Science is one of the hardest subjects to cover with a substitute, because students need the right vocabulary and a clear reference to work from. Many of the lessons below give students a short reading, a data table or a worked example, so a sub who is not a science teacher can run them. The teacher PDF includes the answer key.
What is in the science library
There are 70 free science lessons for middle and high school. They cover life and earth science (grades 6-8), physical science and science skills (grades 6-8), biology, chemistry, physics, environmental and earth science, and anatomy and physiology.
How to use these as science sub plans
- Pick a lesson that gives students what they need. Check the goal and prep list, and choose one where the reading or data is on the page.
- Match the course. Browse the headings below to find your grade band or course.
- Print the student pages only. The teacher PDF has the answer key and substitute directions on separate pages. Check the labels before you copy.
- Use no-technology lessons for emergencies. Our guide to emergency sub plans explains what to put in the packet.
All science lessons
Anatomy and Physiology
- Body Systems Teamwork: Match the System to Its Job
- Bones, Joints and Muscle Pairs
- Heart and Circulation: Follow the Blood and Do the Math
- Homeostasis Case Study: Staying in Balance on a Hot Walk
- The Nervous System and the Reflex Arc
- Two Pathways: Following Food and Air Through the Body
Biology
- Beyond Dominant and Recessive: Snapdragons and Blood Types
- Classification: Using a Dichotomous Key and Naming Organisms
- DNA Structure and Replication: Build the Matching Strand
- Energy Flow in an Ecosystem: Food Chains and the 10% Rule
- Evidence for Evolution: Bones, Fossils and DNA Differences
- Four Big Molecules of Life: Read, Sort and Match
- From DNA to Protein: Decode the Gene
- Natural Selection: The Pebble Beetle Case Study
- Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration: Two Sides of One Cycle
- Plant Cells vs. Animal Cells: Read and Compare
- Potato Cores and Salt Water: Analyzing Osmosis Data
- Punnett Squares: Pea Plant Crosses
- Runoff, Algae and Fish: Reading a Lake Data Set
- The Cell Cycle: Stages of Mitosis and Onion Root Counts
Chemistry
- Balancing Chemical Equations: Count, Adjust, Check
- Build the Atom: Protons, Neutrons, Electrons and Isotopes
- Density Detective: Mass, Volume and Kinds of Matter
- Gas Laws by the Numbers: Pressure, Volume and Temperature
- Ionic, Polar or Nonpolar? Using Electronegativity to Classify Bonds
- Periodic Trends: Reading Ionization Energy Data
- Significant Figures: Count, Round and Calculate
- Solutions and the pH Scale: Molarity, Dilution and Reading pH
- Stoichiometry Basics: Using Mole Ratios from Balanced Equations
- The Mole: Molar Mass and Conversions
- Writing Formulas and Names for Ionic and Covalent Compounds
Environmental Science / Earth Science
- Cafeteria Waste Audit: Percent, Recycling and Diversion
- Deep Time: Scaling Earth’s History and Reading Rock Layers
- Earth’s Biomes: Match the Climate to the Place
- Food Webs and the 10% Rule: Following the Energy
- Population Growth Math: Doubling Time and Rates
- Reading Weather Data: Pressure, Fronts and Forecasts
- Renewable or Nonrenewable? Energy Sources and Your Power Bill
- Soil Layers and Soil Texture: What’s Under Our Feet
- Stream Health Detective: Analyzing Water Quality Data
- The Greenhouse Effect: How Heat Is Trapped
Life and Earth Science 6-8
- Adaptations: Match the Trait to the Job
- Classification: Use a Dichotomous Key
- Human Body Systems: How the Team Works Together
- Layers of the Earth: Journey to the Center
- Plate Tectonics: Boundaries and Slow Motion Math
- Pond Food Web Detective: Who Eats Whom?
- Punnett Squares: Predicting Pea Plant Traits
- The Rock Cycle: Follow a Boulder’s Journey
- The Water Cycle: Follow the Water
- Weather vs. Climate: Compare Two Cities with Data
Physical Science and Science Skills 6-8
- Density Detectives: Mass, Volume and Floating
- Energy Forms and Transfers: Follow the Energy
- Inside the Atom: Protons, Neutrons and the Periodic Table
- Lab Report Practice: How Does Drop Height Affect Bounce?
- Newton’s Three Laws in Everyday Scenarios
- Physical or Chemical Change? Sort the Evidence
- Simple Machines: Match, Sort and Calculate
- Speed, Distance and Time: Reading a Motion Table
- States of Matter: Particles on the Move
- Waves and Light: Wavelength, Frequency and the Spectrum
Physics
- Free Fall and Projectile Motion: Two Directions, One Clock
- Free-Body Diagrams: Draw the Forces, Find the Net Force
- Momentum and Collisions: Is It Conserved?
- Newton’s Three Laws: Sort, Solve and Explain
- Reading Motion Data: Velocity-Time and Position-Time Tables
- Simple Circuits: Ohm’s Law, Series and Parallel
- Speed, Velocity and Acceleration: Motion Problem Set
- Waves and Sound: Wavelength, Frequency and Speed
- Work, Energy and Power: Roller Coaster Energy Budget
More help
Not finding the right fit? Search the full lesson library by grade, class time and technology, or read our guides on easy sub plans and the sub plans template.
Sub plans for other subjects
Covering more than one prep? Try these related collections:
- Math sub plans
- Social studies sub plans
- ELA sub plans
- Art, music and theater sub plans
- PE and health sub plans
- Spanish, French and German sub plans
- Technology and computer science sub plans
- Business and personal finance sub plans
- CTE sub plans
- Speech, journalism and media sub plans
- Advisory and study hall sub plans
Teachers can turn any of these into a backup packet with our guides to free printable emergency sub plans and sub tub ideas. Substitutes can read what to do as a substitute teacher and classroom management for substitutes before the first bell.