your students consider these details as they plan a potential bird feeder design. Along the way, they’ll also consider different costs, including construction and food type.

Investigate the characteristics and properties of light and sound.

Students learn about the types and parts of a plant by exploring their natural environment.

Children can identify and describe a sound’s direction and volume.

Once students better understand the species, they can explore the interaction between lobsters and fishers.

Learn about celebrated female mathematician Sophie Germain and her incredible work on elasticity.