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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.
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Habitats, Pollination, Insect and Plant Adaptations (created for 4th grade)
| Activity | Investigative Question(s) |
|---|---|
| What Plants are Good for Pollinators? | What plants should we choose for a pollinator garden? |
| 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? |
| Habitat Mapping | What is a habitat? Do all habitats look alike? How does water flow in a habitat? |
| 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? |
| Pollination Station | What plants do pollinators visit the most? What types of organisms pollinate plants? What can this tell us about plant and pollinator diversity? |
| Lepidoptera Life Cycle Timeline | How do butterfly and moth life cycles differ? What are the host plants for different types of moths and butterflies? |
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Place-based Watershed Awareness (Including SOLs for 3rd - 6th)
| Activity | Investigative Question |
|---|---|
| Watershed Models (Including SOLs for 4th - 6th) | What is a watershed? Do all watersheds look the same? |
| Water Cycle- Incredible Journey (SOLs for 3rd) | How does water move through the water cycle? |
| Schoolyard Surfaces (including SOLs for 3rd - 6th) | How does water move over permeable and impermeable surfaces? |
| Roof Models (SOLs for 4th) | How does water move over roofs and what is the impact of water run-off from roofs on erosion? |
| Runaway Rain- Word Problems (SOLs for 4th) | How many gallons of water fall on your roof in a month? |
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Literacy, Mathematics, and Observation Skills through Tree Investigations (created for 3rd grade)
| Activity | Investigative Question(s) |
|---|---|
| Evergreen Tree ID (SOLs for 3rd) | What are evergreen trees? How do we identify them? |
| Classification of Trees and Leaves (SOLs for 3rd) | How do scientists identify trees? |
| Using a Field Guide to Identify Trees (SOLs for 3rd) | How do we use a non-fiction book to learn about trees and their uses? |
| Seed to Superlative- Tree life cycles (SOLs for 3rd) | What are the stages of a tree's life cycle? |
| Investigating the American Chestnut (SOLs for 3rd) | What is the American Chestnut and what were its roles in eastern U.S. forest ecosystems? |
| Decomposition (SOLs for 3rd & 4th) | What is decomposition? How is it important to a healthy ecosystem? |
| How the Forest Grows- with Trees of Virginia DOF book (SOLs for 3rd) | How does a tree sapling compare to a mature tree? |
| Forest Layers (SOLs for 3rd) | What organisms live in the forest? How do the trees and the other organisms interact? |
| Schoolyard Trees in Winter (SOLs for 3rd) | How are trees winter habitat for organisms? |
| Schoolyard Trees- Measuring Trees at Different Heights (SOLs for 3rd) | What are measurable similarities and differences between trees? |
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Virginia Rocks and Geology (created for 5th grade)
| Activity | Investigative Question |
|---|---|
| Field Geology | What are the physical features of rocks in my schoolyard/backyard? |
| Rock Density | What is the density of common Virginia rocks? How do I use scientific tools to investigate density? |
| Rock Cycle Analysis | What is the rock cycle and how long does it take for rocks to form and change? |
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Science of Birds: migration and acoustics (created for 5th grade, does include one 3-6 lesson with social science connections)
| Activity | Investigative Question |
|---|---|
| Bird Spectrogram (SOLs for 5th) | In what ways are songs of bird species distinct from one another? |
| Migration Mapping (SOLs for 3rd - 6th) | How far and through what geographic areas and features do birds migrate? |
| Migration Mapping Bird Information (see above) | Great Migration Challenge Bird Info Cards to use with Mapping Lesson |
| Bird Bioacoustics (SOLs for 5th) | How do scientists use pattern and frequency to identify bird songs? |