Thematic Units

Animals

•  Animals and Pets (K-1)
•  Animals Technology Based Unit (grade 3)
•  Mammals and their Habitats
•  Zoo and Jungle Animals (PreK-K)
•  Animal Resources
•  Animals Units and Ideas
•  Zoo Ideas (PreK-K)

• BATS
•  Bats
•  Bats (grade 2)
•  Bats (grades 3-4)
•  Bats - Going Batty (grades 3-4)
•  Goin' Batty (K)
•  Batmania (grades 1-5)
•  Bats Additional Resources

•  Bear Unit (K)
•  Teddy Bear Theme (PreK-K)
•  Bears and Teddy Bears Ideas (PreK-K)
•  World of Kindergarten Bear Unit (PreK-K)
•  Bears Bulletin Board, Centers, and Etc. Ideas (PreK-K)
•  Little Bear Literature Study Unit (PreK-K)
•  Teddy Bears Songs and Fingerplays (PreK-K)
•  Winnie the Pooh Songs and Fingerplays (PreK-K)

•  Bird Unit (K)
• Birds (grade 3)
•  Ducks
•  Birds, Butterflies, and Insects Additional Resources

•  Cat Unit (K)
•  Pets Songs and Fingerplays (PreK-K)

•  DINOSAURS
•  Dinosaurs (PreK-2)
•  Dinosaur Theme (K-2)
•  Dinosaurs
•  Dinosaurs
•  Dinosaur Songs and Fingerplays (PreK-K)
•  Dinosaurs Additional Resources
•  Dinosaur Resources (K)

• Endangered Animals

•  All about Fish (PreK-K)

•  FROGS
•  Frog and Toad Literature Theme - Friendship (K-2)
•  Down at the Pond Songs and Fingerplays (PreK-K)

•  Mice are Nice (K)
•  Mouse Unit (K)

• Penguins
•  POLAR ANIMALS

•  Reptiles (K)
• Reptiles1 (grades 2-3)

• Whales
• Whales
•  Whales Additional Resources

•  Apple Picking Time
• Apples
•  Apple Theme (PreK-K)
•  Apples (PreK-2)
•  Apples Unit (K)
•  World of Kindergarten Apples Unit (K)
•  Apple Unit - Beginning of the Year (1st grade)
•  Nuttin' But Kids Apples Extras (PreK-K)

Ecology

•  Earth Day: What a Wonderful World (K)
•  Earth Day (K-2)
•  Earth Day Mini-Unit (2-3)
•  Earth Day Mini-Unit (4-6)
•  Save the Earth (3-4)
•  Save the Earth (3-4)
•  Earth Day Links
•  Ecology Unit (grade 6)
• Environment
•  ENVIRONMENT
•  For the Love of the Earth
• Rainforest1 (grades 3-5)
•  Rainforest Unit (grade 6)
•  Rainforest Unit (K)
•  Rainforest Songs and Fingerplays (PreK-K)
•  RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING
• School Recycling Programs: A Handbook for Educators is available from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Request document #530-SW-90-023 from RCRA Information Center, Office of Solid Waste, U.S. EPA, Washington, DC 20460, or call 800/424-9346.

•  Electricity and Magnetism Additional Resources
•  Magnets Ideas (3-5)

•  Dental Health Unit (grade 1)
•  Dental Health Theme (K-2)
•  Dental Health Resources (PreK-K)
•  Teeth and Good Health Unit (2-3)
•  Fire Safety Mini Unit (PreK-K)
•  Fire Safety Songs and Fingerplays (PreK-K)
•  Fire Safety Resources (K)
•  Printable Fire Safety Factsheets
•  Food Pyramid (K)
•  Health Care Friends (PreK-K)
• Human Body
•  My Body and Me (K-1)
•  Human Body Additional Resources
• Nutrition

