Science Lesson Plans and Resources

Index: Collections of Science Lessons, Science Rubrics, Scientific Method/Nature of Science, Science History, Inventors,  Science Fair/Projects, Earth Science, Life Science/Biology, Physical Science, Homework Help

Large Collections of Lesson Plans for Multiple Science Subjects
Science Lesson Plan Data Base
More than 40 lesson plans for a variety of grade levels from the National Teacher Training Institute.

National Geographic Lessons
Many excellent lesson plans in multiple subjects. Use their search option to find a lesson.

Smithsonian Education Learning Lab -  Science and Life Sciences
Many high-quality lesson plans. Use their search option to find a lesson plan.

Newton's Apple Science Teacher's Guides
See their alphabetical index of teacher guides.

eGFI
Engineering-based lesson plans and activities for all grade levels.

McREL Lesson Plan Library - Science
Many lesson plans organized by topic.

Teachers Try Science Lesson Plans
"Free and engaging lessons along with teaching strategies and resources . . ."

California Academy of Science
Use their lesson plan search to find what you need.       

The Engineering Place
Elementary and middle school lesson plans.

Science Education Gateway
The above link takes you to the SEGway Lesson Plan Catalog by Grade.

Education World - Science
Many activities unique to this site.

Reach Out! Michigan Hands-On Science
Many science lesson plans and quick and easy activities.

National Wildlife Federation
A long list of lessons organized by topic.

NOAA Ocean Service Education
The above link takes you to their lesson plan library.

Science Netlinks
A comprehensive guide to science, technology, and mathematics web sites as well as a searchable library of lesson plans.

ProTeacher Collection
Scroll down the page to find science lesson plans.

ExploraVision Lesson Plans
Downloadable lessons organized by grade level.   

NASA For Educators
Free online lessons and resources. See their resources on the eclipse or search by grade level.

Exploratorium
Tools for Teaching and Learning.


Rubrics for Science
Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything: Assessment and Rubrics
Information and examples of various types of rubrics, including ones for student web projects, cooperative learning activities, labs, group participation, multimedia presentations, oral presentations, portfolio exhibits, and research papers.

Rubistar
"A free tool to help teachers develop quality rubrics.

1st  - 2nd-Grade Science Lab Notebook Rubric

Science Rubrics/Exemplars
Five rubrics.

Standards-Based Science Rubric

Exemplars Science Rubric   
A generic science rubric

Science Fair Project Grading Rubric

Lab Report Rubric
See also Lab Report Rubric for another version.

Laboratory Activity Rubric

Physics Experiment Evaluation Rubric

Chemistry Standards-Based Rubric: Atomic Structure and Bonding
See also Chem Lab Evaluation Rubric.




Scientific Method/Nature of Science Lesson Plans and Resources
The Scientific Method
An article explaining the scientific method. See also Steps of the Scientific Method for another overview of the scientific method.

Introduction to the Scientific Method
A lesson plan from Michigan State University.

Everyday Science: Discovering the Scientific Method
An extensive teacher's guide from Discovery Education: Myth Busters Scientific Inquiry.

How Many Drops of Water on a Penny?
A lesson plan in which students use the scientific method for science inquiry.

Scientific Method
A lesson plan providing an overview of the scientific method.

Steps in the Scientific Method
A flow chart.

How Many Fish are in that Pond?
A high school lesson plan in which students use sampling, estimation, and statistical analysis.

Nature of Science Teaching Activities
Many activities from Science Online -  New Zealand.

The Nature of Science
A 7th-grade lesson plan from Better Lesson.

Nature of Science
Several lesson plans from Indiana University intended for a high school biology course.

Science History Lesson Plans and Resources
History of Science Classroom Lesson Plans
More than 25 lesson plans from Secondary Teaching.

The Scientific Revolution: Science and Society from the Renaissance to the Early Enlightenment
Many lesson plans, mostly for grades 9-12, from the Ohio State University History Teaching Institute.

Elements of Biology: Evolution
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 in which learn about Darwin, his theory of evolution, and some of the controversies related to it.

Darwin and  Evolution. Activities and other resources. See also Darwin Day, 6 Facts About the Evolution Debate and Evolution Wing: Theory and History.  

Historical Thinking Matters: Scopes Trial
A 5-day lesson plan. See also Whose ‘Truth’ Is Out There? for a lesson plan from the N.Y. Times. For background information, see The Antievolution Crusade of the 1920s, Clash of Cultures: The Scopes Trial.

The Manhattan Project
A three-part lesson plan on the creation of the atomic bombs that ended WWII. See also Atomic Bomb Lesson Plan and To Drop the Bomb or Not.

Race to the Moon
A lesson pan for grades 2-3 on the space race. See also NASA Challenging the Space Frontier Teacher's Guide and Sputnik's 50th Anniversary: The Beginning of the Space Race.

The History of Vaccines Lesson Plan: The Scientific Method in Vaccine History
A high school lesson plan.

Famous Scientists WebQuest
See also Scientists Around the World.

Women in Medicine: Past and Future
A lesson plan from Science Net Links. See their other lesson plans about the achievements of women in science.

Women in Science
A high school lesson plan from Education World. See also Ellen Ochoa.

African Americans in Science
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 from Science NetLinks.

History of Physics
Links to many sites related to physics history.

History of Biology
Links to biographies of famous biologists.

Inventors/Inventions Lesson Plans and Resources
Inventions 1: Edison and the Light Bulb
A K-2 lesson plan from Science NetLinks. See also Inventions 2: The Impact.

Invention of the Telephone
A lesson plan for grades 2-3.

Inventors and Innovators
Another lesson plan from Science NetLinks. This one is for grades 6-8.

The Power of Invention
A lesson plan from Mensa for Kids. See their other lesson plans.

Cool Inventions
Lesson ideas from Crayola.

Inventions That Changed our World
Four mini lessons from Scholastic.

Inventors And Inventions 1
A lesson plan for grades K-5 from Discovery Education. See also Inventors And Inventions 2: Air And Space.

Invention: Computer Technology
A middle-grade lesson plan from Discovery Education.

The Inventor Was a Woman
A lesson plan about women’s contributions to the world in the form of inventions and discoveries.

Chinese Inventions and Chinese New Year
A 7th-grade lesson plan.

Inventors of the Industrial Revolution
Lesson ideas from Teachers First.

Mission: Invention 
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 from PBS.

Science Fairs/Projects Lesson Plans and Resources
Teacher's Guide to Science Projects
From Science Buddies. See also Science Fair Guide - Resources for Teachers.

Science Fair Central
Lots of resources from Discovery Education.

14 Weeks to Organizing a Successful Science Fair

Science Fair Project Resource Guide
From the Library of Congress.

All Science Fair Projects
Hundreds of science fair projects.

List of Science Fair Ideas
An archive of ideas. See also Science Fair Idea Exchange: Biology, Chemistry, Physics.