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. 

When we think of warm weather, we generally think about sunglasses, flip flops, sun, flowers blooming and the promise of summer days at the lake. And as a teacher, I also start to think about how those beautiful blooms came to be…enter pollination!

So how exactly does pollination work and why is it important? As spring approaches, we have a great opportunity to get outside and teach our students all about the fascinating phenomenon of nature. So let’s take a look at pollination.

Why is pollination so important? Science lessons for 2nd grade.

How Does Pollination Work?

Worksheets to help students understand how pollination works. Both can be found in the Pollination Spring STEM activities.

Pollination is how pollen transfers from one plant to another. This is largely done by the work of bees or other insects.

The insect lands on the flower to drink nectar. In the process, pollen from the anther (the male part of the plant) sticks to the insect’s body. When the insect travels to a new plant, pollen transfers to the stigma (the female part of the plant). This is necessary for seed production.

Did you know that one bee can pollinate up to 100 flowers in just one trip from the hive? Just think about what a whole colony of bees can accomplish in a day!

Why is Pollination Important?

Pollination is an essential part of growing food. Without pollination, seeds cannot be produced. Thus, fruits and vegetables wouldn’t be able to grow. And as a result, we wouldn’t have as much healthy food available to eat. 

The Easy Way to Teach About Pollination

Looking for a FAST and FUN way to teach about pollination that includes nonfiction reading, comprehension, and a STEM challenge?

Click and print. Planning really is that easy.

Pollination Videos for Kids

There are plenty of engaging ways to teach elementary students about pollination. First, let’s check out some YouTube videos:

1. As always, I’m a huge fan of SciShow Kids! Check out this awesome video called “Flowers and Their Pollinators: A Perfect Match!”

2. Dr. Binocs gives a VERY detailed overview. In this animated video, Dr. Binocs goes into depth describing the male and female reproductive parts of plants. He also describes how pollination happens through self-pollination and cross-pollination. 

3. In this video Jovanna interviews Dr. John Purdy. Together they answer an important question: Why do we Need Bees? 

Take a Peek at pollination outside!

While studying nature, why not go outside and get right in it? On a nice day, head outside to see pollination in person. Go on an outdoor walk in the springtime and look for pollinators in action.

Have students make observations about what they are witnessing. Not only is this a fun activity that activates their detective skills, it also helps kids to see the value of animals that pollinate. Bees and insects are not just pests, they have an important job to do!

Nonfiction Reading Activity

“What are Pollinators” is a set of leveled nonfiction reading passages and corresponding reading comprehension booklets.

Nonfiction reading all about pollination makes a great quick (and no prep) activity. Print off and photocopy this nonfiction reading passage about pollination. This activity was designed to be an easy way to differentiate your instruction because it has two levels of reading passages and two levels of comprehension booklets.

Busy Bee Game

If your students enjoy running around and being active, play a game of “Busy Bee”. This is a game I invented, but you’ll probably see where I gleaned inspiration for this game.

Place a number of hula hoops on the floor of the gym or in a field. These will be the flowers. Put a number of bean bags into half of the hula hoops. The bean bags are pollen. Students are working together to transfer beanbags to all the hula hoops.

If you want to add an extra challenge, you could add in a time challenge; see if students can complete the task in under 2 minutes! 

Pollination STEM Challenge

Pollination Painting is a great STEM Challenge for second and third grades.

This pollination STEM challenge is super hands-on… plus it’s a great art tie-in. Students will use the materials provided to build a device that transfers paint “pollen” from a station in your classroom to their papers. In the end, you’ll have created a piece of art that will display nicely on a bulletin board!

Students will be given a template of a flower (from this Pollinators STEM activity) and then they’ll have to figure out a way to transfer paint to the flower template.

stick-it-to-me Pollination Experiment

Do your students love doing hands-on experiments? Why not have your students try to discover creative ways to attach various objects to their own bodies! For instance, students might discover that various materials stick better to velcro than others. Or students might discover that some tapes are stronger than others. This little experiment is a fun jumping point for discussing how pollen sticks to insects.

Pollination is an important part of nature. And it’s an exciting topic to teach our students. What pollination activities are you going to use to teach your students? 

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Lessons about pollination for 2nd grade.
Picture: a bee sits on top of a white flower.

I’m not a plant person. I’m just not. I know in my head what plants need to survive, but I just can’t seem to put it into practice. In my living room I have a single IKEA potted plant that, by some miracle, has survived over the years. But it’s the only plant I’ve been able to keep alive for more than a few months. My thumb is not green. But my classrooms? Those are a different story. It turns out with the help of 25-30 8-year-olds I’m practically Joanna Gaines.

