This page contains interdisciplinary, outdoor-focused activities and lesson plans developed by Blandy's education team through a variety of grant and partnership projects. While upper elementary grade levels (3rd, 4th, 5th) are targeted with the lesson plans, many can be easily adjusted for other grade levels or learning needs.
As always, please contact us with any questions you have about our programs or any of the activities and resources.
Activity |
Investigative Question(s) |
Link to Lesson |
---|
What Plants are Good for Pollinators? |
What plants should we choose for a pollinator garden? |
What Plants for Pollinators? Lesson |
What Plant Where? |
What is a plant’s role in its habitat? What are some physical features that can be considered when choosing plants for a native garden? |
What Plant Where Lesson |
Habitat Mapping |
What is a habitat? Do all habitats look alike? How does water flow in a habitat? |
Habitat Mapping Lesson |
Insect Adaptations |
What are some adaptations that insects have that help them to feed on different foods and from different parts of plants, especially flowers? |
Insect Adaptations Lesson |
Pollination Station |
What plants do pollinatorsvisit the most? What types of organisms pollinate plants? What can this tell us about plant and pollinator diversity? |
Pollination Station Lesson |
Lepidoptera Life Cycle Timeline |
How do butterfly and moth life cycles differ? What are the host plants for different types of moths and butterflies? |
Lepidopteran Life Cycle Timeline |
|
|
|
Activity |
Investigative Question |
Link to Lesson |
---|
Watershed Models |
What is a watershed? Do all watersheds look the same? |
Watershed Model |
Water Cycle- Incredible Journey |
How does water move through the water cycle? |
Incredible Journey |
Schoolyard Surfaces |
How does water move over permeable and impermeable surfaces? |
Schoolyard Surfaces |
Roof Models |
How does water move over roofs and what is the impact of water run-off from roofs on erosion? |
Roof Models |
Runaway Rain- Word Problems |
How many gallons of water fall on your roof in a month? |
Runaway Rain- Word Problems |
|
|
|
Activity |
Investigative Question |
Link to Lesson |
---|
Field Geology |
What are the physical features of rocks in my schoolyard/backyard? |
Field Geology Lesson |
Rock Density |
What is the density of common Virginia rocks? How do I use scientific tools to investigate density? |
Rock Density Lesson |
Rock Cycle Analysis |
What is the rock cycle and how long does it take for rocks to form and change? |
Rock Cycle Analysis Lesson |
Activity |
Investigative Question |
Link to Lesson |
---|
Bird Spectrogram |
In what ways are songs of bird species distinct from one another? |
Bird Spectrogram Lesson |
Migration Mapping |
How far and through what geographic areas and features do birds migrate? |
Mapping Migration Lesson |
Migration Mapping Supplement |
Great Migration Challenge Bird Info Cards to use with Mapping Lesson |
Bird Migration Cards |
Bird Bioacoustics |
How do scientists use pattern and frequency to identify bird songs? |
Bird Bioacoustics Lesson |