When a cold snap hits, there’s nothing I enjoy more than cuddling with a warm blanket and sitting by a fire with my hands wrapped around a warm beverage. This is an image your students might be able to resonate with as they learn about insulators and conductors. There are some great lessons and hands-on activities to teach the concept of insulators and conductors in third grade.

What is an insulator? What is a conductor?

Thermal energy is energy that comes from heat. Simply put, insulators don’t allow heat to move easily. The thermal energy stays where it is. Conductors allow heat to move easily from one object to another. The thermal energy moves.

The EASY Way to Explore Insulators

Ready to learn about insulators in a way that’s engaging and fun? In just a few clicks you can grab all the science and literacy pieces you need: nonfiction reading, comprehension, and an engaging  STEM challenge all about insulators.

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YouTube Videos

Many of the videos out there about conductors and insulators tend to be about electricity. It’s a little trickier to find videos about heat conductors and heat insulators. But here are a couple that I found:

1. This conductivity experiment by Generation Science will give students a great visual. You might even want to conduct this experiment yourself (pun intended!)

2. Here’s another experiment by Next Generation Science to compare the heat conductivity of glass and metal. 

hunt for conductors and insulators

Take a walk around the classroom or the school to search for conductors and insulators. By seeing real-life examples, students will get a better understanding. You might find things like:

• Insulated mugs

• Jackets and cool-weather gear

• Thin clothing, like a t-shirt

• The classroom windows (Feel them! Are they letting out the heat? Is it coming in?)

polar bears demonstrate insulation

Polar bears have a thick fur coat to help keep them warm, but they also have a solid layer of blubber under their fur to retain more warmth. Their black skin absorbs the sunlight which also helps them stay warm. This age-appropriate reading passage about polar bears is a great way to teach students about insulators.

polar bear insulation experiment

After reading about polar bears, it’s time to become a polar bear! Fill a large bowl or basin with water and ice. Then have students cover their finger or hand with lard…that’s right, it’s time to break out the Cristo!

Students can submerge their fingers or hand into the ice water to see how the lard insulates. Then have students stick their “un-larded” hand into the bowl to feel the temperature difference. While this is a messy experiment, it’s fun and it’s memorable!

experiment - testing insulators

Learn about insulators and conductors - then test your knew knowledge in a STEM challenge!

Doing hands-on activities is a great way to reinforce learning. Have students insulate a beaker full of hot water using various materials, such as felt, fabric, tin foil, newspaper, and Styrofoam.

By following the scientific method, students can test a variety of materials to see which is the better insulator. For a more detailed description, check out Insulators and Conductors.

Slow Melting

Insulators and conductors can also keep things from thawing. By doing this insulator experiment from TeachEngineering, students can test which insulators will keep ice frozen the longest.

While the topic of conductors and insulations might initially seem complicated, real-life examples and hands-on activities are a great way to demonstrate the concept to kids. Have fun!

I don’t think there’s anything I like more than a day at the aquarium. We are lucky enough to get to visit the Vancouver Aquarium every year, I can’t help but marvel at the diversity of plants and animals throughout the world. Seeing the attributes that help different plants and animals survive is fascinating… and little learners love exploring the plant and animal world.

What does it mean to adapt?

When plants and animals change their physical features or behaviors in order to survive it is called an adaptation. Adapting to an environment is a critical part of survival. There are many different kinds of adaptations:

• Hibernation is when an animal sleeps during the winter months.

• Mimicry is when a living thing acts like a different living thing to stay safe or get food.

• Camouflage is when a living thing matches the things around them.

• Dormancy is when a plant stops growing for a while. Plants might go dormant in the winter when it’s too cold to grow.

The EASY way to teach about animal and plant adaptations.

Ready to learn about how living things adapt and survive in Kindergarten or First Grade? In just a few clicks you can grab all the pieces you need: lesson plans, vocabulary cards, nonfiction reading, printable worksheets ,and hands-on activities! 

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outdoor lesson ideas

When teaching about plant and animal adaptations it’s a great idea to start outside! Have students walk around the school grounds, or some local trails, or even the local zoo. While outside, have students pay close attention to the plants and animals they see.

• Try bringing a clipboard and ask students to sketch the things they see.

• If the trails you are on allow for it, students could collect nature specimens in a plastic bag.

