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Are You Sure it is not the Distance?
Students examine how the changing distance between the Earth and the sun causes the seasons. They watch a Science Court video, and answer discussion questions using Science Court Seasons software.
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Exploring the Sun's Role in Living Systems
Learners create graphic organizer webs that illustrate their thinking about seasonal physical and biological changes caused by changes in sunlight. They identify the central role of sunlight in living systems.
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Autumn Learning Fun
Students discuss autumn. In this language arts lesson, students discuss words that are associated with the season of autumn. Students read books about autumn.
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Hickory Dickory Dock: The Biological Clock
Students investigate the effect of day length on animal migrations. They view a Powerpoint presentation, identify their own personal migrations and cues, answer discussion questions, and test a hypothesis about seasons.
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The Weather
Students, by incorporating art and science, make the connection between weather and how it affects our everyday lives.
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Hurricanes
Students listen to a transcript of an interview about an upswing in hurricanes with Stanley Goldenberg, a researcher with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. students participate in a series of discussion questions.
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Weather
Learners collect daily weather types throughout the school year using a spreadsheet program and Meteorologist freeware in order to predict weather changes and compare seasons. An Appleworks worksheet is included.
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Survivor
Seventh graders investigate changes in the ecosystem within the school year. They see that ecosystems, communities, populations, and organisms are dynamic and change over time. They, in groups, collect data in quadrants in the fall,...
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Spring Awakenings
Young scholars observe changes in a selected tree bud/leaf during spring. They record changes in the bud/leaf using words, pictures and numbers. They understand that trees adapt to changes in temperature, light, and moisture by sprouting...
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Wet Weather, Wet Climate
Students discover the differences between weather and climate in this long-term lesson introduction. They create rain gauges and practice reading rainfall measurements, view a website showing the cloud cover in their location and draw...
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Roaming Biomes
Students use the Internet to research the capabilities of earth-observation satellites. Using the information, they write a report on how remote-sensing technology is used to measure the impact of climate change. They identify the...
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Tracking Sunrise and Sunset
Young scholars collect, record, and graph the sunrise and sunset times. They explain how the relationship between the tilt of Earth's axis and its yearly orbit around the sun produces the seasons.
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The Woods and Pond
Young scholars explore nature in a living, experiencing way. In this woods and ponds lesson plan, students recognize that ponds/woods environments are ecosystems, identify three of the trees in the area by their leaves and bark...
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Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Third graders discuss the weather and how it changes during the different seasons. They listen to a read aloud of Judy Barrett's, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. They write and illustrate a news article about the weather that is found...
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Natural Selection Simulation
Students simulate the changes in a natural population of birds or other species. They establish baseline data of population fluctuation for a closed population with a stable food supply. They graph the data to complete their mutations.
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Stream Gages and GIS
students interpret recent regional-scale climate events based on current stream flow, monitor changes in time, and to consider additional interpretations that could be derived if other data were in map form.
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PLANTS LOVE AIR
Young scholars identify that plants cannot develop adequately without air and predict what happens to the leaf of a geranium brought to class. They draw a picture of what they think the leaf will look like after a week of being covered....
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Planting Seeds Around the World
First graders discuss the book The Lorax and research what living things need. In this environmental instructional activity, 1st graders investigate how humans affect the growth of plants. Students conduct an experiment with sunflowers.
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Global Greenup
Students utilize satellite images to track the life cycle of vegetational growth over a large area. Animal migratory patterns are compared to this cycle.
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You do! We do! We all Scream for Haiku!
Haikus offer a way to explore new ideas for teaching poetry, science, and math.
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The Presidential Nominating System
Students examine the process by which candidates for U.S. president are nominated by the Democratic and Republican parties. They identify the differences between primaries and caucuses and key terms and issues related to the primary...
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Fall Lesson Plans
Fall lesson plans can combine science, history, and writing into an enticing combination.
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Graphing the Weather
Fourth graders predict the weather for their area using simple weather instruments. They take readings for a month during a season and graph their results. Students describe weather patterns based on their data and predict future weather...
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Building a Butterfly Garden
Students examine the habitat and life cycle of a butterfly. In this early childhood lesson plan, students identify the parts of a butterfly, as well as the stages of the butterfly life cycle. Students also plant a garden in which they...