Awesome Animal Actions (K-2)

This sequence of instruction was developed in the Growing Elementary Science Project to help elementary teachers who were working remotely.  We developed a short storyline that ties together a few sessions to help explore a specific concept.  We tried to include some activities that honored and included the student’s family and experience, and some that included the potential for ELA learning goals.
In this Unit of Instruction, students observe and act out animal behaviors, then observe animal behaviors for animals in their lives. They use these observations to determine what some animals' needs may be.
It is part of ClimeTime - a collaboration among all nine Educational Service Districts (ESDs) in Washington and many Community Partners to provide programs for science teacher training around Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and climate science, thanks to grant money made available to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) by Governor Inslee. 

Material Type: Unit of Study

Authors: Clancy Wolf, Jeff Ryan

Changing Seasons (K-2)

This sequence of instruction was developed in the Growing Elementary Science Project to help elementary teachers who were working remotely.  We developed a short storyline that ties together a few sessions to help explore a specific concept.  We tried to include some activities that honored and included the student’s family and experience, and some that included the potential for ELA learning goals.
Students view a couple of videos and record what they notice and wonder about how plants change as seasons change. Students take a walk with family members to search for evidence of changes due to weather in their neighborhoods.
It is part of ClimeTime - a collaboration among all nine Educational Service Districts (ESDs) in Washington and many Community Partners to provide programs for science teacher training around Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and climate science, thanks to grant money made available to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) by Governor Inslee. 

Material Type: Unit of Study

Authors: Clancy Wolf, Jeff Ryan

Early Learning Climate Science activities - Spanish Translation

This is a Spanish language translation of the activities from the Resource by Jodi Crimmins called Early Learning Climate Science. https://www.oercommons.org/courses/early-learning-climate-science-pre-k-k-canvas-commons.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Good Vibrations (K-2)

This sequence of instruction was developed in the Growing Elementary Science Project to help elementary teachers who were working remotely.  We developed a short storyline that ties together a few sessions to help explore a specific concept.  We tried to include some activities that honored and included the student’s family and experience, and some that included the potential for ELA learning goals.Unlike other units in our series, this was not developed as a complete stand-alone unit. Our intent, in this case, was to provide a set of options for the teacher, as well as some materials for consideration of opportunities to integrate reading in science.It is part of ClimeTime - a collaboration among all nine Educational Service Districts (ESDs) in Washington and many Community Partners to provide programs for science teacher training around Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and climate science, thanks to grant money made available to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) by Governor Inslee. 

Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy

Authors: Clancy Wolf, Jeff Ryan

Schoolyard Stormwater Walk Activity

This is a mapping activity that uses the student’s schoolyard to investigate how rain/stormwater interacts with different surfaces and where stormwater problems may occur. Students use Next Generation Science Standards’ Science and Engineering Practices in a near-by, relevant place.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Authors: Emma Pesis, Brad Street

K-5 NGSS Resource Sets for Teaching Science and Integrating with ELA

This OSPI resource provides curated collections of free activities, lessons, units, and informational "texts" (articles, passages, e-books, videos, podcasts) to support every NGSS Performance Expectation (standard) in grades K-5.  This resource is intended to support teachers with teaching science while also integrating science and ELA to grow student knowledge, thinking, application, and skills in both content areas.  Materials are organized into units based on the topics and essential questions in each grade. Resources listed are all freely available online, with some requiring teachers to create free accounts to access.  Some trade books are also listed that might be accessed through a library system. Gratitude is expressed to the Washington State Science Fellows, Science Fellows Emeriti, and ELA Fellows who contributed to curating the informational texts.  For questions or comments contact OSPI Elementary Science at Kimberley.Astle@k12.wa.us. 

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Diagram/Illustration, Full Course, Homework/Assignment, Interactive, Lesson, Lesson Plan, Primary Source, Reading, Simulation, Teaching/Learning Strategy, Textbook

Author: Kimberley Astle

Where Does Our Food Come From?

Students will learn about where different types of food come from, why nutrition is important, and how to grow their own food. Students will also learn the basic conditions required for plants to grow, and the importance of human action in maintaining the availability of these conditions.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Diagram/Illustration, Interactive, Lesson

Author: Gonzaga Climate Institute

Climate Forecasters

This lesson covers the definitions of differences between weather and climate. Students will discuss local climates in Washinton state, then they will dicsuss climates around the world and collaborate to determine distinct attributes of different climates. For this lesson, the focus will be on the ice block activity to demonstrate how a changing climate affects the local ecosystem.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson, Lesson Plan, Simulation

Author: Gonzaga Climate Institute

Clime Time ESD 123 Earth Systems and Changes

Earth Systems and Changes from Educational Service District 123, provides professional learning resources for K-5 teachers around elementary Earth Science and Climate Science related standards content. It also provides learning to assist in the development of classroom tasks: Claims, Evidence Reasoning, and Models and Explanations, that can be used formatively to elicit student ideas and to support changes in student thinking over time. License: License: Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY) Except where otherwise noted, this template by Educational Service District 123 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All logos and trademarks are property of their respective owners. Content within template is the copyright of the creator.

