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Lesson Plan
Mascil Project

Parachute Food Drop

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Drop a perfect project into your lesson plans. Groups use different building materials to create models of parachutes for food drops. After testing out their prototypes, they make improvements to their designs.
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Activity
Teach Engineering

Engineers Love Pizza, Too!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Help overcome challenges in eating pizza. Scholars work in groups to design a device that assists a physically handicapped person eat pizza. They build a prototype of such a device to test their designs before building. To finish, groups...
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Lesson Plan
Mascil Project

Packaging

For Teachers 6th - 9th Standards
Wrap up an engineering lesson with a worthwhile project. An engineering design task challenges groups to develop a package for a pharmaceutical company given constraints on the volume. Learners then create a presentation to highlight...
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Lesson Plan
Mascil Project

Closed Greenhouses

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Controlling the efficiency of a greenhouse is a mathematical task. A collaborative project challenges learners to create an efficiency plan for a closed greenhouse. Using algebraic equations, they consider a set of constraints, design...
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Handout
National Institute of Open Schooling

Environmental Concerns

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Every year, more than 14 billion pounds of garbage is dumped into the oceans of the world, most of which is plastic and toxic to ocean life. Lesson 32 in the series of 36 focuses on environmental concerns, specifically pollution. Under...
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Interactive
Magic of Physics

Loads Lab

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Take a load off! Introduce junior engineers to the effects of load on structural design with an easy-to-use interactive. Individuals apply one of many load options, examine its effects, then learn about the safeguards employed during...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

For Your Eyes Only

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students complete several activities in a unit related to the eye. In this eye lesson, students work in groups to research information about the human eye and create a multimedia presentation. They research anatomy of the eye, how the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Windmill of Your Mind - Distributed Energy Goes to School

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students research the possibility and feasibility of installing a wind-turbine distributed energy system for their school. They conduct research, watch an online video, analyze the cost of the project and examine the benefits, and write...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biology Biographies

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Learners create a project about a famous Biologist in order to appreciate the humanity of the people involved in doing science. They create scientist biography "cards" roughly modeled after baseball cards or create a scrapbook of a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Virtual Geologic Field Trip to Griffith Park

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the geological processes and research methodology involved in the evolution and development of Griffith Park. They justify the selection of a geologic hypothesis based on observations.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Get into the Flow with an Interactive Volcano

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Young scholars research the structural elements of a volcano. They make a PowerPoint slide that contains five facts which will be added to a whole class slideshow. They add an interactive table of contents using action buttons.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sense of Place: No River Too Wide-Bridges

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders discover the history of their hometown Des Moines River.  In this U.S. Geography lesson students speak with Iowans that tell stories of the settlers and early villages near the Des Moines River.  Students document their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Honing in on Hummingbirds

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Young scholars explore ruby-throated hummingbirds.  In this cross-curricular hummingbirds lesson, students listen to the book The Mystery of the Missing Hummingbirds and choose related topics to research with a partner. Young scholars...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sound Waves

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore sound. In this "sound" science lesson, students define sound and explain how sound travels. Students experiment with paper cups and string to conclude how sound travels. Students research a chosen aspect of sound with a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Day in the Life

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students research questions related to sports medicine. They write an essay from the questions and create professional email accounts to email a professional in their field of interest. In addition, they interview their professional and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gorillas In The Midst

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider the idea of the eco-tour, and examine different aspects of the Mountain Gorilla Project eco-tour in Rwanda. They synthesize their understanding by acting as expert panelists on a morning news show that focuses on the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Insect Monitoring

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students practice the scientific method in the classroom, either in preparation or as a substitution for real-world field experience. They examine a simulated biodiversity research situation, using a "mini-plot" or sampling square...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Save the Animals!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners research an endangered animal and share what they learned through the use of technology. In this interdisciplinary lesson plan on animals, students conduct research on an endangered animal. Then, learners create a PowerPoint...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Middle Ages Timeline

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students research a historical figure from the Middle Ages.  In this Middle Ages lesson, students present important events of their characters life and of the time.  Students write a time card for each significant event.  Students must...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Too Hot? Gotta Vent!

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students study deep sea exploration and underwater geology, specifically hydrothermal sea vents. They create digital video projects of their own to demonstrate their knowledge, illustrating the discoveries of the explorers of the ocean's...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Heat Is On- Spread the Word

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students research global warming. In this environmental lesson, students research global warming on the Internet and create a project to share their knowledge with others. Students present their projects to their peers.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Properties of Minerals

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students research properties of minerals. In this science lesson, students search the web, create a folder, and store information on properties of minerals. There are many excellent worksheets and study guides embedded in this lesson,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Go Fly a ( Tetrehedral) Kite!

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students research the tetrahedral kites invented by Alexander Graham Bell. In this components of flight lesson plan, students examine the kites made by Bell and his team. Students create their own kite and add them together as a class to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Climate Change

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders compare the Arctic and Antarctic.  In this climate lesson students work in groups, research and complete an oral report or a poster.