California Academy of Science
California's Climate
The United States is a large country with many different climates. Graph and analyze temperature and rainfall data for Sacramento and Washington DC as you teach your class about the characteristics of Mediterranean climates. Discuss the...
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Bugs, Bugs, Everywhere!
Students collect and compare bugs using magnifying lenses and graph data based on their comparisons. In this bugs lesson plan, students also make an aspirator by using a jar, tubing, and screen.
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The Coriolis Effect
Young scholars will determine the direction of Earth's rotation as viewed from the north and south if they were suspended out in space. They will model how the rotation of the Earth causes currents to be deflected in different directions...
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Identifying Minerals
Students compare and constrast a wide variety of minerals and rocks. They test them for streak, luster, color and other characteristics. They view an exhibit and compare their answers to them.
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Volcanoes in Space
Students research volcanoes on the Internet to compare/contrast the volcanoes on Earth to the ones found on Io, a moon of Jupiter. Students list the similarities and differences in science journals, and illustrate pictures of the volcanoes.
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Weather Lesson 1
Students describe and compare the layers of the atmosphere. They explain how to measure the temperature of the atmosphere. They also explain what causes the atmosphere to heat up in some places more than in others.
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Greenhouse Effect ...Building Our Own
Students explore the greenhouse effect. They set up a simplified model of the earth and the greenhouse effect. Students compare temperatures inside a jar to temperatures outside the jar. Pupils collect information and create a line...
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Mass, Volume, and Weight
Students explore mass, volume, and weight. In this science and measurement lesson, students compare volume, mass, and weight after listening to the teacher's description of each. Students explore different scales and balances and...
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Tall as a Mountain, Flat as a Plain
Students examine a variety of landforms that are found on the Earth and compare and contrast the distinguishing qualities of these forms. A topographical model of the landforms is made.
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Where in the World is Hawaii?
Students compare a globe and a two-dimensional world map and explore how they both represent the planet Earth. They locate the Hawaiian Islands on the globe or the world map and describe how the geographical position is unique.
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Treasures in Jeopardy
In small groups, middle schoolers research deep-sea coral reefs and design a poster to educate the public about their importance. They compare them to shallow-water reefs and consider the impact of bottom-trawl fishing. Many internet...
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Classifying Shells
Students observe and classify different types of shells. They compare and contrast an exhibit they created with one that already exists in a musuem. They discover the different characteristics of shells.
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Weather Lesson 2
Students identify the elements that make up the earth's weather. Begin by having students pretend they are hiking along a mountain ridge. It's been sunny and warm all day, but you see a dark line of clouds moving from the west.
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Animal Coverings
Students compare and contrast the types of coverings found on animals. They identify a wide variety of animals in a museum room. They classify animals based on their coverings as well.
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Albedo and Irradiation of Surfaces
Here is a physical science activity where pupils place thermometers inside of a white and a black paper pocket and place them under a lamp. They record and compare the temperature increase over a ten-minute period. Have your class...
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Global Warming - The Heat is On: Global Climate Change Revisited
After listening to your lecture on climate change, young scientists access NOAA's database listing Mauna Loa's carbon dioxide data. They graph the monthly means and then compare their graphs to NOAA's. This is a concise plan that could...
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Massif Mystery
After reviewing plate tectonic theories and the discovery of both the Atlantis Massif and the Lost City hydrothermal vents, earth science learners complete a worksheet and participate in discussions about what the types of rock found...
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"I'm Thankful For..." Placemat
Students discover the story behind Thanksgiving through comparing and contrasting what pilgrims were thankful for, memorizing Thanksgiving poems, and creating a placemat that depicts the poem.
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Visual Messages: Creating a Photomontage
Students create a photomontage. In this lesson on photography as a means of conveying emotion, students use images gathered from the Internet to create a photomontage comparing how water is used in Africa and the U.S.
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Splish-Splash: Daily Use of Water
Students explore the daily use of water in Kenya and Ghana. For this Peace Corps lesson, students compare similarities and differences between water use by people in Kenya and Ghana and their own communities as they create books that...
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A Feature Presentation - Geographic Landforms
Learners investigate, identify and compare the various geographic terms that can be used to describe the landforms occurring in the Hawaiian islands.
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New Angle on Forest Ecology
Students measure and calculate the angle of the sun. They compare the leaf types on the north and south to compare the effects of the sun on the type of vegetation. They complete the activities inside the classroom or on a trip to a...
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Lotto or Life: What Are the Chances?
Though the website does not seem to have the mentioned video, a reding and lottery style games simulate the chances of finding intelligent life somewhere other than Earth. Without the video, this lesson is short, but it can be a useful...
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Are You One of Us?
Students compare and contrast insects and arthropods, identifying characteristics of each. In groups, they sort pictures of arthropods into the five different classes of arthropods. They also sort pictures into insect and non-insect piles.