• Try creating nature bracelets using clear packing tape or wide painter’s tape. Loop your chosen tape around your students’ wrists with the sticky side out. As your students see little things they want to collect, they can stick them to their bracelet. When they have finished the walk, they will have a bracelet full of little specimens of nature. (This idea also deters students from gathering large items and bringing them back to the classroom with them. Only small things will stick to the packing tape bracelet 🙂)

Animal Adaptation Videos

Adding in some YouTube videos while teaching about animal and plant adaptations can be an engaging way to introduce, summarize, or reinforce learning. Here are a few videos you might want to add into your lessons:

• LearnBright, “Animal Adaptations for Kids” - A great overview of physical and behavioral animal adaptations

• Peekaboo Kidz, The Dr. Binoc’s Show, “Adaptations in Plants”

• Peekaboo Kidz, The Dr. Binoc’s Show, “Animals Adaptation”

• SciShow Kids, “Camouflage: Animal Hide and Seek”

• SciShow Kids, “Animal Tricksters” - a video about mimicry

Reading about Adaptations 

Integrate reading into your science lessons with nonfiction texts. There are so many great resources out there for students to find information about plants and animals.

Nonfiction readers about living things and adaptations.

The “What If You Had” books by Sandra Markle are an engaging way to explain the features of different animals and explain how the feature helps the animal adapt to its environment.

These printable (and differentiated) nonfiction readers are perfect for little learners. The animal and plant adaptation unit comes with two nonfiction passages: Living and Nonliving Things and Living Things Adapt. You can choose the level that’s right for your kids! Each passage comes as a full-page passage and printable mini-book in TWO levels. You choose the level that’s best for your students.

Sorting Living and Nonliving Things

For a quick and easy activity, have students do a cut-and-paste sort of living and non-living things. Gather magazines and have students cut out pictures of things they find, kind of like a collage. They could even do this in groups and glue their pictures to a poster board.

Exploring Camouflage

Start this lesson with a game of Hide-and-Seek! Hide an object in your classroom for students to find. Then, talk about how animals do this in the wild - they camouflage so predators can’t find them or prey can’t see them. Next, give students a black-and-white outline of an animal. Then, ask them to color their animal to camouflage somewhere into the classroom. We do a version of this in our 3rd grade adaptations unit!

research local plants and animals

“Plants Around Me” explores local diversity. It also comes in an “Animals Around Me” version. Both are included in the Adaptations unit for little learners.

Tap into the natural curiosity found in early elementary and have your students research the animals and/or plants around them.

The ‘Around Me’ project asks students to look around their area to find local plants or animals! This booklet can be created using student drawings/sketches or printed pictures and photographs. It’s a great way to help students notice local biodiversity!

An animal lapbook project that explores a single animal (or plant!) in detail.

The animal and plant lapbook project is a great way to let students explore their own natural curiosities. You can assign a topic (“We’re all studying bald eagles!”) or allow students to choose their own topic for research. The very guided templates help students as they research. My own kindergarteners liked watching YouTube videos and having their big buddies write down the essential information. In grade one, we wrote simple sentences for each guided topic.

Both projects are available in the Animal and Plant Adaptations Unit for Little Learners.

Plants and animals are a fascinating topic for Little Learners. And there are some highly engaging activities to teach about animal and plant adaptations that will have your First Grade students chomping at the bit for more. 

Are you fascinated by planets in our solar system? I once had the opportunity to hear Chris Hadfield speak at a conference in Vancouver. Chris Hadfield is a Canadian astronaut who has been on several recent space expeditions to the International Space Station and he famously recreated the “Space Oddity” song while in space. I have always found the idea of space and space travel to be so inspiring. There is so much wonder and mystery in the universe. We can tap into that wonder while teaching about the Solar System. There are some great solar system activities, projects, and lessons that can be implemented into a unit about Space.

What is the Solar System for Kids?

Simply put, the Solar System is the Sun and everything that orbits around it. This includes the planets, the moons that orbit the planets, asteroids, comets, dust, gas, and other particles. Stars are not technically part of the Solar System.

The EASY Way to Teach the Solar System

Ready to start your unit on the Solar System in Kindergarten or First Grade? In just a few clicks you can grab all the pieces you need: lesson plans, vocabulary cards, nonfiction reading, printable worksheets ,and hands-on activities! 

Click and print. Planning is really that easy.

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Solar System and Space YouTube Videos

Here are some videos that you might want to use when teaching about the Solar System.

1. Sci Show Kids - Explore the Solar System: The Rocky Planets

2. Sci Show Kids - Why Can I See The Moon During the Day?

3. Story Bots - Outer Space - This one is a fun and engaging show geared toward young learners. This episode really gives me ‘Hamilton’ vibes with fast, rap-like lyrics.

4. The Planet Song for Kids - If you’re looking for a catchy song to teach your students to name the different planets, you might find this song fun.

