Virginia Department of Education
Measuring Mania
Conversion immersion — it's measuring mania! A set of four activities teaches scholars to convert between customary and metric units. Resource covers unit conversions in length, temperature, weight/mass, and volume.
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DNA Fingerprinting
Students discuss methods used by forensic scientists and the basics of DNA and how it can be used to identify an individual after reading an article from The New York Times.
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Cellular Models
Each student construct a model of a cell on a large cookie, including the parts which were discussed during lecture.? Half of the class will be instructed to make plant cell models and the other half will be in charge of animal cell...
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Seeing is Believing .... Or Is It?
Students look critically at digital photographs, line drawings, and cartoon images in order to comprehend the differences between exact and exaggerated representation. They create their own drawings and cartoons based on their...
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Intelligent Design
students research the "intelligent design" decision the Ohio State Board of Education reached in October 2002, following a lengthy debate. After analyzing what each side proposed, part of the class is assigned the roles of members of the...
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Paper Plate Sunflowers
A great way to recall the parts of a flower is to make one. Little learners create sunflowers out of paint and paper plates. They also discuss and label the various parts of their flowers.
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DNA Diagnosis
Students describe the fundamentals of DNA such as structure and replication. Given a picture of a gel, they circle the band that represents the smallest DNA, the largest DNA, and show which DNA sources are the same.
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The Big Circle
Students explore geography by participating in a mapping activity. In this concentric ring lesson, students utilize a poster board, string and markers to identify their current location within the entire world. Students write about their...
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Creature Creation
Second graders listen to a read aloud of a fictional story about a frog. They compare the characteristics of the main character with a real frog. They work with two partners to create a creature; one student draw the head, one the body,...
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The Man Who Saw the Future: Arthur C. Clarke
Students are introduced to science fiction as an adjunct to learning about science. They tape into their creativity by combining science with aspects of the arts. They research real time data available on the Web about space, and Mars in...
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Current Events and Fish
Fifth graders examine current events impacting aquatic life in their communities. They search for newspaper, magazine and television reports for information about aquatic life in local bodies of water. Students can write letters to...
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Earth
First graders define what a planet is and study the planet earth. They examine the effects of the sun on the earth and make a model.
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Bird Stories: Fact or Fiction
Students evaluate/distinguish scientific fact from fiction. They discuss similarities and differences in the life cycles of various birds. Student use the Internet as a research tool.
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Oceanography
Fifth graders study the topography of the ocean floor. They determine its ever changing nature as they examine currents and trade winds. They write paragraph describing how the winds might affect land formations after the discussion of...
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On the Surface of Things
Pupils create a Claris slide shows from pictures they have taken of items close-up in nature after studying the works of M.C. Escher and Georgia O'Keefe. Slide shows includes captions for clues to the identity of their nature picture.
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Adventuring in the Archipelago
Students study Charles Darwin's voyage on the HMS Beagle and his visit to the Gal??pagos Islands. They click through an interactive map of the Gal??pagos Islands to read actual and fictional journal entries from a fellow eco-tourist.
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Education of the Heart
Sixth graders compare and discuss a given set of quotes by Pericles and Cesar Chavez and how they relate to a peaceful society. They respond to a variety of quotes and discuss the animal issue of animal tested cosmetics then discuss...
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What's in a Tree?
Students discuss the types of items they might find in a tree, such as birds, fruit, or seeds. They draw trees on poster boards and then add details by cutting them out and gluing them to their trees.
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Investigation 1 - Identify & Compare Fossils
Fourth graders examine different items to see if they can recognize fossils. This be an introduction to the different fossils they be studying later and help them make inferences about past environments of Utah.
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Agriculture In Literature And Today
Pupils investigate the history of agriculture as found in the state of Alaska. The teacher shares a book with the students to increase knowledge of history and reading comprehension skills. They determine if the life in the story follows...
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Simple Machines - Fruit Wedge
Fourth graders examine the principles and uses of inclined planes, screws, and wedges while they determine examples of simple machines that are use in everyday life. They separate different kinds of fruit into pieces to determine the...
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An Interview with Mr. Sol
Students explore the sun, the galaxy, and planets. As an introduction to a class discussion of the sun, students perform a skit. They discuss the elements that make up the sun, stars and planets.
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Prairie Field Trip
Students study prairie conservation and the plant and animal life within. In this prairie life lesson students divide into groups and complete a lab activity.
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Fluid Thinking About Liquids and Solids
Second graders examine the physical characteristics of the different states of matter. For this chemistry lesson, 2nd graders observe how matter changes from one phase to another. They classify substances according to its type of matter.