Plant Field Study: Adaptations of Plants for Survival in Different Environments part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This is a field investigation where students observe plants in a school forest setting . Students then compare adaptations of plants from different parts of the forest.

What are communicable diseases and how can we prevent some of them? part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Students will learn that microorganisms can get inside one's body and they may keep it from working properly. Students will learn that vaccinations help to prevent some diseases but not others.

Investigating simple plants part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Students will observe simple plants, develop an investigable question, and form an investigation. They will document their investigation in their science notebooks.

Investigating joints: Naming and identifying joints in the human body part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Short Description: This activity is a classroom investigation of human joints. Students will identify joints and use their science notebooks to record their findings using drawings and words.

The Five Senses - Differentiated Lesson for ESL/Special Needs Students part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This guided inquiry activity is designed to help students understand that people get all of their knowledge from their senses, and that is why our senses are so important.

Investigating Starch in Foods part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a classroom experiment where students gather data on which foods contain starch. They use observation and develop their own hypothesis to create a question they would like to discover about starches.

Buddy Biology: Observing Living and Non-living Components of An Ecosystem with a Partner part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a field investigation where students gather data on physical characteristics of the ecosystem surrounding their school.

Schoolyard Trees: Creating a field guide for your school part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a field-based investigation involving identifying and investigating common trees on the schoolyard and creating a field guide containing pressed leaves.

Investigating Biological Classification: Organization of All Living Things part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Students will investigate the organization of all living things through and learn how to classify through process of classifying their own shoes. Students will complete the classification of a Jaguar and write their own pneumonic device to remember the order of biological classification. (kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species)

Investigating Classification: Minnesota Vertebrates part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is an interactive game that helps students learn that vertebrates are classified into five groups and that each group has common characteristics that distinguish the animal group from other respective groups.

Plant Identification part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a field investigation where students identify native MN plants and record the common name, scientific name, and important information about each.

Classroom Phenology: Using the Environment as a Source of Data and Observations part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a classroom and schoolyard investigation where students collect daily temperature and precipitation readings, weather observations, and weekly phenology reports in a phenology binder and in nature journals. Students then analyze this data and compare to recorded values in the Weatherguide calendar.

Determining Bird Populations Through Counting part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a field investigation where students gather population data on bird species. The students will create bar graphs and interpret their findings. Based on their experiences and data, they will write an answer to the guiding question.

Bacteria Growth Inquiry: Bodily Bacteria and Healthy Hygiene Habits part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
In this inquiry activity, students generate investigable questions to explore the link between hygiene/cleanliness and bacteria growth/population. The students will present their conclusions, and video clips containing additional information will be discussed.

Food Chains: Nature's Restaurant part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
In these life science activities, students will participate in field observations of living things & do research of animals they observe to create a food chain & present it to the class. Students will participate in a food web simulation game.

Investigation a food web: producers, consumers, and decomposers part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a field investigation where students list plants and animals they observe. Students will organize their data as producers, consumers, or decomposers and create a food web showing how they affect each other. They will predict what will happen if the food web becomes imbalanced by extinction or over population.

Save an Animal Board Game - Impact of Human Activity or Natural Disasters part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This student activity engages the students' thinking by listening to a story, brainstorming ideas in small groups about how human activity or natural disasters could possibly impact an animal's environment, and then reinforcing that thinking using a board game called Save an Animal.

Walking on Water--How Do Water Striders Do It? part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity provides students with a first look at water tension and its role in the life of a water strider.

Learning About Bird Migration part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a classroom introduction to bird migration. Students will acquire new vocabulary, sharpen their map skills, and discover the scientific reasons some birds migrate.

Tree Leaf Identification and Leaf Display Activity part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a tree leaf collection, identification, and display of dried and pressed leaves. It teaches students about distinguishing leaf characteristics as well as a way to display and label their collection.