What do plants need to survive? Activities and experiments for elementary science. Picture: orange and yellow tulips.

It turns out that third graders absolutely love tending to plants. And there’s really no better way to explore what plants need to survive than actually planting and growing them. It’s one of the cheapest hands-on science projects that we do.

What do plants need to survive?

To survive, all plants need sunlight, water, air, food (nutrients from good soil), and the right temperature . However, I rarely give students this information at the start of our plant study. Growing plants is such a straightforward inquiry opportunity.  We start with the guiding question “What do we think plants need to survive” and then jump off from there.

Plants Inquiry

I am a HUGE fan of inquiry-based learning, and plant survival is a great topic for guided or student-led inquiry. This inquiry-based science blog breaks down HOW we use inquiry in a plant unit. I love seeing the questions students have about plants and plant growth.

Growing Plants in the Classroom

It’s surprisingly easy (and inexpensive!) to grow plants in the classroom, and it’s always a big hit! Tip: do the planting outside on the field or basketball court. The planting process can get a little dirty!

Things you’ll need:

• Soil (I grab a few bags of potting soil from Home Depot)

• Clear plastic cups

• Seeds (Beans and sunflowers work great!)

• A water spray bottle

A student writes down observations about how their bean plant is growing.

Give each student a clear plastic cup. Clear works best because it allows students to observe root growth. Fill the cup 4/5 full with soil and pat down. Create a small hole in the top of the soil. I’ve always just had students poke their finger in to create this! Insert the seed and cover it up.

For watering, use a spray bottle. It’s easy to over-water such a small cup of soil, so I try to encourage students to water the plants with 4-5 ‘sprays’ of water. Then, set the cups near a window.

No windows in your classroom? Try taking your plants for a walk, setting them outside for the day, and bringing them back in before the end of the day.

Use a plant observation journal (like the one here) to record observations as the plants grow. It can be found in my Plant Growth and Changes unit (which also includes 3 more plant-related experiments!)

Reading about what plants need to survive

This set of nonfiction reading passages “What Do Plants Need to Survive?” is a great way to integrate informational text and reading skills into a science unit… plus it’s differentiated. Choose from two levels of informational text and two levels of reading comprehension.

Experiment: Why do plants need sunlight?

One of my favorite experiments to teach about plant needs is a simple whole-class experiment that can be done while you are growing your own plants in the classroom.

For this experiment, you’ll need two identical classroom plants (I always grow beans). I set up this experiment while our class is growing beans together. Set aside 2 plants in your classroom. Give identical amounts of soil, water, and seeds from the same packet. Place one plant near the window, and place a paper bag over the other plant. Care for each plant identically. As the plants grow, observe what happens to the plant without direct sunlight. The teaching instructions and student observation journals can be found here!

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Spring is in the air, can you feel it? As the weather starts to warm up, and we start to thaw out a little bit up here in Canada, it’s the perfect time to think about our next set of science lessons. Spring is my favorite time to teach about life cycles because we can naturally observe them all around us. If teaching about the life cycles of living things is on your science lesson plans this spring, take a peek at six of my favorite ways to keep students engaged as we study how plants and animals grow and change.

Teaching all about the life cycles of living things in lower elementary. The life cycle of a butterfly is depicted.

1. Grow plants in the classroom

A student observes a bean plant and writes in a plant observation journal.

Study the life cycle of a plant in a hands-on way by planting a bean seed in a simple plastic cup in your own classroom. (You can read all about how we used inquiry-based science to grow and study our bean plants here!) Then, we use plant observation journals to make note of the various stages of plant growth, and track the growth on a simple graph (hello, math integration!). Watching students get excited about growing their own bean plant never gets old. I’ve done this activity year after year, and I’m always amazed at how many students decide to continue growing their bean plants at home. 

2. Set up a Student-Led Reading Station

Gather books about the life cycles of plants and animals and set them up in  a reading station in your classroom.  In a perfect world, these should be available from your school or district library, but your local library may also have titles available.  Ask your students which plants and animals they are interested in! Give students time during silent reading or science to freely explore the books and learn more about the plant or animal of their choice.  Need a few reading passages at students’ levels for your station? Grab my free digital and printable life cycles of living things reading passages (with comprehension questions) to add to your reading station!

3. Head outside and observe life cycles in your neighborhood.  

If are able, walk around your school property or neighborhood in the spring! Point out buds on trees, flowers, and things sprouting from the ground. Bring notebooks and pencils to sketch examples of living things and moments in the life cycle of a plant or animal. 