5. What about Pluto? A great video about dwarf planets.

Astronauts in Space

Chris Hadfield created some fabulous videos about life in space that little learners would absolutely find interesting!

• Canadian Space Agency - Chris Hadfield Brushes His Teeth in Space

• Canadian Space Agency - Chris Hadfield’s Space Kitchen

• Canadian Space Agency - Sleeping in Space

straw rocket stem challenge

Blast off with this STEM activity using common classroom materials. Use paper, a straw, glue, and pipe cleaners to create crafty rockets that launch using the power of your breath! They’re the perfect activity after watching the above videos about astronauts and space exploration. Full straw rocket instructions and supplies are here on the KiwiCo website.

Combining Reading and Art into Solar System Lessons

Add age-appropriate nonfiction reading about space with the passages in my Solar System Unit for little learners. Movement in the Sky explores how the planets orbit around the sun and rotate on their own axis. Sunrise and Sunset looks at how the movement of planets produces the sunrises and sunsets we see in the sky.

Go a step further with a sunrise/sunset art project! It’s a fun way to help students demonstrate their understanding of how the colors in the sky change during these times of day.

A sunrise or sunset art project with a black silhouette.

Before starting the project, read a story like ‘Sky Color’ by Peter H. Reynolds or watch an online video showing a sunrise or sunset. Using the book/video as a guide, talk about the colors that can be seen during a sunrise. Are they different in a sunset? How do they blend into each other? Which colors are found down low? Which ones are higher up. Give students painting materials (I like watercolors for this) and them time to paint and create.

Want to take it a step further? After the paint has dried, add a black silhouette of any shape/object you’d like. In the one pictured students added a landform (hill) and an animal of their choosing.

What’s the difference between Orbit and Rotate?

Learning the difference between orbit and rotation could become an interactive lesson by having students act each one out.

• Make one student the sun

• When you say “orbit” should walk around the sun in a circle, just like the planets orbit the sun

• When you say “rotate” students should pause and spin in a circle on the spot. (Explain that they’re rotating on their own internal axis)

Of course, planets orbit and rotate, but this involves a little too much coordination for little learners! Feel free to try it out in a large space like a field or gymnasium.

The Planets in Our Solar System

Anchor Chart: The Solar System. Printable pieces for this chart are available in the Space and Solar System unit for littler learners.

Teaching the planets doesn’t have to be complicated. There are some intricate ideas out there like creating models of the solar system. This is a fun idea, but sometimes doing a multi-day project can be overwhelming, so I have a few ideas that require less prep to teach about the planets. 

• Create an anchor chart as a group to help students visualize the planets in space.

• Put students into groups of eight and give each student a card with the name of a planet. Then have students organize themselves in the right order.

• Cut and paste the planets into the correct order.

Learning about the Sun

The sun is vitally important to our Solar System. It is a source of light and heat. Everything rotates around it. It helps things grow. So it’s important to teach about the sun. For a fun lesson about the sun, have students learn some simple facts.

First, have students come up with things they know about the sun. Regardless of what they say, write these ideas down (yes, even if the idea is incorrect). Then have students do some research to learn more and determine if all the original statements about the sun were true. 

Use the printable ‘All About the Sun’ worksheet to collect facts!

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Space is vast, mysterious, and awe-inspiring! There are some fabulous activities to teach little learners all about space. How will you inspire your students while they learn about the Solar System?

We drink water, cook with water, bathe in water, swim in water, clean with water, etc. I’d say water is pretty important and definitely integral to our lives. Come and explore the wonderful world of water with your students by learning about why water is important on Earth and how much water on the Earth is usable. Plus, check out some water activities you can do at home or in the classroom!

How much water is on Earth?

Most of the Earth is covered in water. In fact, 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. But only 3.5% of that water is freshwater and most of this water is frozen!

Why is water important to Earth?

People use water for many reasons, including cleaning, cooking, drinking, and bathing. Water is also essential for growing crops. Many places use water to heat and cool buildings, and it can be used to generate electricity. Plus, drinking water is important for our health. Water is very important!

The EASY Way to Teach Water and the Water Cycle

Learn all about water on earth with this hands-on unit that has everything you need.

Scripted lessons… check!
Vocabulary … check !
Reading passages… check!
Hands-on projects … check!
Engaging? Double check!

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Reading about Water on Earth

When students are learning a new science topic, it’s helpful to have students read about it. Plus, it integrates reading right into our science lesson! These Water on Earth’ reading passages and comprehension booklets are perfect for this. They’re in two levels so you can differentiate them for your class.

With the passages, students will learn about why water is important. They will also be learning where water is found and the different types of water (ie. freshwater and saltwater). Grab them here!

