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A Journey with a Scientist
Students work in groups as they read chapters of Charles Darwin's, Voyage of the Beagle. They take notes on the chapter and in their group make a timeline of the chapter. They tape the timelines together in order to depict the entire...
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Plant Diversity and Distribution
Students construct a defined plot on school grounds and observed patterns in plant life. They count trees, shrubs, cacti and record on a data sheet. They compare data and generate a plant diversity overlook for their school.
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River Research
Pupils use the internet to research the streams and rivers found in Illinois. Using the information, they identify and describe the rivers and streams along with the physical characteristics of a river ecosystem. They share what they...
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Amazon Food Chain
Explore food chains in the Amazon Rainforest using this resource. Learners discuss the predator vs. prey relationships in the food chain. Then, they create a food web to describe this relationship. This is a simple and effective way to...
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Costa Rican Food Chain
Discuss the animals and plants in the rainforest food chain using this lesson. Learners talk about and do research on the top predators from the Costa Rican region and create a model of one of them in class. They also make a visual model...
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Bird Banners
Learners create banners for their classroom that contain the same information as field guides.
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Choose Your Own Adventure: School Nutritional Policy
Mature audiences are required for this lesson plan on implementing health-related policies. First, they openly explore the CDC obesity page while taking notes about what they discover. Then they view a PowerPoint about the success of...
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Soil Porosity, Moisture Content, pH, and Density
This lab activity does not have to be done with AP environmental scientists. It can also be done with middle to high school earth scientists. The procedures aren't complex. Learners determine the density of dry and wet sand in order to...
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An Introduction to Microbes and Microbes Are Everywhere
Seventh graders define the term microbe. They identify the five main groups of microbes. Students give examples of ways in which microbes have impacted or currently impact human life. They create a hypotheses for where they expect to...
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Charles Darwin's Hardware Shop
Using an assortment of hardware, junior biologists explore the theory of evolution. They consider how simple pieces of hardware might be changed into similar items and display their discoveries on a poster. The lesson would be...
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Where Do We Come From? An Introduction to Primate Biology
Seventh graders explore skeletal biology. Through a discussion and video observation, 7th graders investigate how the anatomy is adapted to the environment. Students study primates and explore their characteristics and behaviors.
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Holy Starbucks Batman
Learners investigate caffeine as a potential new pollutant in a northwest river system. Effects of caffeine on invertebrates and salmon fry will be explored through field work and lab work.
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Gallery Walk Questions on Rivers
A Gallery Walk is a technique that allows small groups to visit different stations, where they examine and discuss materials about an overarching topic. Questions about rivers and fluvial processes are available in this resource;...
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Gallery Walk Questions on Earth's Radiation Balance
Questions that can be used in a lesson plan on Earth's radiation balance are suggested in this resource. It is not a lesson plan, per se, but it is a list of questions for stations within a "Gallery Walk" lesson plan. The link to how...
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Pebbles, Sand and Silt -- Categorizing Fiction and Informational Books
Primary readers complete the activities in a Pebbles, Sand and Silt FOSS kit. As a class, they are given a group of rocks and they are to categorize them based on their activities in the FOSS kit. They use this information and apply it...
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Catalase: A Bioinformatics Case Study
High schoolers investigate the physical structure of a protein by using a computer simulation tool. They record its primary amino acid structure while viewing it in three dimensions for a better visual recognition. There is also a...
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Race and Ethnicity in the United States
Students explore race and ethnicity as it is defined by the U. S. Census Bureau. They compare data from 1900, 1950, and 2000 and identify settlement patterns and changes in population. In groups, they map these changes and discuss...
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Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly
Third graders access prior knowledge of the monarch butterfly and discuss what they would like to know. In this Monarch Butterfly lesson plan,students read Monarch Butterfly and discuss the life cycle of the butterfly. Students...
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Amphibians Internet Activity
In this amphibians worksheet, students click on the links in the questions about amphibians to find the answers to the questions and then come back and answer the questions. Students answer 10 questions total.
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Making Cladograms
Learners construct cladograms (evolutionary trees), showing how shared derived characters can be used to reveal degrees of relationship. They interpret and analyze cladograms, and determine where unclassified vertebrates would fit on a...
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Frog Dissection
Young scholars explore the anatomy of frogs. They complete a frog dissection to complete an accompanying worksheet which includes questions, diagrams and pictures.
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A Study of Hydra Cluster Galaxies
Young scholars analyze a designated galaxy with a partner or in a small group.
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Bat Ecology
Students, through hands on games and activities, discover how bats live and how bats benefit ecosystems. They play a game designed to show them how echolocation works and another to show how mother bats locate their young through their...
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Sibling Relationships in the Animal World
Students research sibling relationships in the animal world. In this animal science lesson, students read the book, Sisters and Brothers: Sibling Relationships in the Animal World and discuss the sibling relationships. Students choose an...