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Air Is All Around Us!
Students design an instrument to show that air is all around. In this air lesson plan, students research, construct, and present a design that proves that air is all around, even though they can't see it or touch it. A teacher and self...
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Elements for Disaster Reporting
Students identify the elements of natural disasters and gain an understanding on how the media influences people's responses to disasters. In this natural disaster lesson plan, students study the impact of natural disasters, and the...
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Biology: Plants - The Fiber of Life
Learners, in groups, examine and list the varieties of plants and how they relate to man and the environment. They create plant books complete with leaf samples with sketches and information, grow beans in plastic baggies, and role-play...
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Marshland Ecosystems
Students identify animals in ecosystem depicted on 16th Century ceramic basin and classify them as herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores based on physical characteristics and prior knowledge, determine which life forms in ecosystem are...
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Identifying Fossils
Students create model fossils. In this fossils instructional activity, students view pictures of fossils and compare and contrast these fossils. Students read about fossils and create a database chart with the facts they learn. ...
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Tools to Live By
Third graders compare life in the early 1900's with the life today. In this technology lesson, 3rd graders research about the development of a certain technological tool. They collect data and report findings in class.
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Hunting Invertebrate Fossils in the Classroom
Students acquire a general knowledge of fossils and paleontology, the study of evidence of life in the past and identify the major invertebrate groups (phyla) commonly found in the fossil record.
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Digging into the Past
Students discover how fossils are found and how they help scientists reconstruct the past. They examine how they shed light on what kinds of animals and plants lived over the years, when they lived, and under what environmental conditions.
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Disappearing Sand
Students discover what sand looks like, how sand dunes form and what minerals can be found in sand. They also examine how beach erosion occurs. They explore how to stay safe at the beach.
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Giants of the Animal Kingdom
Fourth graders examine the megafauna found in Australia. They create a food web using cut-outs and develop a timeline to show changes in the fauna over time. They draw their own megafauna scene for their classroom.
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How Things Fly
Students will examine the physics of flight through using experimental inquiry. In this lesson, you'll introduce your students to the four forces of flight--drag, lift, thrust, and weight--through a variety of fun-filled flight...
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Water, Weather, and the World
Students in a special education classroom examine the role of weather and water in their lives. Each day, they add a symbol for the weather outside and identify the proper activities for the weather on that day. In groups, they...
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Building a Water Clock
Students research water clocks online, investigate how water clocks work, and construct water clock that will keep time accurately for at least two hours without human intervention.
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City Animals
Young scholars identify some of the most important native and introduced species of animals in the United States. They describe how animals populations of cities have changed over time, outline the benefits and problems associated with...
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What's In A Name?
Students explore the concept of the binomial system of nomenclature for classifying organisms. Students travel on a field trip to observe organisms displayed and their common names. Students complete several classroom activities and...
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The Forgotten Cities
Students recognize and identify gaps in historical and archaeological evidence and how that evidence is interpreted. They explore the history of the Indus cities and identify what was left behind that survived for archaeologists to find...
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Fossil Inferences
Fourth graders use their knowledge about fossils to arrange fossil pictures in sequence from oldest to youngest. They explain how fossils can be used to make inferences about past life, climate, geology, and environments and discover...
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Finding Balance
Young scholars examine the relationships between force, mass and balance through the lens of clay sculpture. They discuss the definitions and concepts behind Newton's Third Law of motion then individually apply these principles to the...
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Combating Corrosion
Students perform an experiment to show the chemical reactions that occur when metal corrodes. They apply the results of the experiment to the conservation efforts of art curators trying to restore an ancient Greek bronze. This lesson...
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Clearly Classified
Young scholars review the classification system for living organisms and apply it the classification of insects and flowers in the still life by Ambrosius Bosschaert. They create a chart classifying the animals and plants in the painting...
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How Big is a Gene?
Learners model the size and structure of a bacterial chromosome. In this genetics lesson, students attempt to fit strands of thread into a gelatin capsule. They relate the activity to the coiling of DNA into chromosomes in a bacterium.
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Land Use and Lawmaking in California
Students investigate the laws of using land. In this California Government lesson, students examine the many uses of land in California and find an environmental issue they care about. Students write a letter to a politician based on...
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Discovering Dinosaurs
Students discuss theories about dinosaurs. In this dinosaurs and fossils lesson, students explore different scientific theories regarding dinosaurs and fossils. Students then come up with their own theories about why dinosaurs went...
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Dry-Land Kalo-Growing New Plants from Stems
Students explore Hawaiian plants. In this Hawaii culture and botany instructional activity, students plant the haha(stem) of a taro plant. Students listen to Hawaiian myths about the taro plant and chorally speak a Hawaiian chant of...