Chicago Botanic Garden
Are You Bigfoot?
Scholars independently explore several websites to calculate their ecological footprint. Using their new found knowledge, they answer six short-answer questions and take part in a grand conversation with their peers about how...
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Renewable Energy
Students examine the United States' current and future energy needs. They describe different forms of renewable energy sources and compare the impacts of renewable and non-renewable energy sources on the earth and society.
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INTERPRETING MAGNETIC FIELD MAPS
Students interpret magnetic field maps, rotate the coordinates to obtain different views, change the coordinate representation, and produce alternate graphical representations.
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Endangered Species
Fourth graders investigate endangered species to discover reasons for the extinction. Resources are examined to determine preventive measures for the endangerment. The unit contains four lessons.
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Let the Weather Help You Dress
Students observe weather daily for at least a month and graph the weather for one month. Then they use weather vocabulary such as sunny, windy, rainy, stormy, cold, snowy, foggy, and hot, and share their predictions about weather. ...
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Weighing a Dinosaur
Students role play as paleontologists who make inferences about the weight of dinosaurs. They use models and the density of water to make these inferences.
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Anza and Font in Search of Latitude
This is an integrated lesson that incorporates Social Studies, Science, and Mathematics. In Social Studies, 7th graders complete an online interview and complete an online worksheet about latitude of sites on the Anza trail. In Science...
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Shadows
First graders measure how a shadow changes over the course of a day. They write about what they would do if they lost their shadow, and make silhouettes of themselves. Students make up a shadow dance and read stories about shadows.
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SALLY RIDE
Students express what it would be like to launch off into outer space in a space shuttle. They include what it might feel like, look like, sound like, and any thoughts that go through their mind as they dart away from the Earth's...
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The Littlest Matryoshka
Students listen to the story The Littlest Matryoshka and sequence the story. In this sequencing lesson plan, students sequence the story and also make little dolls based on the story and write stories about them.
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Water: The Liquid of Life
Sixth graders complete a lesson on the properties, types and amounts of water on Earth. In groups, they travel between stations to identify water resources in Illinois and pollution sources. They complete the lesson with a field trip...
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A Cosmic Cafeteria
Students indentify and differentiate between transit and surface food systems. Students measure energy that is released by various foods. Students compare and contrast cooking with solar energy on earth and what they might have learned...
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Miners
Learners complete various activities related to mining and mining safety. They write an energy sentence, complete a word puzzle, cut and glue safety equipment on a mining character, solve a math code word puzzle, and complete a maze...
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The Lake Effect
Fourth graders conduct an experiment demonstrating the effects of water and air temperature on precipitation. They create graphs demonstrating their findings using Claris Works for Kids.
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Solar Energy - Dehydration
Sixth graders explore process of drying food using solar energy. They cook and/or dry food such as pumpkins, watermelon, corn, and deer meat, explain how solar energy changes foods, and compare and contrast solar energy with other forms...
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Making Connections, Linking Population and the Environment
Learners find out that all habitats have a carrying capacity. They explore how the world's human population has grown markedly in the 20th century, and that humans impact environmental health. Students investigate that people can and...
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Effect of Daylight Hours on Human Activity
Learners determine the average hours of daily sunlight for each month of the year by constructing a bar graph. They develop a understanding of how the amount of daylight hours varies by month and how that affects both temperature and...
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Sunshine and Shadows
Students measure their shadows early in the morning, record direction of shadow, make marks in ground with chalk or tape, measure with ruler, and record results. Students repeat process at noon, and then later in afternoon. Students...
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Modular Arithmetic on the Planet of the Eights
Students explore modular arithmetic involving base eight. They participate in an activity where society functions around the numbers one through eight. Students explain how life will operate with only these numbers.
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Temperature Comparisons
Students practice plotting temperature data points on a line graph in groups and examine the temperature differences at the same time of year. They graph the temperatures in Lannon, WI, and Mitchell's Plain, SA. After the data has been...
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Rovers on Mars
Students explore latest Mars rovers - Spirit and Opportunity. They investigate the nature of communications with the Rovers including use of Mars Orbiters as relay stations. They research needs of future missions and design...
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Reduce and Reuse
Students conduct a lunch waste audit by recording each item they throw away at lunch. They graph class lunch waste. They use this information to devise a plan of action to reduce lunch waste. There is also an activity to make paper.
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Shadow Chasing
First graders observe and measure their shadows. They go outside at three hour increments during the course of a day. Each time students measure and record the length of their shadows. Students read books about shadows and discuss why...