It seems like everywhere you look, there is trash on the ground. Have you ever seen someone throw trash and it misses the garbage can, but they just walk away?! Litter is everywhere. It’s even in the oceans, and this causes changes in the environment. These science activities for kids specifically look at how changes in the environment can affect plants and animals.

How do you explain “environment” to a child?

One way to explain “environment” to a child is to go for a walk. Have them look around and notice the things they see like trees, grass, the sky, animals, etc. Essentially, the environment is everything around us, so letting the child make observations about what is around them will help them understand better. 

What are some examples of changes in the environment? 

The environment is constantly changing and people are causing many of these changes. Deforestation is a huge change. There is also pollution causing environmental changes. And as mentioned previously, litter on the ground and trash in the ocean is another big change to the environment.

Since there are several types of environmental change, you can either try to tackle them all at once, or you can break them down into smaller units. I like to break things down into smaller units so students get a more in depth look at a topic, but that’s just a personal preference.

For today, I’m to focus on environmental changes caused by trash and plastic waste. Let’s look at some learning activities to help our students engage in the learning.

YouTube Videos about environment changes

Here are some helpful YouTube clips that you might want to show your students as they learn about how trash changes the environment.

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKFV9IquMXA - This is a clip from National Geographic where kids explain how plastic pollution is affecting the ocean around Hawaii. 

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFPoIU5iiYQ - This video is a cartoon, so it might be more palatable for students to watch, instead of watching real life footage of animals struggling in the ocean because of plastic. While it is a cartoon with no words, it still gives good insight into the problems of trash in the ocean. Students can also use their inference-making skills while watching this video clip.

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrPBYS5zzF8 - This video also explains how plastic is causing environmental changes and focuses on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Make an Ocean- Cleaner Tool

Teaching materials for the ‘Design an Ocean-Cleaning Tool STEM Challenge

If your students love hands-on learning, they will be engaged during this activity. First, you’ll have to fill a kiddie pool or a water table with water. This will become your pretend ocean. Next, you need to add some garbage and plastic to the ocean. Now it’s time to introduce your students to the activity. 

Challenge the students to create a tool that they can use to clean the litter out of the ocean. Brainstorm together and then have students use their imaginations to create. They can use various materials like popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, tape, string, etc.

This STEM Challenge is part of the ‘changes in the environment’ reading unit for grade 3 science.

Read about the Problem

In order to get a better understanding of the plastic problem, students need to be exposed to it. This means it’s a good idea to read passages about the problem of pollution. We can’t address a problem we don’t know about! So find some good reading passages that your students can read to expose them to the problem of plastic. 

the ‘less plastic challenge’

Once students have some information about the problem of pollution, give them a challenge to use less plastic. Especially single-use plastics.

• Switch to a reusable straw

• Use reusable lunch containers

• Reuse plastic bags (even the single-use ones!)

• Use a refillable water bottle

• Swap plastic wrap for a reusable alternative or container

Are there any changes you can make in your classroom to create less waste?

We set up a chart to track the different ways we were trying to eliminate single-use plastics in our classroom.

Do a Plastic Pick Up

After exploring the harm of plastic, go on a field trip to pick up trash and plastic. If you live close to the ocean, go to the beach. If you live close to a forest, go collect garbage from the forest floor. This will help our students feel a sense of ownership in their environment and it will give them real life experience seeing the trash all around.

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Teach about these environment changes TODAY!

Helping students understand the impact of garbage is easy with these lessons that combine SCIENCE and READING. You get two paired passages, reading comprehension activities, and a STEM challenge all about changes in the environment.

Grab the lessons!

It’s hard to teach about how trash is changing the environment because it really pulls at the heartstrings. It’s heartbreaking to see animals struggling to survive because of the pollution that humans are creating. BUT it’s so important for us to teach our students. Like I said earlier, we can’t address a problem we don’t know about! So we need to teach about environmental changes so we can address the problem…both now and in generations to come.

Science can be exciting no matter what grade level you teach. In the early grades, students learn the five senses and how to be a scientist. In later years, students take a deep dive into topics like biology, physics and chemistry. Teaching grade 4 science can be a fun combination of worksheets, science projects and hands-on activities.

If you’ve been around here for any length of time, you’ve probably figured out that I love to teach science by doing hands-on projects, and also by integrating science into other curriculum areas: science and art, science and writing, science and comprehension. Grade 4 science is no different. There are some awesome grade 4 science projects and grade 4 science worksheets that you can use your students.

What are the topics in Grade 4 science? 

Here in BC, our science curriculum is guided by the BC Big Ideas. The BC Big Ideas for Grade 4 Science are…

• All living things sense and respond to their environment

• Matter has mass, takes up space and can change phase

• Energy can be transformed

• The motions of Earth and the moon cause observable patterns that affect living and non-living systems.

When teaching these big ideas, I teach four distinct topics: Biomes, Changing States of Matter, Energy and Motions of the Earth. To read an in-depth post on each topic, be sure to click through. 

Everything You Need to Teach Grade 4 Science

A complete (scripted) unit for every single grade 4 science unit in BC. Lesson plans, vocabulary, projects, experiments, activities, and more!

Click and print. Planning is really that easy.

check out the units

Teaching about Biomes

In our biomes unit, I like to highlight how animals and plants have special traits that help them survive in their environment. A polar bear wouldn’t be able to survive in the desert, just like a lizard wouldn’t be able to survive in the tundra. Why? 

After learning about the biomes and characteristics of animals and plants in each biome, it’s time to start using imagination about what it would be like to live in each biome, what traits would they need to have in order to survive? 

