Browse lesson plans

Nature's checks and balances

This unit introduces students to several essential understandings. They will learn that plants and animals depend on one another for survival and organisms interact within nature to create a balance. They will also learn that humans can influence and manipulate nature.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 English Language Arts and Science)

By Nicolette Heise.

The needs of animals

In this lesson plan first grade students will examine photographs of 4-H club members with animals from North Carolina. They will make observations from the visual material to build an understanding of the needs of animals. They will begin to learn that these needs have remained the same in different times.

Format: lesson plan (grade 1 Science)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

The Pit

The Pit is a game that can be played to review any topic. It matches picture game cards to target vocabulary on a game board. This particular lesson focuses on classification of animals.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Development and Science)

By Eileen Carter and Tracey Casto.

Plants and animals: Introduction to the unknown

This is an introductory lesson to assist students in understanding where their food comes from and what is available in this area. It is also a wonderful way to continue with inventive spelling.

Format: lesson plan (grade K English Language Arts and Science)

By Sheila Moody.

Polar bears and their adaptations

In this introductory activity, students will be introduced to the concept of adaptation by exploring how a polar bear's body adapts to survive in the harsh environment in which it lives.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Science)

By Heather Spradling.

Polar bears: Keeping warm at the Arctic

Students will learn about the polar bear's body coverings and how they help it to survive in the Arctic climate. The activities include a trip to the North Carolina Zoological park and a hands-on experiment to facilitate this goal, followed by reflection on and communication of what they have learned using a variety of media including art and literature.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Science)

By Sandy Hardin.

Rain forest animal movement

Kindergarten students are naturally curious about a variety of animals. In this lesson, students explore the rain forest through books and online videos. Students will observe the movement of animals and then participate in imitation movements. They will then use nonstandard measurement to identify and record the length they moved.

Format: lesson plan (grade K Mathematics and Science)

By Star Davis.

Researching the North Carolina coastal plain

This lesson plan will provide students with a more in-depth knowledge of the animals, industry, and land geography of the coastal plain. Students will conduct research on the internet and in other resources to find information on the vital parts of the coastal plain. The lesson culminates with group presentations of their research and a Venn diagram developed individually comparing the outer and inner parts of the coastal plain.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Development, Science, and Social Studies)

By Ana Sanders and Heather Ennis.

Shakin' and eggs

In BioMusic, page 1.2

In this integrated lesson, students learn about the different kinds of animals that hatch from eggs. As they explore the properties of eggs, they will also develop their understanding of sound by conducting an experiment with “sound eggs” and using musical terminology to describe their findings.

Format: lesson plan (grade 2–3 Music Education and Science)

By Debra Hall and Crystal Patillo.

Slipsliding poetry

Students will work with a partner to write an original piece of poetry to express information learned about the rain forest and an animal that lives in that habitat. Students will share their poems by creating a multimedia slide show.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts and Science)

By Angela Hodges.

Snakes are cool

This lesson begins with a reading of Verdi by Janell Cannon. It integrates science with language arts as the students learn about snakes and write about their findings.

Format: lesson plan (grade K–1 English Language Arts and Science)

By Marcia Reich.

Too many pets, too few homes

Students examine the problem of pet overpopulation both in the United States and in North Carolina. Students will learn about the importance of spaying and neutering in combating pet overpopulation.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 Social Studies)

By Barbara Lapointe and Kathleen Johnson.

Turtles are terrific

This lesson will engage the students in the study of turtle attributes and their habitats. The lesson will integrate science, math, language arts and computer/technology curriculums.

Format: lesson plan (grade K–1 Science)

Using a Venn diagram to illustrate that bears and humans are both mammals.

Students use their collected information on bears to compare them to humans through a Venn diagram, as preparation for an introduction to mammals.

Format: lesson plan (grade 1 Mathematics and Science)

By Susan Lovett.

William Byrd graphic organizer

This graphic organizer will aid students' comprehension as they read excerpts from a journal written by William Byrd, a wealthy plantation owner from Virginia who was one of several men commissioned to survey the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina in 1728.

Format: chart/lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Wonderful whales

Students will gain knowledge of whales: the kinds of whales, the characteristics of whales, and the habitats of whales. Math skills will be incorporated into the teaching facts about whales.

Format: lesson plan (grade K–1 Mathematics and Science)

By Robin Moss.

The zoo is coming, the zoo is coming

The zoo is coming is a lesson that will give students an opportunity to write a letter to a fictional governor about the pros and cons of having a zoo come to their town.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts, Information Skills, and Science)

By Steven Sather.

Resources on the web

Animal study: From fiction to facts

This lesson from ReadWriteThink, describes how to use selected fiction and nonfiction literature and careful questioning techniques to help students identify factual information about animals. Children identify possible factual information, and then confirm... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 2 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

ARKive: Images of Life on Earth

A digital library that strives to document and centralize information, images, and audio and video recordings of endangered and protected species throughout the world. (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: Wildscreen Trust

The Elephants of Cameroon

Explore elephant migratory and land-use behaviors and sustainable use policies for managing Cameroon's remaining elephant habitat areas by participating in this online project. (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: Field Trip Earth