Elementary Science Learning

Young investigators thrive with the solutions we provide!

Children are natural investigators. From the playground to the lunch room, elementary school students question, uncover, explore, and discover the world around them. Evidence-based science solutions from ExploreLearning build on elementary students’ natural curiosity to develop the foundational science understanding required for later success in middle school, high school, and adulthood.

Take a Tour!

Start with Science4Us

Build a strong science foundation with lessons specifically designed for K-2 students.

Go Deeper with Gizmos

Dig deeper into challenging concepts with more than 550 Gizmos for grades 3-12.

Why is elementary science important?

It’s no secret—making time for science instruction in kindergarten through fifth grade is difficult. Elementary teachers wear many hats, often leaving little time to teach science when the instructional focus lies heavily on literacy and math. Schedules might not include consistent science blocks, and a limited science curriculum often makes the subject daunting to teach.

But elementary science is crucial. Research from the Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education underscores the importance of early science learning. Elementary instruction promotes social-emotional development, develops STEM-related thinking (including critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving), contributes to gains in later education, supports literacy and language development, and benefits students from all backgrounds, including English language learners. The AERA (American Educational Research Association) found that 62% of the students who enter kindergarten with limited exposure to science struggle with science in third grade, and 54% still struggle in eighth grade.

How can I teach science in elementary school?

Fun, effective, and engaging science instruction is possible in the elementary classroom with Science4Us and Gizmos. Students can seamlessly progress from Science4Us (grades K-2) to Gizmos (grades 3+) over their elementary development. Both tools include standards-aligned content, thousands of online and offline resources, professional development, and pre-made materials to make science easy to implement, no matter your time constraints.

Grades K-2 - Science4Us

Science4Us combines science with literacy and math-integrated experiences to introduce students to Inquiry, Physical Science, Life Science, and Earth & Space Science. 28 content-rich modules include thousands of online and offline activities that can be completed in as little as ten minutes, perfect for centers, small groups, or whole-group instruction.

Activities like digital notebooks, songs, science experiments, reading passages, and more allow students to broaden their vocabularies while educators simultaneously teach science, literacy, and math skills. Offline activities include grades 3-5 extension activities.

Start Your Science4Us 30-Day Trial

Grades 3+ - Gizmos

Gizmos science and math simulations provide advanced opportunities for inquiry-based learning, what-if experimentation, scientific reasoning, and investigation as students dig deeper into concepts with 500+ virtual labs. STEM Cases put students in the roles of professionals tasked with solving real-world problems, exposing them to STEM careers while boosting class engagement.

Each Gizmo includes pre-made (and customizable!) student resources that teachers can seamlessly integrate into digital learning platforms like Google Classroom. Teachers benefit from real-time data and reporting heatmaps to monitor student learning as it happens.

Start Your Gizmos 30-Day Trial

Elementary science is made easy with Science4Us and Gizmos

How does science material connect from Science4Us to Gizmos? Check out these examples!

Various activities in the Science4Us Living Things: Plants Module allow students to learn, practice, and demonstrate understanding. With Science4Us digital notebooks, students draw, color, write, type, and listen as they learn more about plants.

Students practice vocabulary and science using Science4Us interactive activities, videos, songs, and games.

Each Science4Us module includes developmentally appropriate online and offline materials for each grade level for practice and assessment (Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd-5th extension).

Upper elementary students can transition to Gizmos to investigate plants in more detail. In the Growing Plants simulation, students examine the growth of tomatoes, beans, and turnips by experimenting with light, soil, and water changes. Students answer built-in assessment questions along the way, and teachers can monitor progress on a heatmap.

Each Gizmo includes a Student Exploration Sheet to activate prior knowledge and guide students through the simulation. Vocabulary and Teacher Guides are also included.

Upper elementary students can deepen their learning from a real-life lens with the Fruit Production and the Environment STEM Case (also available for middle school). Students act as agricultural scientists to help a strawberry farmer needing help with low fruit production.

Inquiry-based science solutions that positively impact learning.

In a McREL study, students who used Science4Us showed more significant academic gains on a posttest than non-users. Thanks to a flexible delivery method, teachers can easily incorporate the research-based program with hundreds of short lessons for use with whole group, small groups, or 1:1 lessons.

The inquiry-based approach behind Gizmos has been validated by extensive research as a highly effective way to build conceptual understanding in math and science. In a recent survey, 88% of teachers found that Gizmos improved student engagement and motivation. Research also found that STEM Cases engaged students, increased learning, and helped teachers differentiate instruction.

Try Science4Us Try Gizmos

Everybody's Talking About Science4Us

Science skills are often difficult to acquire. Science4Us makes it fun and opens doors to students who have shut down science. Science in the past is something they thought they couldn’t learn. Now they can.

- Science4Us Director, Advance Learning Academy, FL

Science4Us is a huge resource for my classroom. I love to see how the videos, songs and activities encourage students to think in new ways about the things they experience. My students look forward to science time every day!

- Science4Us Teacher, Advance Learning Academy, FL

My students need to start science early to prepare for later grades. Science4Us gives them that foundation for science that they need. It’s also an avenue for critical thinking and problem-solving, skills they can apply across all domains.

- Science4Us Principal, Broward County Public Schools, FL

Science4Us meets the needs of our digital natives. It allows them to do experiments, practice reading skills and produce math in relation to science. My second graders LOVED it. They really enjoyed the interactive notebook and being able to go back and see how their ideas changed as they learned more.

- Science4Us Teacher, Palm Beach County Public School District, FL

When I walk down the halls, kids grab me by the legs and say, ‘we’re going to science!’ I was amazed because I hadn’t heard that enthusiasm from students before. Science4Us shows students how fun learning science can be and that they can do science. It involves them more [in learning] and says, ‘now you do it!’

- Science4Us Teacher, Broward County Public Schools, FL

Take your own tour of Science4Us

The program provides comprehensive lesson plans and embedded professional development. Science4Us has everything you need for whole groups, small groups, or 1:1, offering plenty of ways to practice and expand. What about science centers? Yes, Science4Us makes it easy to assign for centers, too.

With 28 modules ready to deliver literacy-infused science lessons to your K-2 students, what are you waiting for? Take out a Science4Us trial today!

Get a Quote

K-5 Science Learning