Insects

•  Ants Unit (1-3) 
• Bugs, Bugs, Bugs (PreK-K)
• Bees
• Honeybees (grade 3)
•  Butterfly Unit (PreK-K)
•  Caterpillars, Butterflies, and Moths Songs and Fingerplays (PreK-K)
•  Going Buggy: Butterflies and Caterpillars Resources (K-2)
•  I Love Ladybugs! (K)
• Insects and Bugs
•  Insects (K-2)
• Insects1 (grades 2-3)     Insects2 (grades 2-4)
•  Insect Unit (K)
•  Spiders and Insects
•  Birds, Butterflies, and Insects Additional Resources

•  Spiders
•  Spider Unit (K)
•  I Love Spiders! (K)
•  Spiders (K-2)
•  Spiders Mini-Unit (K-2)
•  Spiders and Insects
•  Spider Poetry, Literature, and Ideas (PreK-1)
•  Spiders Songs and Fingerplays (PreK-K)
•  Spider Online Memory Game (K-2)

• Natural Disasters (grades 3-4)
• Natural Disasters
•  Natural Disasters Additional Resources

Oceans

• Oceans1 (grades 3-5, NOTE: Adobe Acrobat)     Oceans2 (grades K-5)
•  Ocean: A Whale of a Tale (K)
•  Oceans (K-2)
•  Oceans Songs and Fingerplays (PreK-K)
•  Oceans Ideas (PreK-2)
•  Oceans
•  Under the Sea - Mini Unit
•  Under the Sea Adventure (PreK-K)
•  Under the Sea and Summer Sun (PreK-K)
• Polar Ice Caps (grade 10)
•  Water and Oceanography Additional Resources

• PLANTS AND GARDENING
•  Plants (K-2)
•  Plants and Giants Unit (1-3)
•  How Does Your Garden Grow (K)
•  Plant Unit (K)
•  Gardens Resources (K)
•  In the Garden Resources (PreK-K)
•  Gardening Songs and Fingerplays (PreK-K)
•  TREES
•  Trees Ideas (3-5)
•  Plants Additional Resources
• Plants, seeds, and tools are available to schools with a gardening program through the National Gardening Association. For an application, send your name, school address, and phone number to the association at Youth Garden Grants, 180 Flynn Ave., Burlington, VT 05401 or call 800/538-7476.

Rocks and Minerals

•  Rocks and Minerals
•  Rocks, Minerals, and Geology Additional Resources

•  Solar System
•  Solar System Unit w/Test (3-5)
• Space (grades K-3)
•  Space Unit (K)
•  Space: The Final Frontier (K)
•  Space Theme (K-2)
•  Space Thoughts and Suggestions (PreK-K)
•  SPACE STUFF
• Space Exploration (grades 7-8)
•  Space Additional Resources
•  Shadows Unit (2-4)

•  Whatever the Weather (K)
•  Weather Unit (K)
• Weather1 (grade 3)   
• Weather3 (grades K-1)
• Weather6 (grades 4-5)
•  Weather Here and There (4-6)
•  Weather Additional Resources

Miscellaneous

• Bermuda Triangle (grades 7-8)
•  Easter: An Eggs-alent Unit (PreK-K)
• Eggs (grades 1-2)
• Environment
• Flight (grade 1)
• Fossils (grade 4)
• Jumanji (grades K-1)
•  Transportation Unit (1-3)
• Volcanoes (grades 3-5, NOTE: Adobe Acrobat)
•  Volcanoes Additional Resources
•  Watermelons - A juicy start to school (K)
• Waves (grades 7-8)

•  Colors (PreK-K)
•  Colors and Shapes (K-1)
•  Colors Theme (PreK-K)
•  Colors Activities and Games (PreK-K)
•  Shapes Activities and Songs (PreK-K)

• Pumpkins (grades 1-3)
•  Pumpkins Unit (K)
•  Pumpkin Potpourri (K)
•  PUMPKINS