Check out some of my favorite activities for teaching about the biomes of the world.

Teaching about Changing States of Matter

Matter is something that we return to again and again in the BC curriculum.

Students start learning about matter in Kindergarten and each year, the topic gets built on. So by the time students have reached grade 4, they generally have a good understanding of the states of matter and now it’s time to implement some more hands-on activities to help them engage with the topic in meaningful ways.

I also like to incorporate food when teaching about matter. When students can use all FIVE of their five senses during science, it’s always a good day! To check out some ideas, including ideas on how to incorporate food, check out this post.

This post breaks down my favorite activities and lessons for Grade 4 that teaches how matter changes state.

Teaching about Energy

When teaching about energy, I love to have a variety of hands-on learning activities. Energy is one of those topics that can naturally lead into exploration and discovery. Magnets, gravity, sound, light, push and pull….all these areas are great for hands-on experiments. Check out some of the fun ideas in this energy blog post. 

Teaching about Motions of the Earth

In our Motions of the Earth unit, students discover how the earth rotates, revolves and orbits. They also discover what causes eclipses and tides. Through a series of lessons, students will gain a better understanding of how the motions of the Earth affect, not only them, but the things around them. During this unit, they also get to put on their artistic hats to create comics about an eclipse. Read about everything you need to teach space science in grade 4.

What are some good science experiments for grade 4?

Grade 4 is a great age to dive deeper into science experiments. There are some awesome science experiments out there, and here are some of my favorites:

1. Melting, Boiling and Freezing: To teach students about melting, boiling and freezing, I like to do an experiment using a transparent kettle and ice cubes. Drop an ice cube into the kettle and set it to boil. Have students observe what happens to the ice cube. Also have the students observe the steam as the water boils. 

2. Energy Science Stations: Set up stations around the room so students can experiment with energy. Flick a marble into a group of other marbles to see what happens. Roll marbles down a track to see how height of the track affects the marble. Experiment with flashlights and glow sticks. Use a contactless thermometer to measure temperatures. You can check out even more station ideas here.

3. STEM Challenges - I’ve rounded up some of my favorite STEM challenges that are easy to set up and use very few costly supplies (if any!)

Grade 4 is a fun age to really delve into project-based learning as well as do experiments. You’ll still have to do a bunch of scaffolding before diving into the experiments, but with the right scaffolding, your students will be ready to explore. Whether they are doing science worksheets, or science projects, there is always something to learn in grade 4 science. 

Matter is all around us, as you might remember from your elementary school days, the states of matter can change. And when it comes to teaching kids about the changing states of matter, there are so many different activities we can do. Let’s take a look at some activities we can do to teach about the changing states of matter.

How does matter change states?

Matter is made up of atoms. And for the purpose of elementary school, there are three states of matter: solids, liquids and gases. Temperature has the ability to change the state of matter. When heat is added, the atoms move around and eventually break apart from each other. When matter is cooled, the atoms slow down and draw closer to each other.

Reading passages about the changing states of matter.

The most common ways that temperature affects matter is through melting, boiling and freezing.

What is matter? Take a peek at this post that’s just about teaching the 3 states of matter!

We always start our unit with a set of reading passages on matter. I find that it helps to give students some background information before we dive into hands-on learning.

Changing States of Matter Videos

As always, I like to have some YouTube videos on hand in case we have a few extra minutes throughout the day. These are a couple videos I found that teach about the changing states of matter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwCUqG7GA3Y

• This video gives an overview of the states of matter and atoms. It also delves into the changing states of matter through melting and freezing. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZBt4_Ds3lI

• Here’s a brief video that explains about boiling point. It also explains why popcorn pops because of the boiling. 

Make it Delicious with Chocolate

‘Gooey Chocolate Melt’ is the most delicious experiment to teach changing states of matter. Find it here!

This is a fun activity that explores melting and cooling using chocolate. So not only is this experiment educational, but it’s also tasty!

In a nutshell, this experiment has students using their problem-solving skills to turn solid chocolate into a liquid. Each students will get their own bag with some chocolate in it. They have to figure out how to melt the chocolate. Then students will have to make predictions about how they can change the melted chocolate back into a solid.

And of course, when the experiment is finished, each child can eat their chocolate!

matter + hot chocolate?

Another great way to explore the changing states of matter is to make hot chocolate. You can even have students write about whether they think whipped cream is a liquid or a solid….what do you think it is?

Show Melting, Boiling and Freezing

For this experiment, you’ll need an electric kettle with water. A transparent kettle is best because then students can see what’s happening inside. You’ll also need ice cubes. After reviewing the definitions of melting, boiling and freezing, pull out a kettle filled with water and also put ice cubes in a bowl. 

Drop an ice cube into the water and watch what happens. Then turn on the kettle and watch what happens. As the ice cube melts and the water heats up, steam will form. 

Throughout the whole process, explain to students what is happening and have students record their observations. 

Plan Your Changing States of Matter Lessons with a CLICK

Looking for a FAST way to prep that Changing States of Matter unit that includes nonfiction text AND engaging experiments? In just a few clicks you can grab all of the pieces you need: scripted instructions, vocabulary, informational text, experiments, and more.

Click and print. Planning is really that easy.

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matter game

If you want to do an extension of the above activity, have your students pretend to be molecules and act out the process of melting, boiling and freezing.

Have students stand close together to be the ice. Then have them move further apart to be liquid and far, far, far apart to be gas. When you say “freezing” students will stand close together. When you say “melting” students move further apart. When you say “boiling” students have to move furthest apart. 

