Science Centers with Reading Passages - Digital Activities Included

Do you need science activities that will engage your students, provide reading comprehension practice, and increase their understanding of the science topics? This science bundle includes 63 science centers with passages and comprehension questions. The centers cover a variety of earth science, life science, and physical science topics.

About the Science Activities:

The questions on the task cards can be answered based on the information from the text. Some may require students to infer or synthesize information from multiple text details.

Each topic has:

• A 1-page text passage written at a 5th/6th grade level
• 12 task cards
• Recording sheet (2 options)
• Answer key

***The texts included are rigorous and written at a 5th/6th grade reading level. If you teach 4th grade or below level readers in 5th and wish to use the resource, I recommend reading the passages with students.***

These science centers can be used in a variety of ways. For example:

• Enrich your current science curriculum
• Frontload science concepts
• Use as reading centers to integrate science into your ELA curriculum
• Review science topics as test prep
• Around the room review activities
• Science and/or reading homework

General Science Topics Included in Free Set:

1. What Is Science?
2. The Scientific Method
3. Science Lab Safety
4. Interesting Outdoor Science Experiments
5. Accidental Science Discoveries

Earth Science Topics Included in Set 1:

1. The Outer Planets
2. Inner Planets vs. Outer Planets
3. The Inner Planets
4. Life Cycle of a Star
5. Types of Stars
6. All About Stars
7. Stars vs. Planets
8. Moon Phases
9. The Moon
10. Day and Night
11. Reason for the Seasons

Earth Science Topics Included in Set 2:

1. Constructive Processes
2. Destructive Processes
3. Weathering
4. Erosion
5. Deposition
6. Volcanoes
7. The Water Cycle
8. Weather vs. Climate
9. Types of Clouds

Life Science Topics Included in Set 3:

1. What Is an Ecosystem?
2. Abiotic and Biotic Factors
3. Food Chains and Food Webs
4. Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers
5. Types of Animal Adaptations
6. Types of Plant Adaptations

Life Science Topics Included in Set 4:

1. What Are Cells?
2. Plant Cells
3. Animal Cells
4. Single-Celled vs. Multicellular Organisms
5. Instincts vs. Learned Behaviors
6. Inherited Traits

Physical Science Topics Included in Set 5:

1. All About Matter
2. States of Matter
3. Changing States of Matter
4. Physical Changes
5. Chemical Changes
6. What Is Electricity?
7. Static vs. Current Electricity
8. Conductors and Insulators
9. Electrical Circuits
10. Types of Electrical Circuits
11. Magnets
12. Magnetic vs. Nonmagnetic
13. Electromagnets

Physical Science Topics Included in Set 6:

1. All About Motion
2. The Basics of Isaac Newton's Laws of Motion
3. Gravity
4. Friction
5. Kinetic vs. Potential Energy
6. What Are Simple Machines?
7. All About Pulleys
8. All About Levers
9. All About Wheels and Axles
10. All About Inclined Planes
11. All About Screws
12. All About Wedges
13. What Is a Wave?
14. What Is Light?
15. Reflection vs. Refraction
16. Transparent, Translucent, and Opaque
17. What Is Sound?
18. Behavior of Sound

The texts included are rigorous and written at a 5th/6th grade reading level. If you teach 4th grade and wish to use the resource, I recommend reading the passages with students.

***BONUS BUNDLE FILE: There is a bonus file including binder covers, task card container covers, and generic recording sheets available as a bundle-only bonus!***

About the Digital Version:

In addition, I have included a digital version of each center. The digital versions are in Google Slides and can easily be assigned through Google Classroom.

For more information on assigning this activity through Google Classroom, go to page 5 of the PDF. Digital access links are on page 6.

See the video preview for the digital version in action!

Tips for Using the Science Activities with Struggling Students:

1. Read the text as a whole class or in small groups before completing the center.
2. Partner students to support one another while answering questions.
3. Remove trickier questions or require students to answer fewer questions.
4. Allow students to choose which questions they would like to answer.

More Science Activities

Want more science activities (with digital science activities)? Click here to see the bundle of 4th and 5th Grade Science Resources with Digital Activities.