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Fungi
Students examine the characteristics of fungi. In this biology lesson, students investigate the factors needed for fungi growth. They collect data and observations and write a report about them.
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Carbon Dioxide Heats It Up
Students design an investigation to test whether vegetation in an area helps regulate the ambient air temperature. They make comparisons between the investigation and global changes in climate. In groups, they present their findings to...
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I Wood if I Could
Tenth graders investigate the process of how specific products are made from trees. For this chemistry instructional activity, groups of students must choose among ice cream, bubble gum, paper, toothpaste and lipstick. They research,...
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Matter and Energy
Middle schoolers participate in a small group read aloud of the short story, "Cerium" by Primo Levi. They answer several questions about the story and then relate the reading to a lecture on Kinetic theory. After the lecture they apply...
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Magnetic Discovery Bottle
Students examine how to conduct simple investigations and use simple equipment to gather data. In this magnet lesson students decide what types of objects are attracted to magnets.
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Antacid Lesson Plan
Eleventh graders use titration methods to study properties of antacids. They look at the strength, effectiveness, PH, and effect of supplements taken at the same time. They make observations after the different mixtures are combined and...
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Yeast Cells and their Environment
Students study the scientific method and explore how to design an experiment. In this investigative lesson students explore and hypothesis an experiment then carry it out to find the results.
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Seed Germination
Students explore plants and the scientific method. In this plant growth lesson, students follow the steps in the scientific method to perform a seed germination experiment as a whole class. Students work in a group to create their own...
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Wild Weather Word Hunt
In this weather worksheet, young scholars and their families search for weather news in the newspaper, media or Internet. Students record a list of weather words. Young scholars then research and write down a one week forecast for their...
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Flight 2
Students are introduced to two of the four principles of flight: drag and thrust. As the class watches a video on these principles, they utilize ballons, straws and clothepins to simulate what they're seeing in the show. Nice, hands-on...
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Believe It...Or Not
Students critically analyze data regarding climate changes using a glossary of terms generated by examination of climate related articles. They examine and graph climatic data, and discuss, hypothesize and test apparent discrepancies in...
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Introduction to Correlations
Learners investigate correlations between human body height and other human features. They select ten subjects and record each subject's age and gender and measure for height, wingspan, distance, and size of hands. After measuring, they...
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Petri-fied of Bacteria
Young scholars examine the existence of bacteria all around them and consider the roles, both positive and negative, that bacteria play. Over a period of several days, students conduct an experiment in which they predict, determine, log,...
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Solar System Slide Show
Students work in small groups to research a planet in our Solar System in order to compare it to Earth. They examine the planet's size, atmosphere, rotation and revolution periods, temperature, and other attributes. They collect...
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Mythbusters
Eighth graders watch an episode of Mythbusters and answer questions that arise in the video about the scientific process. In this Mythbusters lesson plan, 8th graders complete a scientific investigation based on the video.
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Photosynthesis Investigation
Can scientists increase the rate of photosynthesis to help clean the air? Scholars complete an experiment determining net photosynthesis. Then, they apply knowledge from the activity to design their own investigations of the factors that...
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You Gotta Have Heart: Congenital Heart Defects and Heart Surgery
Assess anatomists' understanding of the structure of the mammalian heart by giving a pretest. Have them visit some websites to further learn about heart anatomy. Then take them into the laboratory to perform a dissection so that they get...
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Research Ethics
Young scientists discuss the results of carelessness during experimentation and the temptation to misrepresent findings. These activities are intended to develop the ability to identify scientific error, misconduct, and fraud. Use this...
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Potato Launcher Energy Lab
Pupils investigate conservation laws using a potato launcher. In this physics lesson plan, students measure angles, time and distance of the potato. They discuss applications of experiments like this.
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Investigating the Earth-Moon-Sun System
Eighth graders research Native American legends involving the sun, moon, and stars and compare them to the origin of present day knowledge. They create a written report and make an oral presentation of their findings to the class.
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How Do We Generate a Large Amount of a Specific DNA Sample?
Young scholars investigate the Polymerase Chain Reaction technique that is used to create larger amounts of a gene. They watch and discuss a PowerPoint presentation, explore a website, and write a report listing the materials needed to...
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Ocean Floor Properties and Near Shore Environments
Pupils explore and model the characteristics of the ocean floor and near shore environments through in-class demonstrations, laboratory activities, and internet research. They use classroom materials to research the characteristics of...
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Elements and Compounds
Eighth graders explore the chemical and physical properties of a variety of elements in a lab setting. They organize the data they collect onto a spreadsheet and then choose one element from the periodic table to research. They...
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Fish Parasite Survey
Students count nematodes, cestodes and crustaceans on approximately one-hundred and fifty fish. They fill out autopsy reports for external and internal parasites then complete and discuss guide questions to make inferences about parasite...