Into Thin Air

If you have a few days to do an experiment, you can give each child or group of children a cup. Have them fill it with water and draw a line to mark the water level. Then have the students place their cups in a sunny place, like the window sill of the classroom. Over the next few days have students make observations about the water level. 

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Hands-on activities work so well for learning about the changing states of matter! When our students can use their five senses (yes, I’m including taste!), science comes alive on a whole new level!

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Energy is a magnificent thing. It is something adults all wish we had more of and children seem to have an endless supply of. And yes, this is very true, but I’m talking about energy in terms of science. Teaching students about the forms of energy can lead to some pretty engaging lessons. So let’s check out four types of energy lessons.

What is the Law of Conservation of Energy?

The Law of Conservation of Energy is a law stating that energy can be changed, but it cannot be created or destroyed. Energy can change from one form to another, but energy is never lost during this transformation process.

What are the Types of Energy?

The exact number of energy types is a bit open for interpretation, but here are some of the most common types of energy:

• kinetic energy

• light energy

• sound energy

• thermal energy

• elastic energy

• nuclear energy

• chemical energy

• magnetic energy

• gravitational energy

• electrical energy. 

Energy is all around us and we use it every day.

Types of Energy Videos

I love introducing new concepts by showing video clips and here are some great videos about energy.

1. Dr. Binocs is a classic science YouTube channel that many teachers use for introducing science topics. This short video goes over a few of the most common types of energy. It also delves into the concept of potential energy.

2. This video also gives a good overview of energy. It categorizes energy into two main areas: potential energy and kinetic energy. Then the video delves into the different types of energy. 

3. If you’re looking for a video that’s a little longer, you might love this Bill Nye the Science Guy video about energy. Did you watch Bill Nye as a kid? This video sure does bring back memories from my childhood!

Hands-On Energy Stations

These hands-on stations teach students all about how energy transfers from one form to another. (Bonus: they’re super easy to set up!)

Who doesn't love some good hands-on science stations? During this science lesson, students will complete four student-led stations. Each station will have an activity to determine the energy input and output. For example, students have to flick a marble into a group of other marbles to see what will happen. You can check out the other stations here.

Project-Based Learning: Energy Machines

I LOVE using project-based assessments to cap off a science unit. They’re a great way to check for student understanding without having them sit down for a timed test (that doesn’t always show understanding anyways!)

In this project, students will have the opportunity to design and build an ‘Energy machine’.

This machine will have the power to transform energy into different forms. As a simple example, some students might build a machine that uses a hair dryer to melt a piece of chocolate. (Electric energy to Heat Energy!)

Students will create a blueprint, gather materials and build a prototype to show their classmates! Not only is this project a fun way for students to demonstrate their learning, it is also a great way for them to use their creativity! 

The full instructions, planning pages, and assessment rubric are included in the Energy Unit.

A Complete Energy Unit is Here!

Learn all about Forms of Energy and Energy Transfer with this one hands-on unit that has everything you need.

Scripted lessons… check!
Reading Passages… check!
Hands-on projects and stations… check!
Vocabulary and Assessment… check check!

Take the planning off of your plate and grab all ten scripted lessons here…

grab the whole unit

Energy Experiments

There are SO many experiments that you could do with your class to demonstrate the various types of energy. So let’s take a look at a few types of energy activities:

• Magnets: Give students magnets and have them locate things that are magnetic and things that are not. You can also find some other fun magnet activities in this blog post dedicated to Magnet Activities!

• Shooting Rubber Bands: Give students different sized rubber bands and teach them how to stretch the rubber bands and shoot them across the classroom (or field outside) to see which bands fly the furthest. BUT make sure to teach them about safety so no one gets hurt.

• Gravity: Have students drop various objects from the same high so they can see that all objects fall at the same speed.

• Rubber Band Guitar: Students can experiment using rubber bands stretched over various objects to explore the sounds created when stretching different shaped elastics.

• Egg Drop Experiment: Have students design a contraption that will protect a raw egg when it is dropped from a high place. How can you protect the egg from the kinetic energy it is about to experience?

As you can see, there are a plethora of experiments you can have students do while they are exploring the types of energy and energy transformation. Google has TONS of great ideas!

“Ground control to Major Tom!” This song SO easily gets stuck in my head when I’m working on anything space related. And it’s not even the David Bowie version that gets stuck in my head, it’s the Chris Hadfield version, where he sings it from space. I love teaching students about the motions of the Earth, moon and Sun. There are so many awesome space science lessons for kids. So let’s check out a few!

Space Science For Kids - The Motions of the Earth, Moon, and Sun.

What’s the Motion of the Earth?

The Earth is constantly in motion. The Earth orbits around the Sun. An orbit is the path that an object takes when it revolves around another object. A revolution is the circular movement of an object around another object. The Earth also rotates on its axis. 

What causes day and night?

As the Earth orbits the Sun, it also rotates on its axis. It takes the Earth 24 hours to rotate. The side of Earth facing the Sun experiences day and the side of Earth facing away from the Sun experiences night.

Why does earth have seasons?

Top: Informational Text passages all about how the earth, sun and moon move in the sky.
Bottom: Informational text passages all about tides.

The earth’s orbit isn’t a perfect circle. This means that sometimes it is closer to the Sun and the weather is warmer, like in spring and summer. Sometimes the Earth is further away from the Sun and the weather is colder, like in the winter. The Earth’s revolution causes the changes in seasons.