• Animals
• Chameleon Journals (grade 3)
• Cells
• Giant Cell (grades K-3)
• Density
• Floating Foil (grade 5)
• Earth
• Clay Crash (grades K-6)
• Edible Earth (grades K-3)
• Electricity
• Batteries - Shock them All (grade not specified)
• Energy
• Balloon Blow-up (grades K-6)
• Bouncing Ball (grades K-6)
• Environment
• Greenhouse Effect in a Jar (grades K-8)
• Slick Sea Spills (grades 4-6)
• Gears and Levers
• Incredible Lever (grades K-3)
• Pulleys (grades K-3)
• Gravity
• Egg Drop (grades 4-6)
• Human Body
• Healthy Heart (grade 5)
• Heartbeat - Listen to your heart (grades K-3)
• Human Body Skits (grade not specified)
• Insects
• Pasta Butterflies (grade not specified)
• Light
• Breaking Light (K-2)
• Color of Light (grades 4-6)
• Magnets
• Polarity (grade not specified)
• Ring Magnets (grade 3)
• Natural Disasters
• Earthquakes
• Clay Crash (grades K-6)
• Oceans
• Ocean in a Bottle (grades 3-6)
• Plants
• Inside a seed (grades K-2)
• Seed Classification (grade 2)
• Rainforest
• Rainforest Art (grade not specified)
• Rocks and Minerals
• Rock Classification (grade 4)
• Scientific Method
• Flubber
• Soil
• Soil Types Inquiry (grade 4)
• Static Electricity
• Hair-raising Experience (grades K-6)
• Weather
• Cloud Art (grade 5)
• Cloud formation (grade 4)
• How Clouds and Fog are Formed (grade not specified)

Great Game-Making Ideas

Animal Rummy (elementary)

Animal Town (elementary)

Body Link

Color-mixing Memory

Dinosaur Decisions (elementary)

Earth Trek

Environ (middle/high school)

Great Fish Story (middle/high school)

King of the Jungle (elementary)

Marine Dominoes

Nutrition Cards (involves math)

Pick a Planet (elementary)

Recycle (elementary)

Recylce Team (elementary)

Rocks and Minerals Solitaire

Vertebrate Classification (middle/high school)

•  Civil Air Patrol All lessons relate to aerospace.  Most contain free materials that can be requested via snail mail.  Excellent!
•  Minnetonka School District Grades 2-3     Grades K-1       Grades 4-5  Lessons are VERY complete and most are hands-on.  Excellent!
•  Franklin Institute Science Museum This site may not be huge, but it's very well-organized.
•  Exploratorium Very complete with background information
•  Houghton-Mifflin Education Place Hands-on
•  Science Club Fun projects
•  Eisenhower National Program for Math and Science NUMEROUS links.  You may have to follow several links before actually getting to the lessons.
•  Science Power 2000 Divided by section and grade.
•  U.S. Geological Survey Well-organized and well-planned with background information.  All lessons relate to earth science.
•  Teachers Helping Teachers Not really organized but fun activities
•  Smithsonian Education Lesson plans are complete, but student pages must be read in Adobe Acrobat
•  Awesome Library May take some time, but it's worth it!
•  Columbia Education Center A billion lessons, but it may take some time.

• www.slsc.org - "St Louis Science Center"
• www.sln.org - "Science Learning Network"
• www.cea.berkeley.edu/Education/sii/SEGway - "Science Education Gateway"
• volcano.und.nodak.edu - "Volcano World"
• www.aist.go.jp/GSJ/~jdehn/v-home/htm - "The Volcanic Homepage"
• www.exploratorium.edu - "Exploratorium"
• seds.lpi.arizona.edu/billa/tnp - "The Nine Planets: Multimedia Tour"

• eospso.gsfc.nasa.gov/eos_posters/posters_toc.html – contains free science posters for teachers from NASA. On-line form.
• www.vpw.com/index.html - contains free videos to be used in the classroom. On-line form (requires school     information).
• www.nwlink.com/~wxdude/free.html - contains links to free weather-related items. Some must be requested through the mail, and some use an on-line form.
• www.objectlinks.com/manatee/edmat.htm - contains free posters/resources booklets/activity books     related to manatees. Snail-mail address.
• www.plasticbag.com/EDU/dlgtform.html - free kits about recycling. On-line form.