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Rover Landing Design Challenge
Students examine the concepts of forces and motion. They work together to design protective devices for their egg rovers as they are dropped from a specific height. They record their observations and discuss.
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Fire Brigade
Students examine how a community works together to protect them from fire. They work together to design a functional tool that could be helpful in fighting fires. They share their tool with the class.
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Animal Research Pamphlet
Fourth graders perform research on an animal of choice. The reading of a novel is done prior to the research in order to establish context for the lesson. The use of the library for research is a key skill for this lesson.
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Report on Desert Plant or Animal
Learners are introduced to desert plants and animals. They demonstrate that the name of an organism does not always match the object. Students perform a guided internet search in order to complete a report.
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Week 3: Pollution Source and Effects
Lab groups set up an experiment to observe what happens over time in collected pond water when fertilizer, representing pollution, is added. This website does not include student lab sheets, but background information, materials, and...
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Pulse Rates
Students answer the question, "How will the intensity of exercise effect your heart rate?", using physical workouts and AppleWorks, or similar spreadsheet program. This lesson can conclude with the creation of a graph of data collected.
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Making E-Books in the Kindergarten Classroom
Students produce e-books using themselves and their physical surroundings to demonstrate content standards, such as number sense or color recognition. They provide evidence using a digital camera, props, and the presentation tool.
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Michigan's Lumbering history: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Fourth graders explore lumbering in Michigan. For this lumbering activity, 4th graders examine the life of a modern day lumberjack and how technology can interfere with natural ecology. Students create a list of products from the...
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Mussel Identification Activity
Students identify given species of animals, such as various
mussels, by sets of physical characteristics as they use a key. They also read about mussels on the Illinois River and look at mussel species in the online database. Finally,...
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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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Funny Putty
Students are introduced to the properties of solids, liquids and gases. They see that colloids are mixtures which display the properties of more than one of these states. They engage in an excellent experiment which demonstrates this fact.
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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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Mineral Scavenger Hunt
Students complete a scavenger hunt worksheet as they find examples in their classroom, at home, etc., of minerals. Excellent worksheet!
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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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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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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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Parts of a Solar Panel-Part I
Students examine electrical contacts, solar cells, and rechargeable batteries and compare and contrast the characteristics of a solar cell to a rechargeable battery in a hands-on activity. Students complete a worksheet as they...
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Fred the Fish -- A River Ran Wild
Students apply cause and effect relationships to water pollution in a stream. In this pollution instructional activity students recognize the importance of clean water in their daily lives. Students accompany "Fred the Fish" as he...
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Stream Table
Students explore channelization, riparian habitats and soil erosion to find out about the aquatic habitats in Iowa. In this aquatic habitats lesson, students define important terms and read an article about pollution. Students complete...
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Plants and Animals: Partners in Pollination
Students describe the complementary relationships between pollinators and the plants they pollinate, identify adaptations that flowers have developed to "encourage" pollination, and create and draw their own "designer" flowers.
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Create a Classroom Exhibit: Rocks and Minerals
Young scholars bring in rocks and minerals from home. They observe them and describe them carefully, completing a worksheet. Finally, a classroom exhibit is created.
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Get into the Flow with an Interactive Volcano
Students research the structural elements of a volcano. They make a PowerPoint slide that contains five facts which will be added to a whole class slideshow. They add an interactive table of contents using action buttons.
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Plants and Animals, Partners in Pollination
Students participate in multiple hands-on activities to explore reproduction and pollination. In groups, using a cotton swab and powder, students simulate being pollinators and plants. They name the parts of the flowers and the function...
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Fossils Footprints Across Time
Learners examine fossils to understand how they are formed and how they give information about geological history. In this fossil lesson plan, students research and write about fossils and make models of different fossil types.The PDF...