What causes ocean tides on earth?

Tides are always changing and it is the moon’s gravitational pull that causes these changes. Tides rise and fall depending on where the moon is in the sky. 

Now that we have some background information about the motion of the Earth, moon and Sun, let’s take a look at some activities to get students excited about space!

Plan the Whole Unit in One Click!

Get ready to teach your ‘Motions of the Earth’ science unit in one step.

This engaging unit includes everything you need to teach students about how the earth, sun, and moon move.

Reading passages, scripted lessons, activities, and project-based learning are all included!

grab the whole unit

Make a Moon Board

Using this moon board, students can poke their heads through the middle and rotate the board to see why the moon appears to be different shapes at different times.

I love creating visuals that help my students learn. This Moon Board activity will help students identify why the moon appears differently in its separate phases. You’ll need a few things for this activity, including black foam board, 8 small white balls like ping pong balls, black paint, a print out of the Sun, Phases of the Moon labels, sharp scissors and hot glue.

Using these supplies, create a Moon Board that looks like this one. After creating the Moon Board, students can put their head inside and as they rotate the board around, they will observe each of the different moon phases! 

Detailed instructions and print-and-cut templates are available in this Motions of the Earth unit.

Want to watch me assemble this moon board? I made a Reel over on Instagram. You can check it out here.

Anchor Charts

Anchor charts are a great way to show how the Earth and moon move. I’m a huge believer that anchor charts should be made with students instead of ahead of time. I also love printing out labels and pictures so students don’t have to watch me try to draw things! Gluing labels and pictures into place is SO much easier than trying to draw and print neatly.

For example, I like to print out large cards of moon phases and put them on a chart paper to create an anchor chart. 

As another anchor chart idea, you can make a Venn Diagram anchor chart about the similarities and differences of solar and lunar eclipses. Have students come up with the ideas and you write them down as the ideas arise.

Act it Out

Head out to a place, like a field or the gym, where your students will have space to move. Then label kids as “Sun”, “moon”, “Earth”. Have your students rotate and revolve with their bodies to act out how the Sun, moon and Earth move. 

Create an Eclipse Comic

I love combining science with other curricular areas. In this activity, students will use their knowledge of comic strips and writing, as well as their artistic skills and creativity,  to create a comic about either a lunar eclipse or a solar eclipse. You will likely have to review characteristics of a comic and how to properly use speech bubbles.

Students can pick a comic template and begin to draw. Throughout the process, make sure to review and use checklists to ensure students know what criteria you are looking for in their comic. I love seeing what students come up with as they create their eclipse comics.

There are so many fun ways to teach about the motions of the Earth, moon and Sun. If you have any other awesome lessons, send them my way! I love seeing what other people do.

There are so many exciting things to learn about biomes in upper elementary. Students can delve into learning the seven biomes of the world, research animals that live in each place and get a better understanding of the biome’s characteristics. There really is something for every student and every interest. Let’s check out some interactive biome lesson plans.

What is a Biome? 

A biome is a habitat with unique vegetation, climate and wildlife. The plants and animals in each biome have specific traits that help them survive.

What are the 6 Biomes of the World? 

There are six major biomes on the Earth. These include desert, temperate rainforest, tropical rainforest, marine biome, savanna (or grassland) and tundra.

Biomes Videos

As a fun introductory activity, you might want to watch a video or two about biomes. Here are a couple videos I found on YouTube:

This video introduces four major biomes: tundra, forest, grassland and desert. It’s a cartoon and goes over some of the different characteristics and animals found in each biome.

This biomes video takes a look at five biomes: desert, grassland, forest, aquatic and tundra. It also goes over some of the different characteristics and animals found in each biome. It uses real video footage of each video. We break out our sketchbooks and make a few diagrams as we watch.

Creative Writing Activity

The ‘Biome Travel Journal’ is a great way to combine reading, writing, and science!

I love combining science with other subjects: science and art, science and reading, science and writing.

This activity combines reading and writing in an engaging way to help students learn about biomes. The Biomes Travel Journal asks students to imagine that they are traveling to the six different biomes.

Using non-fiction reading passages, students will write a travel journal all about what they see and experience in the six biomes they visit. Not only will students practice their literacy skills while doing science, but they will also be able to get a little creative!

Plan Your Biomes Lessons with One Click!

Are you looking for a FAST way to plan out your biomes unit that already includes reading passages and TEN scripted lesson plans?

In just a few clicks you can grab all of the pieces you need: lesson plans, projects, activities, and assessment.

Click and print. Planning is really that easy.

buy the unit plan

Biome Diorama

If you want to combine science with art, try giving each student a shoebox or a paper plate. Then, using materials like construction paper, plasticine and magazines, ask students to create a diorama of what the different biomes look like. For example, if a student were creating a hot desert, they might use yellow plasticine to create sand, green construction paper to create cacti and other small shrubs, and cut out pictures of animals to show which animals live in the desert. 

assess it with a Survival Guide

Pages from the Biomes Survival Guide project.

After your students have had a sufficient time to learn about the biomes, a Biomes Survival Guide is the perfect way to assess learning with a project.

This is a great chance for students to present everything they have learned about a specific biome, and show that they understand the bigger concepts like climate, predators, food sources, and more!

I’m a big fan of summative assessments that go beyond tests/quizzes. This is an awesome way for students to show what they know in a way that isn’t time-sensitive and encourages creativity and critical thinking.

