Algae Experiments, Ideas, and Lesson Plans
Want to teach your students about algae? Here are some resources to help you!
Brainy Briny Elementary: What Eats Light? (Grades K-5)
A full week of standards aligned elementary science, built around the Brainy Briny's Elementary Kit. Three sealed bags sit in the window. One grows a radish, one grows algae, and one grows algae with brine shrimp grazing on it. By Friday they look nothing alike, and the students measure the difference themselves rather than being told about it.
Everything below is free to download and free to use in your classroom. Two versions, one for the little ones and one for upper elementary. The Administrator Package is the one to hand your principal, because it lists exactly which NGSS, Florida and Texas standards the week covers, and it is honest about which ones are a full match and which are a stretch.
Grades K-2
- Teacher Package (PDF) - how to run the week, day by day, including what to say
- Student Package (PDF) - printable pages for the class
- Assessment Package (PDF) - quiz, exit tickets and answer keys
- Administrator Package (PDF) - standards coverage and what it costs
Grades 3-5
- Teacher Package (PDF)
- Student Package (PDF)
- Assessment Package (PDF)
- Administrator Package (PDF)
Want to change the wording for your own class? Editable Word versions are here. Use them however you like.
More elementary lessons are being written now and will be added to this page as they are finished.
Here are some Lesson Plans:
- Algae Growing (Google document)
- Algae Bloom Investigation (Google document)
- Algae Bloom Experiment (Downloadable PDF)
Zooplankton project are really great too:
Here are some videos:
Additionally, feel free to join the algae community by following us on social media to collaborate and share your ideas and findings with other educators!