Curated OER
Rikki-Tikki Research
Fourth graders perform a search on mongooses on Internet Explorer and answer research questions.
Curated OER
Ecozones Project
Students examine, detail and produce a display about a particular ecozone in Canada. They produce a detailed wall map, written report and a summary sheet.
Curated OER
Indoor Environment: A Magazine Publication Project
Students demonstrate knowledge of Indoor Air Quality by creating a class magazine. A link to order a free Action Kit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is provided so teachers can build background knowledge. Performance...
Curated OER
Science: Motion Commotion
Students examine Newton's three laws of motion to discover what causes it and how it changes. They conduct motion experiments by building catapults and constructing balloon rockets. Finally, they conduct peer studies correlating...
Curated OER
Creek Detectives WISE On-line Research Community
Students investigate ways people cause harm to the environment. In this environmental lesson plan, students explore a case study on the Internet. Students explore all of the online activities and collect data for a presentation.
Curated OER
Science: Invent a Gadget
Third graders invent gadgets using simple machine principles. Once they have assembled graphic organizers containing information about their invention, they draw diagrams and explain how their gadget works. Lastly, 3rd graders write...
Curated OER
Biology Project: Gone Fishing
Students write a scientific article using data and prediction skills. In this scientific writing lesson, students access data about fishing off the coast of New Jersey. They look at satellite data, fluorometry and CTD data over a 3 -4...
Curated OER
Water: Water Use Picture Project
Learners document how water is used in their local communities and explore how those uses impact the local environment. They utilize digital photography to document water use.
Curated OER
Earth: Land Use Picture Project
Learners explore how changes in human land use are impacting local environments. They also explore some of the social impacts of various land uses in their area. They identify and discuss some social impacts of the different land uses.
Curated OER
"The Soil Around Us" Project
Students look at Web sites containing information about soil and related subjects such as earthworms. They use Web site review sheets to focus their review of the content on the sites and to introduce evaluation concepts for the design...
Teach Engineering
Working Together to Live Together
Whose home is it anyway? Design teams plan a housing development in which they must also protect a native species. The teams consist of a project manager, civil engineer, environmental engineer, and graphic designer. Teams present their...
Teach Engineering
The Cloning of Cells
Did you know that there are over 200 different types of cells in the human body? One type, the stem cell, is the focus of the fifth of six installments in the Cells unit. The lesson plan asks the class to discuss stem cells and their...
Population Connection
The Human-Made Landscape
Agriculture, deforestation, and urbanization. How have human's changed the planet and how might we mitigate the effects of human activity on the planet? To answer these questions class members research the changes in human land use from...
Teach Engineering
Copycat Engineers
It's often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Young engineers learn about biomimicry, which uses nature to generate engineering ideas, in the fifth lesson of nine in a Life Science unit. Working in groups, they select...
Curated OER
Inventions Over Time
Explore the inventions of the past with a project on ancient tools. After reading an article about hunting during the Archaic period, the Late Prehistoric period, and the Historic period, kids fill in a cause-and-effect chart about the...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Peas in a Pod: Genetics
Can peas have grandparents? Learn about inherited traits and heredity with a set of activities focused on Mendelian genetics. As your class learns about the process of passing traits along in Punnett squares, they take on the role of...
Teach Engineering
The Challenge Question
A research position becomes a modeling job. The introductory lesson in a series of nine presents the challenge of analyzing a set of bivariate data. The class brainstorms what the data may represent. Pupils must decide what is needed to...
Smithsonian Institution
Dia de los Muertos: Honoring our Ancestors Through Community Celebration
Oral storytelling has been an important part of every culture. The time-honored practice uses stories as a conduit for a culture's values and customs from one generation to the next. Keep the tradition going with a family interview...
PBS
Gratitude and the Environment
A class discussion begins a two-part instructional activity about gratitude and the environment. In part one, learners watch a video then share their feelings about its most memorable moment. Delving deep into the meaning of gratitude,...
Curated OER
Science Unit Lesson Five
Sixth graders review how and which plants operate in terrariums. In groups, they follow instructions to make their own terrarium and place different types of plants in it. To end the activity, they review the steps in the water cycle and...
Curated OER
Marvelous World Of Magnets
Learners research the concept of magnetism in order to increase understanding of the subject. By accessing information they could explain the concept with a written report used as an end product for assessment.
Curated OER
My Favorite Animal
Students research an animal of choice and create a project. In this animal science lesson, students choose an animal living in the International Peace Park to research. Students write a paper and create a project to present to the class.
Curated OER
Genetically Modified Foods in Perspective
Students research the concept of genetically modified foods. The purpose of the research is to increase science content knowledge and comprehension of the controversy surrounding the subject.
Curated OER
Animal Legends
Seventh graders review the concept of a legend. Using the internet, they research animals found in Illinois. They write their own legends based on the animal they researched. They share their story and show pictures of the animals to the...