Biome Twenty Questions

Another fun activity you could do is a biome guessing game. After learning about the characteristics and animals of each biome, it’s time to put your student’s knowledge to the test. Put a piece of tape on each student’s back. On each tape, is the name of one of the biomes. Students then have to go around the classroom asking ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions about the biome on their back. As they gain information, they will be able to guess which biome is on their back. 

These biome lessons are great for engaging our students in fun ways as they learn. 

Did you ever play those games growing up where you had to look at a group of pictures and identify what’s different? I think the phrase “One of these is not like the others” was commonly used in these games. I can’t help but think about this phrase when it comes to learning about inherited traits in plants and animals. I think this is such a fun topic to teach students because it really gets them to use their observation skills. So let’s take a look at some engaging activities for teaching third graders about inherited traits in plants and animals.

What Is An Inherited Trait?

An inherited trait is a trait that is passed down to the offspring from its parents. These are traits that the animal has from birth. Some examples are eye color, patterns on the fur, fur color and length of legs. In plants, there are still two parent plants, even though plants don’t mate. Pollen from one plant travels to another plant, by wind or by animals carrying the pollen. That plant then grows seeds, which become the offspring of the plant. Some inherited traits in plants are seed color, seed shape, leaf shape, height and root shape. Now that we have a better understanding of what inherited traits are in plants and animals, let’s look at some activities to teach third graders about them.

A note to teachers: I try to be mindful when teaching about inherited traits, as the concept of human inherited traits can be a trauma trigger for many students. There are many family situations where inherited traits and genetics simply cannot be known by the student. The question “What traits did you inherit from your parents?” may seem innocuous, but could be hurtful for many different family situations. The NGSS standard about inherited traits is also “limited to non-human examples” - so we don’t have to worry about addressing that piece at all!

Read Informational Text

Two paired informational text passages about inherited traits. Grab them here!

If you’ve been around here for any length of time, you know that I’m a huge fan of paired information passages. This really gives students the knowledge and vocabulary for further exploration of a topic. 

In this set of inherited traits paired passages, students will read about why animals look like their parents and they’ll read about whether or not plants have parents. Through these texts, students will learn about the inherited traits in plants and animals. Then, we move on to some reading comprehension that helps to let me know how much students have understood.

zoo field trip

This is the perfect topic to head out for a field trip to the zoo, especially if you end up teaching this unit around the time when the animals are giving birth to their babies. How amazing would it be to visit real animals and observe their inherited traits?

Can’t head out on a field trip? No Problem! There are so many options for virtual zoo field trips. In Canada, the Toronto Zoo offers a virtual field trip. For our friends in the states, this is a great round up of some of the virtual ways your students can see live animals from your own classroom!

sculpt or draw inherited traits

Inherited Traits sculpting activity.

If you have students who love art, then this activity is the perfect way to combine art with science. First, have students read about some characteristics of two parent animals. This might be in some information passages or it could be on cards of paper, like the ones pictured!

Then have students use playdough to sculpt what they think the offspring would look like. If you don’t want to use playdough, students can also use paper to draw what they think the offspring would look like.

inherited traits videos

YouTube is also a great resource, but keep in mind that a lot of videos about inherited traits do talk about inherited traits in humans. While doing a deep diving into the world of YouTube to find videos free from this, I found this cute video that has students looking at parent animals and baby animals. However, the last slide of the video does ask “How are you similar to your parents?”

Plan Your Inherited Traits Lesson with One Click

Looking for a FAST way to plan out your fossils unit that already includes paired nonfiction passages? In just a few clicks you can grab all of the pieces you need: lesson plans, paired passages, reading comprehension, key reading skills, and a fun STEM challenge! Click and print. Planning is really that easy.

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Opposites attract! Polar opposites! Magnet puns are all over the place. And magnets are all over the place. Chances are, our students have seen magnets on their home refrigerators, in the classroom, holding signs up at some groceries stores…you name it. This is really attractive (see what I did there) for teaching about magnets because many students will have some previous knowledge to help them connect with the topic. There are so many fun and engaging activities that we can use to teach our students about magnets.

How do magnets work?

A magnet is a material that has a magnetic field. A magnetic field is an invisible force that draws objects to a magnet. Magnets pull things made of steel or iron toward them. A magnet has two ends. One end is called the north pole and the other end is called the south pole. There is a magnetic field around each pole. 

Use paired passages about magnets

Informational text articles about Magnets - written at a 3rd grade level. See them here.

Paired passages are a great way to integrate literacy skills and science. I have my students read about magnetism (in general) and then I have them read about junkyard magnets. I find that this helps them get a more well-rounded understanding of magnets. They might not be able to go to the junkyard to see how electromagnets are used, but students can read about it (and then watch a youtube clip about it!) Integrating informational texts into science is a great way to help students develop their vocabulary and comprehension. It’s also good to have students read about a topic alongside doing hands-on activities.

Make a magnet maze

Speaking of, check out this fabulous hands-one magnet maze activity. In this open-ended STEM challenge, students used their creativity and their problem-solving skills to create a maze with a variety of materials. They test out ideas and theories about what will make an amazing maze. And be sure to give students time to test out each other’s mazes. You can grab the activity and lesson plan for this maze challenge here.

make some magnetic slime

How many of your students love slime? Did you know that you can make magnetic slime! It’s as fun as it is educational. You can peek the whole magnetic slime recipe here - it’s a great one for grabbing students’ interest!

magnetic scavenger hunt

Give out a magnet to each of your students and have them wander around the school (both inside and outside) to see how many magnetic objects they can locate. You’ll be surprised about how many things are magnetic: doors, door frames, metal poles, door knobs, fences…. 

