BASIS Lesson Plan Library

Welcome to our BASIS library of kid-tested, teacher-approved lessons!

View lessons by science discipline and grade level below. The BASIS lesson plans listed here are all aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards and include notation for FOSS compatibility.

Don't see a lesson that matches your interests?

Contact the BASIS Program Manager (teach@crscience.org)
View our lesson archive (not aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards)
For BASIS volunteers: we're happy to coach volunteers to create their own lesson plans after spending time in the classroom!

Life Science

Germs and Your Body (FOSS K)
Sensing the World Around Us (FOSS K)

Kids Protect the Bay! (FOSS 4)

Adapting to Survive (FOSS 3)
Bee Diversity: What's the Buzz About? (FOSS 3)
Do Your Neighbors Make You Crabby? (FOSS 3)
Outbreak: One Health (FOSS 3)

Bioengineering: Protect That Pill! (FOSS 5)
Cells & Microscopes (FOSS 5)
Feel Dead Brains! (FOSS 5)
Microorganisms: Good or Evil? (FOSS 5)
Please Play with Your Food! (FOSS 5)
Smell Me If You Can! How Insects Communicate (FOSS 5)

Ocean Ecosystems & You! (FOSS 4)

Physical Science

Buoyancy: Who Sank the Boat? (FOSS K)

Eye See It! Understanding How Eyes See (FOSS 3)
Hear All About It: Sound! (FOSS 2)
What's The Matter With Gas? (FOSS 2)

It's Just a Phase! Exploring States of Matter (FOSS 3)
CheMystery Liquids (FOSS 2)

Balloon Rocket Cars: Newton's Third Law of Motion (FOSS 2)
Exploring Magnets (FOSS 2)
Magnet Mania! (FOSS 2)
Sail Cars: Newton's Second Law of Motion (FOSS 2)

Lights! Colors! Vision! (FOSS 3)
Renewable Energy & Climate Change (FOSS 4)
Squishy Circuits (FOSS 4)
Turn It On, Turn It Off: Making An Electromagnet (FOSS 4)

Earth & Space Science

Planet Protectors! Resource Use & Conservation (FOSS K)

We need to develop new lesson plans for this discipline and grade - if interested, please contact us at teach@crscience.org

There are Days and Seasons (FOSS 3)

We need to develop new lesson plans for this discipline and grade - if interested, please contact us at teach@crscience.org

Ocean Acidification (NGSS 5)
Clean Oceans for Powerful Communities

Engineering

Kindergarten, 1st Grade, & 2nd Grade

3rd Grade, 4th Grade, & 5th Grade

Catapult Challenge
Bioengineering: Protect That Pill! (FOSS 5) (Available only for grades 4-5)

Virtual Lessons

Kindergarten, 1st Grade, & 2nd Grade

Germs and Your Body (K)
Clouds, Clouds Everywhere (K)
CheMystery Liquids (1st)
Eye See It (1st)
Making Sense of What's Dense (2nd)
Oceans Are for Everyone (2nd)

3rd Grade, 4th Grade, & 5th Grade

Honeybees & Dr. Turner (3rd)
Outbreak: One Health, One World (3rd)
Squishy Circuits (4th)
Renewable Energy & Climate Change (4th)
Plant Life Cycle & Adaptability: Ynes Mexia (4th)
Natural Selection: Survival of the Fattest (4th)
Microorganisms & Fermentation (4th)
Pixels: Vision in the Digital Age (4th)
The Science of Bias (4th)
Parts of the Brain (4th)
Snapshots in Time (5th)
Building the Microscopes of Tomorrow (5th)
Fantastic Polymers (5th)
Chemical Reactions (5th)
Sending Solar Panels into Space (5th)

The mission of CRS is to empower teachers and STEM professionals serving schools in historically marginalized communities to activate TK-8 students’ curiosity about the world, foster critical thinking, and inspire children to imagine future career pathways. We envision a community of educators, scientists, families and partners working together to build school cultures that equip all children to explore the world around them and build the skills needed to become innovators, problem solvers, environmental stewards, life-long learners and leaders. CRS leads a dynamic network, fostering relationships and collaborations that leverage expertise and resources to transform science teaching and learning toward greater equity, opportunity, and success for all students.

Our goal is simple: help teachers give students more opportunities to “do science” – to ask questions, test ideas, get their hands on real science activities. We need to inspire the next generation of thinkers, makers, problem solvers, and leaders!