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Digital Mitosis and Claymation
Take mitosis and meiosis out of the biology textbook and onto the screen! An innovative class project prompts young biologists to create an animation movie using clay, showing the phases involved in mitosis or meiosis by moving the...
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WET Science Lesson #3: Comparison of Aquatic and Terrestrial Plants
Elementary life science explorers compare and contrast aquatic and terrestrial plants (elodea and soybeans) in a Venn diagram. Some background information is provided to support direct instruction, and general instructions are provided...
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Window Gardens
Students use a plastic sandwich bag containing a damp paper towel taped to a window as a model system to observe the germination and early growth of radish seeds. They are challenged to pose a question about seed germination and growth...
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Growing Barley and Detecting the Presence of Amino Acids
Students produce the greatest mass of plant material possible for 100 seeds of barley, and detect amino acids in barley plant material. They develop rules for the investigation, conduct the experiment, and prepare a computer spreadsheet...
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Recyclers Revisited
Fifth graders observe their plant experiments that they started in a previous lesson and examine the role of decomposers in the nitrogen cycle. Two weeks after they set up a worm terrarium, they analyze any changes they observe, and...
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Can Photosynthesis Occur at Saturn?
Students identify the different requirements for photosynthesis to take place. In this space science lesson, students simulate conditions in Saturn to investigate if photosynthesis is possible there. They use data and observations...
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What is Rice?
Second graders investigate the agricultural process of rice farming by creating a rice stationary item. In this farming lesson, 2nd graders read about rice plants and the techniques used to harvest the edible plant. Students discuss...
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Great Gravity, Batman!
Eleventh graders are introduced to the effect of gravity on plant growth. They describe the major processes and mechanisms by which plants grow, develop, and supply various products, including energy and nutrition, needed by other...
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Flowers: Form and Function
Students recognize and name the parts of a flower. They explain the function of each part of a flower. Students list the steps that occur for sexual reproduction of a plant to take place. They recognize and name the male reproductive...
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Soil In The Amazon
Students grow plants in soil representing that found in the Amazon basin. They compare results to plants growing in fertile soil and soil fertilized with leaf compost. Students chart, average and graph plant growth by height.
Students...
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Nitrogen Fixation, OR What a Gas!
Students illustrate the adaptation and co-evolution of organisms. They examine set up an experiment to determine the effect of adding the Rhizobium bacteria to a group of legume seeds.
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Toxicology and Living Systems
Students investigate how toxic chemicals affect biological systems. They determine the toxic dose of a chemical that inhibits seed germination in a Brassica rapa. They investigate the effect of environmental tobacco smoke on human lung...
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Flower Power
Students explore the parts of flowers and how they reproduce. They dissect flowers and observe the reproductive organs. Students observe anthers and ovaries of Tiger Lilies under a microscope. They investigate how insects and other...
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Forest Friends Forever
Students investigate how to use the senses to gather information about objects such as size, shape, color, texture, sound, position, and change (qualitative observations are utilized throughout this instructional activity). They...
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An Investigation into Effects of Rhizobium Soil Bacteria on Nitrogen Availability
Students identify the control and the variables in the experiment. They describe the growth of plants with and without nitrogen fixing bacteria, then name the bacterium responsible for making nitrogen available to the plant.
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Field Of Beans
Pupils investigate the concept of crop farming. They plant small fields to test different theories of agriculture. Students keep care over the fields, including pest and weed control. Pupils make and record daily observations to measure...
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Speedy Succession
Fifth graders identify how a pond can change into a grassland. An ecosystems lesson where learners identify pioneer and climax species, and recognize that ecological succession can take up to 100 years or more. Some excellent activities...
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"Did You Eat That!"
First graders investigate why plants are an important part of our everyday lives, providing us with food, clothing, shelter, etc. In this lesson plan students participate in a series of hands-on, online, and multimedia activities to...
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Crickets on the Hearth
Learners investigate how crickets behave in cold temperatures. In this life science lesson, students explain the beneficial and harmful effect of pests. They research ways to properly manage them.
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We All Start Somewhere
Students demonstrate an understanding that the same data can lead to different interpretations and conclusions and that different interpretations and conclusions are not necessarily wrong, but can be useful in developing other scientific...
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Speedy Succession
Fifth graders investigate how a pond ecosystem can change into a prairie or grassland ecosystem. They observe a small pond ecosystem in a two liter soda bottle, and examine and record changes over a two-week period of time on a worksheet.
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How Do We Use Scientific Inquiry To Solve the World's Problems?
Ninth graders examine how a scientific investigation is performed. They read and discuss examples of various scientific experiments, design an experiment involving fast growing plants, and create graphs and charts to present their...
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Recyclers to the Rescue
Fifth graders examine the concept of the food chain and define producer, consumer, herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore. They draw a food chain for a mouse and discuss the different organisms involved in the chain, and conduct an...
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Should Populations in an Ecosystem be Restricted?
Fourth graders experiment to determine how overpopulation effects ecosystems specifically plants. For this ecosystem lesson, 4th graders conduct an ecosystems experiment after listening to Claire Daniel's, Ecosystems. They watch a video,...