While exploring, make sure that students are recording all the magnetic objects they find. When you return to the classroom, have a discussion about why the magnet stuck to some things and not to other things.

Magnet Videos

After doing some hands-on activities, your visual learners might want to sit and watch some clips about magnetism. Here are a few that I found useful. The first two clips are less than five minutes each and give a short introduction to magnets. The last video is a Bill Nye episode all about magnetism. While this show might be from my childhood, our students can still learn tons from Bill Nye!

You can also check out this clip from Dr. Bino’s Show all about magnets and this SciShow for kids episode!

• Dr. Binos Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXCeuSiTOug

• SciShow Kids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s236Q1nuWXg
  

Build a magnet car maze!

I love STEM challenges, especially when they’re open ended. In this magnet car challenge, students have to sketch and build a maze using the materials provided. Then, using only a magnet, they have to navigate a magnetic car through the maze. They cannot use their hands to touch the car! Before students start, have them record the materials they plan to use and the procedure they will use to construct their mazes. Afterwards, have students reflect on what went well and what could have gone better.

If you’re looking for lessons that are completely prepared for you, check out my Reading into Science: Magnets unit. This unit is designed to teach third grade students all about magnets and magnetism. What is a magnetic force? How are magnets used in everyday life? How can we use them to solve problems and have FUN?

Complete lessons plans mean you don’t have to worry about a thing.

Plan Your Magnets Lessons with One Click!

Looking for a FAST way to learn about magnets that already includes paired nonfiction passages? In just a few clicks you can grab all of the pieces you need: lesson plans, paired passages, reading comprehension, key reading skills, and the hands-on magnet maze. Click and print. Planning is really that easy.

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I’ve been planning to write this post for a while, but I never thought it would be THIS relevant! Where I live on the West Coast, we have had a ton of rain this season and it’s caused floods in several local areas. So writing about the topic of weather-related hazards is quite relevant for students in my area. How do we teach about weather-related hazards to our students? There are several engaging ways for students to learn about weather-related hazards in third grade.

What are weather-related hazards?

Extreme weather is anything like extreme precipitation, high winds, hurricanes, extreme heat or cold, thunderstorms and lightning. These weather events can cause hazards like flooding, injury, damage to buildings and crops, and even death. There are ways to help prevent these hazards in the community, such as building seawalls, living in wind resistant shelters and having hurricane shelters. There are several ways to engage students in activities to help them learn about extreme weather and weather-related hazards.

Reading about types of extreme weather and natural disasters

Reading passages about weather related hazards.

At the beginning of an extreme weather unit, I like to have my students read about different types of extreme weather. They also read about the weather-related hazards associated with each form of weather. For example, when reading about hurricanes, students will also read about the importance of staying indoors and staying away from doors and windows. 

Before students can begin designing and researching, they first need to understand the different forms of extreme weather. Reading informational text is my favorite way to help build this background knowledge.

Design a weather resistant shelter

Have students build a Wind Resistant Shelter! Grab the plans here.

After students have had a chance to read about extreme weather and weather-related hazards, it’s time to get hands-on! Challenge your students to make a wind resistant shelter. Prepare materials, like tape, glue, popsicle sticks, paper, cardboard, etc, for each student or small group of students. Take time to talk about what you know about stable shelters. Then make a T-chart of characteristics of stable and unstable shelters. 

After students have brainstorms the characteristics of stable and unstable shelters, they get to design their own wind resistant shelter. I like to use a hair dryer as my source of wind! Students really get a kick out of seeing their shelter “attacked” by the hair dryer.

Extreme Weather Research Project

Research solutions to local weather related hazards. Have students identify the answer to questions like:

• What weather do you see?

• What ways do people locally reduce impacts? 

• How do people prepare?

• How are houses built?

• How are people warned about extreme weather?

Students love learning about their own neighborhoods, but also let them research other areas of the world as well. For example, do communities in Kansas prepare for high winds differently than communities in Asia? These are interesting research questions for students to look into.

build a bridge

In many areas of the world, heavy rains can affect rivers, which in turn can affect bridges. Similar to the weather resistant shelter, challenge your students to build weather resistant bridges. Have students experiment with materials like sugar cubes, lego pieces, paper, popsicle sticks, etc. Students should build their bridge in a tupperware container. Then pour water into the container to see how the bridge reacts to water. You could even move the tupperware container from side to side to simulate waves.

Different materials will react differently in water. This challenge is open-ended and allows students to use their critical thinking skills.

Extreme Weather Safety Kit

Another great way to learn about weather-related hazards is to learn about how to prepare for them. Each region is prone to different types of extreme weather, but it seems like safety kits are pretty standard no matter which extreme weather we face. Talk to students about items that should be in a safety kit and have students put together a sample.

I’m not talking about a physical sample (unless you have the resources and budget to do this). I’m meaning a paper collage. Have students cut out pictures of things like canned food, water bottles, flashlights, bandaids, etc. Then have students glue these onto their “safety kit”. They can take this home to show their parents. 

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If you’re looking for lessons that are completely prepared for you, check out my Reading into Science: Weather Related Hazards unit. This unit is designed to teach third grade students all about 7 different kinds of extreme weather and weather related hazards. What is extreme weather? How can we protect ourselves and our homes from extreme weather? What hazards should we be aware of?

The lesson plans are completed for you so you don’t have to worry about anything.

Plan Your Extreme Weather Lessons with a Click!

