California Academy of Science
Exploring Our Growing Need for Water
Pupils explore the amount of water people use in agriculture and for personal use. They compare water usage for various crops to that of raising animals before considering solutions for increased access to safe drinking water worldwide....
Curated OER
Colorful Indicators
Young chemists learns about acids and bases by coming up with a solution that will test for each. They also access the Internet to perform research. They are encouraged to contact students in other schools by conducting the experiment at...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Food for Thought: Climate Change and Trophic Cascades
Learners examines the arctic food web with a short video about polar bears and an article about bears and warming temperatures. They design an arctic food web and discuss the trophic cascade that could come from climate change.
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A Discourse on the History of Language
Analyze and make inferences from the information used by linguists to construct the evolution of languages. They research different dating techniques to explain how scientists infer age with evidence.
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Can You Build a Better Mousetrap?
Students use a variety of linked sites to research information about student inventions and contests that are available for them. They research an invention they would like to see become available. They communicate their results to their...
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Wind Effects- A Case Study
Learners explore hurricanes. In this weather data interpretation lesson, students draw conclusions about the impact of Hurricane Floyd as it related to weather conditions. Learners read and interpret a tide data table, a barometric...
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Human Fingerprints: No Two The Same
Learners will be offered numerous opportunities to further enhance their observational skills as well as the integration of math with their continual exposure to the metric system, measurement, and graphing to represent their data....
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Sextant Solutions
Middle schoolers explore ways a sextant can be a reliable tool that is still being used by today's navigators and how computers can help assure accuracy when measuring angles. This activity will show how computers can be used to...
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Getting In Is Half the Battle
Students read and discuss "Defending Affirmative Action With Social Science," examining the admissions policies in public universities and colleges. They write persuasive essays either for or against the admissions policies in their state.
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Mapping Meteorites
After reading an article, "Cameras Capture a 5-Second Fireball and Its Meteorite's Secrets," space science superstars use the triangulation method to determine the location of a distant object. In-class activities and homework are...
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Around-The-World-Zoo
Junior biologists design and maintain a website about a zoo by researching, classifying, and providing the correct habitats for the animals they choose to have in their zoo. This technology-based project can last over an entire semester...
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Back to the Future
Students explore the benefits of new technology for the home and its possible drawbacks.
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From Lake to Tap
Middle schoolers use the Internet to study how water is treated to make it safe to drink. They use a tutorial on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's website to gain this information. They complete a worksheet for the assessment...
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From Ada to Grace to Sandy - Women Have IT
Explore the significant contributions women have made in the field of information technology with an instructive lesson plan. Through class discussion and research, learners discover how women have aided in the growth of the field of...
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SEVERE WEATHER UNIT
Students conduct research on specific severe weather patterns of interest and collect data to be shared with other students on these phenomona. They write (or review) a severe weather action plan for the school and presents their findings.
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CLIMATE AND WEATHER UNIT
Students locate on-line weather source, gathers and interprets weather data, work collaboratively on-line with other schools to collect weather data, and write about the cause of temperature inconsistencies in various locations.
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GROWING PLANTS UNIT
Learners predict outcomes of scientific experiment,.conduct a scientific experiment with control groups, and plant seeds to observe, measure, and compare growth across groups. They gather, record, analyze, and share data with other...
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Science: When Autumn Leaves Fall
Students conduct Internet research to discover the reason why leaves change color in autumn. On a nature walk around school grounds, they collect leaves of various colors and shapes over a three-week period. finally, students select...
Teach Engineering
Curb the Epidemic!
Class members use an applet on the Internet to simulate the spread of a disease. The simulation allows individuals to determine two nodes to vaccinate to limit the number of nodes infected. By running several simulations, scholars can...
Virginia Department of Education
Researching Information on the Internet
Practice Internet research skills. Each class member will need Internet access in order to follow along as you model how to search using key words and to do their own research on African and Asian elephants. Their notes will go into a...
Curated OER
Analyzing the Relationship between Snowpack and River Flow
Young scholars use the Internet to research current and past snowpack levels and river gauging station readings. They determine the relationship between snowpack and river flow. They predict future river flow.
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Blazing Gas
Fourth graders read and discuss the sun and the energy we use on Earth from the sun. In this sun lesson plan, 4th graders discuss the solar system, planets, and answer short answer questions.
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Recycling plastic into wood
Students participate in a writing prompt for the purpose of attacking the issue of recycling. The use of plastic is considered in comparison to other recyclable resources. Students answer some guided questions in the form of a paper.
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Asteroids
Students study asteroids and how their size relates to a possible danger of one colliding with Earth. In this asteroids lesson students see how big an asteroid has to be to cause destruction to Earth.