4. Get hands-on with a life cycles project

Read about the different stages in the life cycle of a salmon and create a fun flipbook project to help students show what they’ve learned.  It’s the perfect way to integrate non-fiction reading into your science lesson. This project is part of the complete Life Cycles of Living Things science unit for second grade. 

Teach Plant & Animal Life Cycles Today!

Looking for a FAST way to plan out your life cycles unit that includes 2 full weeks of ideas? In just a few clicks you can grab all of the pieces you need: vocabulary, nonfiction reading, projects, activities, and more! Click and print. Planning is really that easy.

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5. Observe a Life Cycle

Observing a complete life cycle is such a fun way to get students engaged in science.  This can be done in a few different ways:

• Ordering butterfly kit for your classroom.

• Growing plants with your students.

• We have even asked families with young pets to bring them in at different intervals so we could observe the changes.  One year a family with a new puppy graciously brought it in 3-4 times for these observations! 

 6. Watch YouTube videos about the life cycle of animals

Sometimes videos can give students great visual representations about simple life cycles.  Check out some of my favorites at a few different levels.

• The Life Cycle of a Frog by Peekaboo Kidz (4 min)

• The Life Cycle of a Butterfly by National Geographic, timelapse, no words (2 min)

• The Life Cycle of a Salmon by National Geographic, narrated (3 min)

Text: Teaching all about the life cycles of living things in second and third grades.
Image: A child looks into a tank at an aquarium.

What do you do when a topic seems too tricky to tackle? Up here in British Columbia, our Grade 2 Science curriculum specifically covers 'Chemical and Physical Changes' - students are expected to understand that materials can be changed through physical and chemical processes. It's a much more complex version of the question "Can this change be reversed?"

How to teach physical and chemical changes in lower elementary.

Keep Science Lessons as Hands-On As Possible

At the beginning of second grade, many students are still 7 years old. Where our lessons on force and motion had a lot of familiar language, this chemical and physical change vocabulary can seem new and overwhelming. At the beginning, students find it hard to tell the difference between a chemical and a physical change.

When trying to teach this to elementary students I've found that HANDS-ON has been (by far) the most effective method. When students can see, touch, and create different chemical and physical changes it's so much easier for them to discern the difference between the two.

Along with using proper terminology (I drill the words "chemical change" and "physical change" into their heads over and over during their entire unit!) we make sure to stop and practice these changes over and over.

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Nonfiction reading passages: Reversible and Irreversible Changes

Some curriculums and school districts don’t use the terminology ‘chemical change’ and physical change’ - they go a little simpler with ‘reversible and irreversible changes’. In the NGSS for 2nd grade this is as deep as it goes. This set of nonfiction reading was designed to work with curriculums that use the ‘reversible and irreversible’ change vocabulary - but it’s a great starting point for any science lesson on this topic!

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Begin with Teacher-Led Lessons to Build a Solid Foundation

Is the change physical or chemical? A Science anchor chart.

We start our physical and chemical changes unit by front-loading information that will help them along the way. Together, we define the terms "chemical change" and "physical change" on an anchor chart (they complete their own mini-version in their science notebooks too!). Then, we work in pairs or small groups to talk about potential changes, and why they might be chemical or physical. It's a simple activity, but it helps to bring focus back to the anchor chart as they think about the questions we posed: Is something new being created? Can this be reversed? What can we observe?

Use science stations to give a real-life experience

My BEST way to help students to really discern the difference between a chemical and physical change is to try it out in as many experiments as possible. I do this using stations. Using science stations gives my little scientists a chance to use the scientific method (that we learned about here!) to test what they know about changes and decide if their experiment resulted in a physical or chemical change. I set up six different stations in the class, and we rotate through them. There are a few different ways you can do science stations in an early elementary classroom.

• Set up six identical stations and have all students complete the same station at the same time. This one works best if your class is a little less mature and you feel they will need a lot of guidance to move through the stations. Then complete the stations over a number of different days.

• Set up only one or two stations, with multiple stations of each. (i.e. Set up three ‘A’ stations, and three ‘B’ stations, and divide your students into 6 groups). This also reduces the number of different Science experiments you have to manage and set up at one time. The next day, set up two different sets of stations.

• Set up 6 different stations at once. For students who are comfortable working independently in small groups, this one is my personal favorite. If we are completing this unit in the 2nd half of the year, I tend to lean towards this option. We will set up 6 different science stations, and put one group at each station. I find this option to be difficult at the beginning when small group skills are still being developed.

Physical & Chemical Change Science Lessons

It’s easy to teach about physical and chemical changes with this set of scripted lesson plans! Nonfiction reading, 6 science stations, lessons, and vocabulary are all included!

Print and teach. It’s that easy.

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