Looking for a FAST way to plan out your hazardous weather unit that already includes paired nonfiction passages? In just a few clicks you can grab all of the pieces you need: lesson plans, paired passages, reading comprehension, key reading skills, and a hands-on STEM challenge. Click and print. Planning is really that easy.

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Extreme weather, weather-related hazards and weather safety as such important topics to explore with our students. If you have any favorite activities that you use to teach about weather-related hazards in third grade, feel free to let me know!

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Do you have your students write in a personal journal? It’s one of those simple writing exercises that can have such a huge payoff. In 3rd grade we start journal writing in the first weeks of school… but it’s never too late to start. You can grab journals and start them today! It’s such a great way to reflect on your week and have a week-to-week record of your year.

We pull out our journals each and every Friday and use them to reflect on our week. I’ve always just called them ‘Friday Journals’ (it’s not creative… I know). 

Why use journals in 3rd grade?

There are a few reasons I LOVE having a weekly reflective journal in third grade…

1. Over the course of a year, it’s a GREAT record of how much growth students have shown in their writing. You won’t believe the difference between the first and last entries. 

2. It’s an awesome way to reflect on the things you do in class each week. I send the journals home every 6-8 weeks so parents and caregivers can read about what we’re doing in class. They’ll have a bunch of entries, written by their own kids, that tell them what’s going on in class. 

3. They’re amazing relationship builders. I make a point to read each journal before the end of the day on Friday and write a single sentence back. Usually it’s just a follow up question or a statement. I’ve gotten to the point where I can read and write back to 25-30 journals in less than 30 minutes. And students LOVE getting a note back. 

4. They’re GREAT for formative assessment. It’s a good way to assess what you need to cover. While personal journals don’t get a ‘mark’ from me, I quickly read them each week

Do you assess these journals?

As I said briefly above… no, I don’t. There isn’t a ‘score’ or a ‘grade’ for these weekly entries. We have a goal to reflect on our week and build writing stamina. However I do use them as formative assessments as I craft the rest of our writing lessons. 

I find that when I take the pressure off (by not assigning a formal grade) these journals become a GREAT place to build stamina and create genuine weekly reflection. Students get less bogged-down on trying to create perfect pieces of writing.

Which journals do you use?

Almost any notebook will work. However, I LOVE these Hilroy notebooks. I’ve flip-flopped between these three. At times, I’ve even differentiated my choice for the different kiddos in my class. (Some like to add a picture, so they get the notebook that’s half lined and also has space for a picture. Other’s don’t love drawing, so they get the one that’s all lines. Some need help with their printing so they get interlined, etc.)

If I need a ‘one size fits all’ journal, I’ll choose the interlined journal that doesn’t have space for a picture. Even in third grade we continue to work on our penmanship, and this journal is great for that.

the journal writing process in 3rd grade

Before sitting down to begin journal writing time, we gather on the carpet to debrief our week. If we skip this step, I can almost guarantee that half of the class will tell me that we “did nothing” all week so they have nothing to write about. 

On a large piece of anchor chart paper I will write ‘Our Week’. Then I ask the class to brainstorm ideas of things that happened during the week. (Fire drills, new math concepts learned, the water leak in the classroom sink, school assemblies, etc.) After this, students head to their desks to write about ONE thing from the week. They can choose an item from our brainstorming session OR pick something else from the week that they want to write about. 

Finding journal writing ideas

But what do you do if students are still stuck and can’t find an idea?

Even after our group brainstorming session, there are always a handful of students who just can’t seem to find an idea for their journals. Although this usually passes as the year goes on, I always try to have some journal topic strips ready to go. These are great for getting students going who just can’t seem to find an idea. 

You can grab my favorite open-ended journal ideas for FREE right here.

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Do you remember when you were a kid and you would dig for buried treasure? Or did you search for dinosaur bones? And when you learned about fossils, did you search high and low for fossils in the forest, at the beach and in your backyard? Well, I think it’s safe to say that kids are obsessed with finding things like fossils. I’ve always tried to channel that energy and excitement into science lessons on fossils, because it’s such a great one to channel. Take a peek at some of my favorite lessons about fossils for 3rd grade.

How Do You Explain Fossils to Kids?

Fossils teach us a lot. They are the preserved remains of plants or animals that turn into stone over a long period of time. Our students need to understand that fossils are created through a process called fossilization. Then, we need to teach students about the different types of fossils. There are petrified fossils, preserved fossils, molds, casts, and trace fossils. There are even mummified fossils. Each fossil is created in a different way. Your students will be so excited to learn about fossils.

Make Your Own Fossils

A sure fire way to engage your students is making your own fossils. Make some air dry play dough or buy some clay, like Crayola Model Magic. Then have children press an object like a toy animal, a leaf, a pencil...really anything….into the clay. Remove the object and then let the clay dry. You’ve just made a trace or cast fossil. 

If you want to get extra creative, you can buy some plaster from Amazon or Michaels and pour the plaster into the clay mold. Let it dry and have students “excavate” the mold like a paleontologist.

Dry Noodle Dinosaurs

If you want another hands-on activity, you might love dry noodle dinosaurs. Print out pictures of common dinosaurs from Google Images. Then, using construction paper, white glue and dry pasta noodles, students can recreate what the dinosaur bones would have looked like. For example, they might use long spaghetti noodles for the neck bones of the brachiosaurus. Then they might use shorter spiral noodles for the legs and macaroni for the ribs. This is a chance for students to be creative as they create their own dinosaur fossils.

Fossils For Kids Video

This YouTube video is a great mini lesson about how fossils are formed, the types of fossils and more! 