Material Type: Module

Authors: Barbara Soots, Georgia Boatman

Spat, What's That? - Garden of the Salish Sea

Spat, What's That? is a lesson on intertidal organism life cycles which explores how different life cycle stages are vulnerable to stressors like predation, ocean acidification, and habitat loss.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Lindsey Parker

Where Have All the Glaciers Gone?

Hands-on outdoor lesson plan for students to understand the meaning and components of climate change, and engineer and model how greenhouse gasses cause heat trapping.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson

Authors: Barbara Soots, Abigail Sussman

Oh, Salmon!

Through this lesson, students in 3rd-5th grade will understand how the human history of a local creek (Whatcom Creek in this example) affects the health of salmon populations. This lesson is an active way to engage students in graphing through the use of models and uses critical thinking to understand implications of human actions in the past and in the future.

Material Type: Game, Interactive, Lesson, Lesson Plan, Reading

Authors: Barbara Soots, Hannah Newell

PEI SOLS 5th grade Forests: Forest Ecosystem Benefits

The goal of the fifth grade Forests: Forest Ecosystem Benefits storyline is to build on students’ previous knowledge of plant/animal needs, ecosystems, and protection of Earth’s resources. In this storyline students develop an understanding of forest ecosystems, tree benefits including carbon sequestration, and what trees need to grow/gain mass. 

Material Type: Unit of Study

Author: Pacific Education Institute

PEI SOLS 5th grade Food Waste

While food waste is not typically seen as contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, it is a major contributor. Reducing food waste is the 3rd most beneficial drawdown solution. Wasted food, and the resources to produce that food, are responsible for approximately 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. When individuals and groups reduce food waste, it has a huge impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Food waste awareness is applicable to every person and community. In this storyline, students conduct a “food waste audit”. Each participating class of students collects, sorts and measures their food waste for one day at lunch. Students discuss the local and global causes and effects of food waste in the environment. Students will also learn the cultural connections around food waste from experts or elders from the local Indian tribe and inquire how different agencies in the community deal with food waste (e.g, grocery store, food bank, city). Suggestion for how students can present their findings and create an action plan are also included. 

Material Type: Unit of Study

Author: Pacific Education Institute

PEI SOLS 5th grade: Regenerative Agriculture (Eastern Washington)

Soil quality is an important aspect of growing food. In this storyline, students will discover what soil is made of and how carbon is an important part of soil quality as well as how carbon moves between plants, soil, and air. Students will learn how Indigenous people used practices such as composting. Finally, students will explore what regenerative agriculture practices are and how they can be a solution to how the climate is changing over time.  

Material Type: Unit of Study

Author: Pacific Education Institute

PEI SOLS 4th Grade Natural Hazards: Erosion

What we see on Earth’s surface is a complex and dynamic set of interconnected systems that include the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere and biosphere. Earth’s processes are the result of energy flow and matter cycling within and among these systems. Understanding Earth’s systems is important for many decisions made in communities today such as where to build a road, where a salmon can successfully build a redd to lay eggs, and how to ensure air quality. Erosion involves all five spheres giving students an excellent example of the interconnectedness of these large systems.  Students may begin the storyline by hearing a story about the relationship between the land and plants from an Indigenous perspective, a local tribe elder or expert if possible. This perspective can be woven throughout the storyline while students explore different types of erosion: wind, water and ice in sand and soil. For real life experiences, students visit their schoolyard or nearby area to find examples of erosion. They may find examples from very small to larger examples of places where soil has eroded. They may find places where human foot traffic has made pathways through a previously planted area.  

Material Type: Unit of Study

Author: Pacific Education Institute

PEI SOLS 3rd Grade Fire: Wildfires in Washington

A change in climate over time has contributed to a significant increase of wildfires in our state. In this storyline, students will make the connection between changes in ecosystems and the interconnectedness of all things. Students will gain an understanding of combustion (fire triangle), and observe through data that certain conditions (humidity, temperature, fuel load, etc.) contribute to forest fires (fire environment triangle). 

Material Type: Unit of Study

Author: Pacific Education Institute

Grade 4 - Elementary Science and Integrated Subjects: Sage Grouse and Sagebrush, Threatened Partners

Elementary Science and Integrated Subjects is a statewide Clime Time collaboration among ESD 123, ESD 105, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Development of the resources is in response to a need for research- based science lessons for elementary teachers that are integrated with English language arts, mathematics and other subjects such as social studies. The template for Elementary Integration can serve as an organized, coherent and research-based roadmap for teachers in the development of their own NGSS aligned science lessons.  Lessons can also be useful for classrooms that have no adopted curriculum as well as to serve as enhancements for  current science curriculum. The EFSIS project brings together grade level teams of teachers to develop lessons or suites of lessons that are 1) focused on grade level Performance Expectations, and 2) leverage ELA and Mathematics Washington State Learning Standards.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan, Module, Reading, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Authors: Georgia Boatman, Barbara Soots, Ellen Ebert, Kimberley Astle, Washington OSPI OER Project