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.

Science Buddies
Many lesson plans and resources.

University of Cincinnati
Teaching activities and lesson plans.

Legends of Learning
Science lesson plans for innovative teachers.

K-12 STEM Lesson plans
From MIT.

National Park Service
Science lesson plans.

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

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
Education Resource Library including lesson plans and toolkits.

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

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
Rubric Best Practices, Examples and Templates
From NC State University.

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 Laboratory Assessment Rubric

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

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 Sputnik's 50th Anniversary: The Beginning of the Space Race.

History of Technology
A lesson plan from Teachy. 

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

Famous Scientists WebQuest
See also Science WebQuests.

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

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
Invention of the Telephone
A lesson plan for grades 5-8.

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

Inventor Workshop
An activity from the Science Museum

Cool Inventions
Lesson ideas from Crayola.

Who Is an Inventor, Anyways?
A lesson plan from PBS.

History of Technology
A lesson plan from Teachy. 

Great American Inventors: Using Nonfiction to Learn about Technology Inventions
A lesson plan for grades 3-5.

Chinese Inventions
A multi-daylesson 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.