Combine fossils with close reading!

Nonfiction reading passages all about fossils.

There is so much to learn about fossils, and one of my favorite ways to teach about fossils is to combine the science of fossils with close reading passages. When we dive into informational text it really gives students the background knowledge (and vocabulary!) to be able to interact with the hands-on materials in a new way.

In this unit, we started by looking at two paired passages: What is a Fossil and Digging Up Dinosaurs. We read both, answered comprehension questions, and focused in on ‘sequencing’ as our key reading skill.

Then, for the STEM extension, students made their own fossils using a simple air dry coffee/salt dough. They planned out items to ‘fossilize’ and sketched their completed fossils. It was a lot of fun.

If you’re looking for lessons that are completely prepared for you, check out my Reading into Science: Fossils unit. This unit is designed to teach third grade students all about fossils. What are fossils? What can they teach us? How are they extracted from the earth? 

The lesson plans are completed for you so you don’t have to worry about anything.

Fossils are fascinating for children! Let’s help our students get fully engaged as they learn from the fascinating world of fossils.

Plan Your Fossils Lessons With One Click

Looking for a FAST way to plan out your fossils unit that already includes paired nonfiction passages? In just a few clicks you can grab all of the pieces you need: lesson plans, paired passages, reading comprehension, key reading skills, and a hands-on science extension. Click and print. Planning is really that easy.

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Want to try an integrated reading and science lesson for free? ‘Bridges’ is an integrated reading and science lesson that covers NGSS standards all about the Engineering and Design process. It includes paired passages about famous bridges, reading comprehension, and a science extension. Sign up and try it out for free today.

Like many of you, my teaching and work life has shifted dramatically over the past few years. Sometimes I am teaching from home, other times I am doing teaching-related work from home… but I am almost always doing it with a little one at my feet. I’m not in a physical classroom right now, but my “teacher mom” hat is still very much on. And trying to keep a toddler busy while working from home during the day is no joke. So I’ve tried my best to adapt and find ways to keep that darling toddler busy while working from home. It’s not always easy, but I’ve found a few hacks that make it just a little bit more manageable.

Lean hard on teacher skills

Even though I’m not in a classroom with 25 kids right now, I still know how to set up centers like a champ… and I’m using those skills to keep my toddler entertained.

Toddlers have notoriously terrible attention spans. She’s 3 now, but since she was 20 months we have been doing a modified ‘center time’ to keep her entertained while I work from home. I’ll set up a small handful of centers in our living room and we’ll rotate through them every 15 or so minutes. The centers themselves aren’t anything extraordinary - just toys and activities we have around the house - but she has something new to look at and explore often enough that it buys me time to get some work done. 

Here are a few things that I’ve set out:

Farm creation kit using printable pieces from Earlybird and found materials around the house!

• Little people

• Rice bin

• MegaBlocks

• Coloring

• Dollies, snack,

• Magnetic tiles,

• Dough or Clay (The DIY sensory dough kit from Earlybird is super easy to set up and bought us a solid 20 minutes of playtime!)

• Even snack time makes a great toddler center!

Reach out to trusted resources 

Image: Two children play with a color sorting activity.

In our house we LOVE Earlybird. Instead of scouring the internet for a million “toddler activities” or “toddler crafts” that may or may not work, and might be developmentally appropriate, everything on Earlybird is already classified by age and skill. So many of the activities use items we already have at home and they’re researched based. So while they may not always be ‘Pinterest perfect crafts’, they’re activities that I can set up for my toddler that she can often engage with totally independently. The site is a low monthly subscription (that comes with a weekly newsletter that has each weeks’ activities planned out for you) and they have so many free ideas on their Instagram page. 

Set a visual timer

A visual timer like this is a great trick for showing little ones exactly how much work time you have left.

If my toddler is right beside me while I’m working, I try to be intentional and set a timer for exactly how long I’ll be working, and I break my work time up into small chunks.

However, I make sure it’s a visual timer. Time is such an abstract concept for kids, and saying “I’ll be 5 more minutes” and “I need 75 minutes” mean almost the same thing. (That is, they mean absolutely nothing!) We use a visual timer like the one pictured to show her how much time until I can play.

I’ll work for 30 minutes, and then play for 5-10.  Work for another 30, and have lunch together. Work for another 30, and cuddle and read books. Etc. And I always follow through. When that timer beeps I don’t pause and wait to finish my marking or quickly upload something else… the timer means we break to do something together. It’s really helped us find a balance.

Use screen time

I know… screen time is controversial in some parts of the internet. But around our house we save screen time for when silence is important. Like when I have Zoom class or meeting, or need to listen to an audio file quietly. Since screen time is a bit more rare, my toddler is is much more likely to sit quietly and watch a show or play a game on my iPad. 

Right now we are loving the app Sago Mini World for independent iPad time. She’s not quite ready for the letter/alphabet games, (and to be honest, I didn’t love the quality of the ones we had trialed) but we may try those again in the future.

For shows, I always lean heavily towards ones that model empathy, kindness and showcase diversity in families and characters. Disney+ is our subscription channel of choice, so we watch episodes of Bluey, TOTS, Doc McStuffins, The Rocketeer and Mira Royal Detective. 

Head Outside 

Image: A mom and child set up a learning center outside.

We live on the west coast, so this one isn’t always possible (Hello, rainy season).  But whenever possible, I take my charged laptop outside and work while she plays outdoors. I seem to be able to get more concentrated work time when there are mud, sticks, and dirt to play with.

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