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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discovering a Law of Space Physics

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Learners use data collected by an astronomer to determine the relationship between the time it takes the planet to orbit the sun and the average radius of the planet's orbit around the sun. Students use trial and error to find the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Animals

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders explore the ways in which animals differ. They discuss the characteristics of insects and spiders. Students identify the characteristics of insects and spiders. They compare and contrast insects and spiders.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tall Tales: Reconstructing A Personal Tell

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders discover the ways archaeologists examine artifacts and where they are found. After being introduced to new vocabulary, they use artifacts from their own lives and discover what could be told about their life from them. ...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

North or South? Which has a better way of life?

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders brainstorm what they believe are the causes of the Civil War. They copy the blank circle graph into their Social Studies journals twice once for their prediction and once for the actual. Students list the following...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Persistence Forecasting

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Learners study weather forecasting. In this weather lesson plan, students explore forecasting weather methods and do a forecast. Learners study weather reports and discuss the elements of a forecast. Students study the method of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Testing Weather Proverbs

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students study weather proverbs. In this weather lesson, students list weather proverbs and complete the worksheet to test the proverb. Students design an experiment to test the weather proverbs and conduct the experiments.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Clouds as Art: Torn Paper Landscape

For Teachers K - 5th
Students create a torn paper landscape and use it to study clouds. In this cloud study and art lesson, students make a background art image from torn paper. Students create a torn paper landscape and use cotton balls to illustrate...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Clouds and Your Imagination

For Teachers K - 5th
Learners study and illustrate clouds. In this cloud study lesson, students study clouds and then illustrate what they see. Learners use their imaginations to interpret images from the cloud picture they drew.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wind

For Teachers K - 5th
Students complete activities to study wind intensity. In this wind study lesson, students discuss wind speed and direction. Students then build a kite and windsock to help them study wind intensity. Students learn to use a wind meter for...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Historical Temperatures

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students research historical regional temperatures for their current season. In this historical weather instructional activity, students conduct weather station and Internet research to learn about historical regional temperatures....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Maverick

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners apply probability to real life situation. In this statistics lesson plan, students play poker and make predictions on what hand they will get next. They apply their knowledge of how probability works to make their predictions.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Density

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders define density in their own words. In this physics lesson, 7th graders solve density problems using its mathematical formula. They explain why some objects flow and some sink.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi"

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore nature by reading stories in class. In this animal characteristics lesson, students read the story "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," by Rudyard Kipling and identify the different animals mentioned in the book. Students review the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Weather Forecasting Basics

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders analyze weather diagrams and weather maps. In this earth science instructional activity, 8th graders explain why it is important to know the weather. They complete a handout at the end of the instructional activity.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigation of Timbre

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students design an experiment to analyze the timbre of different instruments. In this physics lesson, students analyze the missing quality in sound. They discuss their results in class.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Can You Study Things You Can’t See Like: Atoms?

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Learners simulate how scientists studied things they can't see like atoms. In this chemistry lesson, students predict what is inside the numbered obsertainers. They design a way to investigate what's inside without opening it.
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Lesson Plan
Huntington Library

Huntington Library: Learning From Leaves: From Observation to Inference [Pdf]

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
A lesson plan in which students explore plants from three different ecosystems and make inferences about plant structures and their environments. Includes discussion questions, a vocabulary glossary, and handouts.
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Lesson Plan
Utah Education Network

Uen: Chances With Wolves

For Teachers 8th
This lesson engages students in learning the differences among observations, facts, and inferences. Students will study about the reintroduction of wolves into the Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone Region. Students will work in small groups...
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Learning Lab: Every Picture Has a Story

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Smithsonian Education presents "Every Picture Has a Story". Teachers can download this comprehensive teaching package in which students examine some of the millions of photographs in the Smithsonian. This amazing teaching package comes...
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Investigating South Crow River: Discharge, Turbidity, Erosion, Sediments

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this field investigation, small groups of students will observe and measure characteristics of the South Crow River near Mayer, Minnesota. Data collection on these characteristics will include but not be limited to: speed of current...
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Lesson Plan
National Institutes of Health

Alcohol: Separating Fact From Fiction

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students can use this site to observe the effects of alcohol on mice and discuss the ways in which alcohol harms and impairs the body. An online lesson, "Alcohol; Separating Fact From Fiction," has students watch video clips, engage in...
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Blowing Up Balloons, Chemically

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Learners will understand and apply the Law of Conservation of Matter; balance chemical equations; use the following skills: observing and recording data (observations) and making inferences from observations.
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Boiling Water With Ice: Effect of Pressure on the Boiling Point of Water

For Teachers 9th - 10th
For this activity, which is a discrepant event with guided inquiry, the teacher will go through the steps of boiling water with ice. Through the learners telling and recording WHAT is happening, the teacher is showing the students what...
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Floating Foods and Underwater Eruptions: An Exploration of Density

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students explore the concept of density by investigating how several solids and liquids interact. Through hands-on activities and a teacher demonstration, they develop a greater understanding of density by using their observational...