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Biosphere
Students examine the basic biosphere and its components. In this ecology instructional activity students complete several experiments including designing a system that is balanced to sustain life.
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Rain Reasons
Students explore how climatic factors influence the growth of plants. They create an experiment to find how variations in water, light, and temperature affect plant growth and describe how precipitation and geography can affect the...
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Soiled Again
Students propose and perform an experiment using the scientific method. The purpose of the experiment is to discern some earth materials or combinations of earth materials that best increases the pH of "acid rain". From the results of...
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Applied Evolution: How Will We Get There from Here?
Students explore the basic process of natural selection and how people can manipulate that process today. The consequences of natural selection on daily life and the implications of evolutionary biology in basic and applied science is...
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Sopay Water
Tenth graders design and conduct an experiment to explore the use of several substances in removing soap from water. During this activity they work with a lab partner. They keep their own individual lab notes, after they finish, they...
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Doctor, Doctor, Gimme The News
Seventh graders work together to develop a health-related experiment to display at the school health fair. Using the human body systems, they use the Internet to research a health problem through a controlled experiment. They are...
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Learning From Leaves: Adaptations To Differing Light Levels
Students, in groups, examine plants with different light levels. They are given plants from a tropical and desert region. They write a hypothesis at the beginning of the experiment.
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On the Surface Of Things
The purpose of this unit is for young scholars to engage in thinking about the links between science and art. We want to provide students with the opportunity to see original artifacts related to natural occurances.
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Hands Off
Students perform a handwashing experiment to see if a difference can be detected in the number and types of microbes on our hands after various types of cleaning. They will also demonstrate that they have learned the whys and hows of...
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How Hot is Too Hot?
Fifth graders use the scientific method to conduct experiments on the temperature effects on organisms. In this temperature effects on organisms lesson plan, 5th graders observe and record the hatching or the developing of organisms into...
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Warm and Toasty
Students are introduced to the concepts of specific heat and heat capacity. In groups, they design an experiment to test these two topics on various fabrics. They compare and contrast the amount of heat loss on the different materials...
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Root, Root, Root for the Nutrients
Students observe the growth of a seed, predict what will happen when seeds are planted without soil, and conduct an experiment using a hydroponics system.
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Walking for Water Mini-Unit
Young scholars participate in an activity that requires them to consider the availability of water. In this "walking for water" activity, students read "Women Bear the Weight of Water," and respond to discuss questions regarding the...
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It All Began With a Bean
Students explore human anatomy by participating in hands-on activities. In this digestive system lesson plan, students read the book It All Began With a Bean and discuss the process of food digestion in our body. Students utilize soda...
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The Nutrients Public Transportation System
Students investigate the human circulatory system by experimenting with hoses. In this human body lesson, students create a system of hoses simulating the circulatory system which they utilize to pass objects through. Students discuss...
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Animal Adaptations: Focus on Bird Beaks
Sixth graders explore bird beaks as animal adaptation. In this bird adaptation lesson, 6th graders conduct an experiment to determine the connection between the shape of a bird's beak and the food it eats.
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People Are Like Peas in a Pod
Students experiment with peapods to show the diversity of individual within a population. They examine dominant traits, recessive traits, genotypes, and phenotypes and show the process of making a Punnett Square.
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Keep It Hot
Students design and conduct an experiment to explore the insulating abilities of different materials for keeping a liquid in a paper cup warm. A small group of lab partners test four different materials: black paper, white paper,...
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Diffusion & Osmosis with Data Analysis
Pupils explore principles governing diffusion and osmosis. Students perform a dialysis tubing experiment. They obtain core samples of potato in varying concentrations of sugar-water to measure water potential of the potato cells. Data...
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Are You Thirsty? The Effects of Pollution on Drinking Water
Discuss the availability of clean, plentiful water and the causes of water pollution. In groups, sixth graders discuss problem-solving methods for keeping water clean. They explore the function of water treatment plants and perform...
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What's in that Cake?
Students discover the methods scientists use to investigate Oceanic habitats. In this oceanography lesson, students utilize the Internet to identify deep sea submersibles and how they help scientists study the Charleston Bump. Students...
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A Pre-Treatment Model for Ethanol Production Using a Colorimetric Analysis of Starch Solutions
Students recognize the benefits of ethanol and study photosynthesis. In this ethanol instructional activity students complete an experiment that shows the procedure that starch can be hydrolyzed by salivary amylase.
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"Mother Earth" -- Past
Students examine our connection to the Earth. They identify how Native Americans believed in a "Mother Earth". They discover how the earth and life are connected.
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Soda Bottle Compost: Nutrient Cycling in Action
Students investigate, through their own experimentation, the important role wildlife play in nutrient cycling. Earthworms and compost are used in this experiment and different experimental setups be evaluated.