Group Activity - exploring Sources of Water

Group projects are a great way to have students engage with a topic and also practice skills like teamwork, conversation, problem-solving, and task management.

This Sources of Water group activity is perfect for all of this! Assign each group a water source to research. Each group will become the ‘expert’ on their own source of water, and teach the rest of the class about it. Eventually, the whole class will have compiled a booklet of information about all of the water sources!

The activity can be found in my Water Cycle science unit!

Project: Conserving Water

Conserving Water: a flipbook project based on a guided inquiry question.

To teach about water conservation, a guided inquiry project is a great option!   This flipbook (included in the Water Cycle unit) will have students answering the question “How can we conserve water?” Students can pick their own focus and then do some basic research.

While doing this project, students will look for information about why conserving water is important and they will hunt for solutions to the problems they discover. They will present their information in the flipbook.

Alternatively, students could present their findings in another way: website, a model, a book, a TED talk, etc.

This project (teaching guide, flipbook template, assessment) is a part of the complete Water Cycle Unit.

water cycle bag activity

The Water Cycle Ziploc Bag is an old favorite for many. This water activity is a great way to have students observe the water cycle in action. Simply draw the water cycle on a ziplock back, add some water, seal the bag, and tape the ziplock to a window. After a few days, you’ll be able to see the water in action: evaporation and condensation. Take a detailed look at the activity right on the Ziploc website!

become a water detective

Have children brainstorm ways they can conserve water. Here are a few quick and practical things they might come up with:

• Turn the tap off while brushing their teeth

• Put a water saver in the toilet tank

• Limit time in showers

• Instead of dumping undrunk water down the sink, use it to water plants

• Rewear clothes if they aren’t dirty so the washing machine doesn't have to be run as many times

Become drip detectives. Did you know that a leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons of water per day? And a dripping faucet can waste over 5 gallons of water per day! So teach children to become leak detectives so the problem can be fixed right away!

Water is everywhere! We use water every day and often it goes underappreciated. Children can learn a lot about water when a few fun and engaging water activities are implemented. 

Robin Williams once said, “Spring is nature’s way of saying ‘Let’s Party’!” Isn’t this so true! Spring brings a welcome break from winter and it’s the time of year when nature seems to spring to life (pardon the pun). Plus, there are some amazing Spring science activities and experiments to incorporate into the curriculum which will help Spring come alive in your classroom.

Seed Dispersal

Whether it’s watching a youtube video, reading nonfiction passages, creating a comic, doing a STEM challenge or going for a nature walk, there are plenty of ways to engage students while learning about seed dispersal. There is also a fun (and slightly) messy STEM activity to teach seed dispersal that might involve students flinging seeds. If any of these activities intrigue you or just for more information about teaching seed dispersal, check out this blog full of activities and science lessons.

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Pollination

Pollination is a fascinating topic that can be taught through a variety of activities. The Busy Bee Game is a great way to let students get out energy and also teach the concept of pollination. Reading informational texts about pollination helps students glean information about the topic. Engaging in a STEM challenge that involves paint and a paper flower will allow students to use their creative thinking and problem-solving skills. Or simply go for a nature walk to observe pollinators in action! To find more information, including rules for the game and specifics about the STEM challenge, check out this blog that’s just full of pollination activities for kids.

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what do plants need to survive?

I think many teachers can agree that teaching the concept of plant growth by growing plants is a fun spring science experiment. Why not turn this into an inquiry project? Have students read about what plants need to survive. Then conduct an experiment about why plants need sunlight. This blog gives a more detailed overview of some ideas and resources for teaching about plant growth.

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Life Cycles of Living Things

With spring comes the birth of living things: chicks, lambs, flowers, cherry blossoms, bunnies, the list goes on and on. So why not teach the life cycle of living things during the spring? Turn it into a Spring science activity. Explore both animal and plant life cycles with activities and experiments that are perfect for second and third grades. These lessons and experiments are so engaging and easy to plan.

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Biodiversity

Another great spring science activity would be to have students explore local plants, animals, ecosystems, and food chains. This helps them to discover biodiversity in their area. Why not study these things when they are actually visible in the springtime? This unit features directed lessons, project-based learning, inquiry projects, and more. And make sure to check out this biodiversity freebie! Read more about biodiversity activities right HERE.

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Spring is a natural time to introduce these topics because students can observe these phenomena, or the by-products of these phenomena, in nature. They can see the honeybees pollinating plants. They can see the flowers growing. They can see the seeds being dispersed. They can see new life around them. Spring science experiments and Spring science activities can be engaging and meaningful, especially when we allow students to get out and explore!

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