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Is Your Spot Hot?
Eighth graders explore global warming. In this Earth Science lesson plan, 8th graders will look for Harbingers and fingerprints for different areas. The students will identify an area at risk and they will then create a presentation to...
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Historical Harbor Habitats
Tenth graders create food web displays in the classroom. In this ecology lesson, 10th graders identify the different pollutants in the environment and their effect on organisms. They collect samples of sediments from the harbor and...
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Which Part of the Great Salt Lake Stinks More?
Students research background knowledge of the Great Salt Lake prior to a field trip. They identify specific wild life at the Great Salt Lake on the field trip and identify the islands in the Great Salt Lake. They present their...
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Reduced Fare
Students discover the relationship between tectonic plate boundaries and the communities of life that thrive at such boundaries. In this biology lesson, students find that methane from oxidized carbon in sediments provides nutrients for...
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Energy in a Clean Environment
Young scholars identify and describe the different types of energy and how it is transferred. In this energy lesson students complete several activities including how to calculate joules, adding up wattage, and create a presentation on...
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Physics "24"
Students construct a model house or school. In this physics lesson plan, students research about who wind up clocks work and write an essay about it. They determine the center of gravity of different objects.
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Non-Compressibility of Water
Students will observe a property of water. For this inquiry-based properties of air lesson, students observe how a change in water pressure impacts the positioning of an eye-dropper in the water container and they make hypotheses about...
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Chameleons Are Cool!
Have your learners review what they know about camouflage using this lesson. Learners fill out a graphic organizer listing what they know or have questions about. This could be enhanced with the addition of a writing assignment in which...
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Mass Measurement
Middle schoolers explore geometry by completing a physics activity on-line. In this mass measurement lesson, pupils define the terms mass, volume, and density and identify their relationship with each other. They complete an on-line...
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Desalination: Creating a Solar Still
To better understand how solar power can aid in creating desalinated drinking water, the class creates a model still. They will build a model of a solar still, make observations, and discuss how the process works. While the idea behind...
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Life in a Cup
Third graders make and maintain a mini terrarium. They keep a daily journal of what happens in their terrarium and record daily observations and measurements.
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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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Worm Weather Predicted
Students examine worm habitats. In this animal habitats lesson, students participate in a lab activity that requires them to explore the adaptations that earthworms make to their environment.
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Maintaining Plant Genebanks
Students examine the use, costs, and the need for plant gene banks. The rationale for gaining ownership over scientific information and the implications of the developing nations' reliance on biotechnology is explored in this...
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Biotechnology: An Agricultural Dilemma
Students investigate the types of genetically modified crop plants there are and the benefits and risks of such plants. The agricultural needs in developing nations for this biological knowledge to resolve societal issues is also...
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Bluebirds
Students use the internet to gather information on bluebirds. In groups, they observe and record the size, color and various sounds of the birds. They view photographs of the birds in different stages of development and discuss how...
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Termitology
Students engage in an inquiry-based study of the ecology of termites. Through hands-on investigations, they explore the life cycle of termites, the termite's role in the food web, and the unique social structure of termite colonies.
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Inquiry-based Investigations into Pond Water Microorganisms
Pupils become familiar with common microorganisms and experience exploring the microbial world.
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Aquatic Field Data
Students use laptops and sensors to measure water quality and graph their results. In this aquatics instructional activity students post their results to a website or email.
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Nervous System
Get to know the body's central nervous system through an engaging game of nervous system telephone. But this isn't your average game of telephone. Here, pupils must find a way to communicate a message to the brain without speaking....
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Muscular and Skeletal Systems
How do muscles move bones? Find out using a built-in-class model. Pupils construct a hand model with paper and string, then follow a series of directions to explore the movement process. Discover additional information about the muscular...
Tracy Pendry
Cardiovascular/Circulatory System
Explore the circulatory system with a cardiovascular pump activity that promotes discovery and discussion as class members create a functioning model of the heart. Continue the learning process through a web quest showcasing the body's...
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The Economic Way of Thinking - About Everything
Students write their definitions of economics on index cards and revise them as the lesson plan continues. They discuss the principles of economic reasoning and after completing a quiz, use economic reasoning to solve "real life" mysteries.
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Determining the Age of Fossils
Students examine the concept of radioactive dating. In this radioactive dating lesson plan, students investigate how to determine the ages of fossils and rocks as they learn about half-life radioactive decay.