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Habitat Lap Sit
Fourth graders physically form a circle that shows the interconnectedness of the components of a habitat. They form circles and role play the parts of habitats.
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Hurricanes
Students state and directly experience two laws of Physics (Law of Gravity, Law of Centrifugal Force) that affect weather. They explain the observations made when using the "hurricane machine" and relate them to other events and phenomenon.
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Molecules
Students combine movement with science in this fun integrated lesson. When students are "liquid" they can "melt" or "ooze" at the end and when they are are "solids" they can "freeze" in a shape.
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Charge Challenge
Learners observe the behavior of different charged objects. In this science lesson, students perform a series of static electricity experiments. They discuss their observations in class.
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Three Clouds Activity
Students understand how clouds are formed. In this cloud lesson, students participate in three experiments to make clouds. Students complete activity sheets for each experiment.
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Let's Take a Rock Apart!
Learners examine a crushed rock and sort the minerals they find in that rock by color and other properties.
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Let the Sun Shine!
Young scholars investigate how the sun can be used for energy. They read a handout, discuss the pros and cons of passive solar building design, develop flashcard questions, and identify jobs that can be helped by solar energy.
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Newton Rocket Car
Students observe a demonstration of Newton's third law of motion using a small wooden car. They discuss Newton's third law of motion and what happens to motion if the mass or acceleration is increased, construct their car, and record...
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Contours, Curves & Lines
Students discover how straight lines and curves function in both art and the science of conservation tillage by building model "hills" and experimenting on them.
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Simple Machines: Levers
Students discover the fundamentals and daily applications of simple machines. They practice basic engineering theory through their hands-on demonstrations of levers.
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Collecting Leaves with Lewis and Clark
Fourth graders collect data on leaves collected, observe different species of leaves, and implement different methods of leaf preservation.
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Indoor Environment: A Magazine Publication Project
Learners demonstrate knowledge of Indoor Air Quality by creating a class magazine. A link to order a free Action Kit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is provided so teachers can build background knowledge. Performance...
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Soil Treasure Hunt
Students explore the concept of soil and decomposition. In this soil and decomposition lesson plan, students investigate bags of soil. Students then learn how animals and other organisms help in the decomposition process.
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Floodplain Modeling
Students simulate the impact of fluctuating river volumes on structures and landforms. They experiment with table top-sized riverbed models and water. Students consider how human design can help mitigate the effects of a flood.
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TE Activity: You're in Hot Water
Students study different ways of using solar energy. They design a solar water heater and determine how much water it can heat in a set amount of time. They examine how the heaters work by solar radiation and convection.
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TE Lesson: Renewable Energy
Students examine renewable energy sources such as solar, water, and wind. They experiment to determine how renewable energy is transformed into electricity. They investigate the role of engineers who work in the field of renewable energy.
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Capturing the Sun's Warmth
Students explore the variety of ways to use solar energy. They investigate the thermal energy storage capacities of different test materials to determine which to use in passive solar building design. They explain how passive solar...
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Falling Water
Students drop water from different heights to demonstrate the conversion of water's potential energy to kinetic energy. They see how varying the height from which water is dropped affects the splash size. In seeing how falling water can...
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Stations of Light
Student groups rotate through four stations to examine light energy behavior: refraction, magnification, prisms and polarization. They see how a beam of light is refracted (bent) through various transparent mediums. Students investigate...
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Weather
Students explore the earth's atmosphere, weather, and climate. They begin class with a discussion about weather patterns, atmosphere, and the layers of the earth. After the class discussion, students rotate through four stations to...
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Where Am I: Navigation and Satellites
Students explore the concept of triangulation that is used in navigation satellites and global positioning systems designed by engineers. They determine ways these technologies can help people determine their position or the location of...
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The Energy of Light
Students discuss different ways engineers use light. In this engineering instructional activity, students are introduced to the properties of light and the way light is used. They view a demonstration of light waves using a slinky, and...
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Eating Up Energy
Students will compare and contrast amount of energy consumption and CO2 emissions among the top ten user countries to understand global effects of emissions. They also map the global impact of energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
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and and Ocean Views of Earth by Remote Sensing
Students explain how satellites help scientists to see more than with the unaided eye and how Landsat technology works. Students identify vegetation and fire sites in the rainforest and detect erosion along rivers. They are able to use...