This lesson introduces elementary students to the concept of soring living things into groups according to certain features. Students look at two kinds of dinosaurs based upon the structure of the pelvis and categorize them accordingly. Full description.

In this activity, students build Euoplocephalus and Triceratops dinosaurs, answer basic counting questions, and print out coloring pages. The site provides basic information on the two kinds of dinosaurs and a list of further reading materials. Full description.

This lesson shows students that living things can be sorted into groups in many ways using various features to decide which things belong to which group and that classification schemes will vary with purpose. It is the first of a two-part series on classification. At this grade level, students should have the opportunity to learn about an increasing variety of living organisms, both the familiar and ... Full description.

This lesson shows students that living things can be sorted into groups in many ways using various features to decide which things belong to which group and that classification schemes will vary with purpose. This lesson is the second of a two-part series on classification. It exposes students to the idea that a variety of plants and animals (organisms) can be classified into one or more groups based ... Full description.

In this lesson, students investigate the living creatures in a drop of pond water under magnification. This lesson is the second in a two-part series on microorganisms. It is designed to follow the first lesson, but can also stand alone. Students observe microscopic organisms found in pond water using a hand lens, 30x magnification, and 100x magnification. Observing these organisms should stimulate ... Full description.

In this lesson, students will observe, measure, and sort tree leaves. They will examine leaves individually, in groups, and in relationship to the entire tree. As they observe attributes, they will group the leaves according to these attributes and consider any patterns that emerge. In addition, they will communicate what they have learned about leaves in quantitative terms. The activities in this ... Full description.

In this lesson, students will understand what can be learned from fossils and in doing so, realize the difference between fact and theory. This lesson is the first of a two-part series on fossils. These lessons will go beyond naming dinosaurs and give students a broad understanding of how we know about the great beasts. They will start to acquire knowledge of the fossil record in preparation for learning ... Full description.

In this activity, students will recognize that body design affects balance by building models of dinosaur body types, using straws and marshmallows. There is background information, procedure, and a lab investigation with questions in this activity. Full description.

In this two-part activity students examine the teeth of living mammals to try to determine the animal's feeding habits and then apply skills learned to the interpretation of the diet of extinct animals. During this activity students will recognize that teeth display a variety of shapes, and that tooth shapes are correlated with specific ways of obtaining and processing food. They will be able to recognize ... Full description.

This activity suggests that art is a fun way to encourage children to see the world around them and increase their visual awareness. Students observe natural objects like shells, rocks, minerals, and plants and notice that they have subtle and striking detail, regularity of pattern, texture, and shape. By exploring natural design, students will be encouraged to observe the natural world more closely ... Full description.