Life Science Teaching Resources
Take your students on a life science adventure with hundreds of teacher-created printable worksheets, digital activities and more resources designed to save you time on your lesson planning!
Bring living organisms to the surface, break down the life cycles of plants and animals and teach your students how and why we classify living things with fun and engaging activities created by teachers who have been in classrooms just like yours. Aligned with the NGSS curriculum, resources in this collection have all undergone careful review by an expert science teacher on the Teach Starter team to ensure they're ready for your lesson plans and your students.
Whether you're teaching life science for the first time or just need a quick refresher on some of the major vocabulary so you have it at the tip of your tongue for teaching, we've got you covered. Read on for a primer from our teacher team!
What Is Life Science and Why Do We Teach It?
We have to start somewhere, so why not start with a simple definition of life science?
Life science is the study of living organisms — including plants, animals and humans. We teach this branch of science in elementary and middle school to help our students understand the diversity, complexity and interdependence of life on Earth.
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Exploring Plants
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate the importance of natural vegetation to animals and people.
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Amazing Tunnellers
A 60 minute lesson in which students will identify the external features of an earthworm.
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What Did We Find On Our Playground Safari?
A 60 minute lesson in which students will represent and communicate observations and ideas in a variety of ways.
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We're Going On a Playground Safari
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate the external features of small animals.
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Asking Questions About Living Things
A 60 minute lesson in which students will identify that small animals have different external features.
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Living Things Are All Around Us
A 60 minute lesson in which students will activate prior knowledge about living and non-living things.
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Deserts
A 60 minute lesson in which students will understand how climate can influence the vegetation and animals found in a desert.
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Habitat Diorama - Assessment Task
An inquiry-based assessment task in which students will demonstrate an understanding of the four basic needs for living things.
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Shelter Building Experiment
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate how a shelter can protect a living thing.
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Living Things Need Shelter
A 60 minute lesson in which students will identify why living things need shelter.
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Living Things Need Water
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate why living things need water.
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Living Things Need Energy
A 60 minute lesson in which students will identify why living things need energy.
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Creating Oxygen Experiment
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate how plants make oxygen.
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Living Things Need Oxygen
A 60 minute lesson in which students will identify why living things need oxygen.
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Animal Adaptations Inquiry Task - Presenting
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What Do Living Things Need?
A 60 minute lesson in which students will identify the four basic needs of living things.
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Animal Adaptations Inquiry Task - Researching
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Living or Non-Living?
A 60 minute lesson in which students will identify the features of living and non-living things.
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Animal Adaptations Inquiry Task - Introduction
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Blubber Me Experiment
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate how blubber works as an insulator.
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Physiological Adaptations
A 60 minute lesson in which students will explore the physiological adaptations of plants and animals.
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Behavioral Adaptations
A 60 minute lesson in which students will explore the behavioral adaptations of plants and animals.
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Assessment - Changes I Can See
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How About This Weather?
A 60-minute lesson in which students will explore the changes in the weather.
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The Nighttime Sky
A 60-minute lesson in which students explore the nighttime sky.
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The Daytime Sky
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What Will Change?
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Changes, Changes Everywhere!
An assessment task in which students will demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of how living things grow and change.
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This is Your Life
A 60 minute lesson in which students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the stages of the human life cycle.
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- Life Science Worksheets
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- Life Science for Pre-K
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- Life Science for 7th Grade