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Patterns of Communication
Scholars examine codes, symbols, and other forms of communication. They discuss Morse Code. Next, they are given messages written in code, which they must decipher.
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Where Are the Dinosaurs?
Students explore the concept of extinction by studying dinosaurs. For this dinosaur lesson, students distinguish between extinct creatures and those that still exist.
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Classification: Dichotomous Key
Young scholars investigate the classification process and nomenclatures used for classifying organisms. They study dichotomous keys to identify organisms with 90% accuracy. Students organize information regarding the relatedness of species.
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Number Tick Tack Toe
Students participate in activities that apply Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences in order to improve literacy skills. The lesson is ideal for diverse learners because of the application of the theory.
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Water: From Neglect to Respect
The goal of this collection of lessons is to make middle schoolers more aware of the ways in which they are dependent upon water to maintain their standard of living. Learners compare water use in Lesotho to water use in the United...
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Create Koi Nobori: Carp Kites
Students study the Japanese art of Koi Nabori or carp kites. They create their own carp kites with repeating patterns.
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The 3R's: Rights, Rules, and Responsibilities
Eighth graders complete seven work stations that highlight math activities while they focus on the rules for Internet use and classroom rules for working in cooperative groups. After completing the activities, they complete a self-...
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Introduction to Earning Interest: What are APR and APY?
Students explore saving and investing money. In this middle school personal finance lesson, students define and use investment vocabulary, explore compound interest and its effect of savings, and compute simple and compound interest. ...
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What's in a Graph?
Students explore how to use and interpret graphs. The graphs are pulled from a variety of sources, and the activities ask students to interpret graphs. They start this lesson with knowledge of what a graph is. Students also know how to...
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Marble Mania
Students explore the concept of probability. In this probability lesson, students develop an understanding of probability by pulling marbles out of a bag and recording the data. Students use the recording sheet to discuss the results of...
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The Fibonacci Sequence
Middle schoolers investigate a numerical pattern and look for evidence of mathematical patterns in nature. They solve puzzles and work with a partner to predict sequential numbers in a series.
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What's in a Shape?
Students explore characteristics of shapes by making and using tangram sets. They discover how the tangram pieces are related to one another, and determine how many different combinations of the triangles, squares, and parallelograms in...
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Cylinders and Scale
Learners review what a cylinder is and how a cylinder is measured. They build a variety of cylinders with different heights and radii. They compare the surface area and volume of each cylinder and discuss anything that surprises them...
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Glo Goes Shopping
Making decisions can be very difficult. Show your class one way to evaluate choices with this lesson, which is inspired by the book Glo Goes Shopping. Learners practicing using a decision-making grid with the content of the story and a...
Federal Reserve Bank
Bunny Money
Teach your class about saving, spending, and goal setting with a story about a couple of bunnies who went shopping and related activities. Learners keep track of the bunnies' spending, practice identifying long- and short-term savings...
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The One in the Middle
Students review and reinforce the concepts of mean, median, and mode based on the number of siblings the students have. They use Post-it notes to organize and re-organize the data.
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Bag the Beans
Learners are exposed to a wide array of concrete representations to help develop a foundation for the higher abstract ideas associated with mathematical inquiry. In this lesson, students will work with manipulatives (beans) to create and...
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Meeting and Reading Dr. Seuss
Second graders demonstrate competence in the general skills and strategies of the reading process.
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Look At Those Leaves!
Students observe and sort tree leaves. In this earth science lesson, students observe the attributes of real leaves and measure leaves using Unifix cubes.
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Finding Satisfactory Solutions
Students decide where to locate ice cream stands in a town so that no one has to travel too far to buy a treat. The problem-solving strategies for this problem give students a chance to decide what makes a solution satisfactory.
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Sorting
Students experience sorting. In this organization instructional activity, students play a computer sorting game called "Flood Game" on the "Between the Lions" website. Students visit a library and observe and discuss book organization....
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Earth Day - Hooray
Learners listen to the story, Earth Day - Hooray!, and discuss the story as it is being read. In this Earth Day lesson plan, students discuss incentives and penalties in regards to taking care of the Earth. This lesson plan also...
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Fun With Adhesives
Students observe, measure, and record the properties in making objects stick together using science tools. In this science lesson, students explore with their senses while mixing flour and water. Additionally, students share their...
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Passport to the Eastern Hemisphere
Seventh graders explore the Eastern Hemisphere. They investigate the customs, currency, climate, location and other facts needed in order to travel to a specific country. Students receive a stamp on their "passport" when their research...