Instructional reforms in science education require changes in the type of intellectual work students are engaging in. This study explored the cognitive demand of tasks pre-service teachers selected during their full time teaching semester. Using the Task Analysis Guide in Science, we analyzed 177 tasks from the lesson plans that seven pre-service science teachers submitted as part of their student teaching requirement. Analysis indicated many of these tasks afforded limited opportunities for high-level thinking. The study provides implications for preparing teachers to design cognitively demanding learning experiences in science classrooms.