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Perspectives on Animals
Engage your class in a discussion about humane treatment of animals by recognizing the basic rights of all races, religions, classes, etc. Have volunteers stand on a milk crate without shoes until they become uncomfortable as an example...
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Cicada Invasion
Young scholars consider how some animals, periodical cicadas, survive well in a particular environment due to the species' life cycle. They have a discussion about life cycles and how a particular species' life cycle helps it to survive....
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Where Are the Dinosaurs?
Students explore the concept of extinction by studying dinosaurs. In this extinction lesson, students watch dinosaur video clips or complete a puppet finger play about dinosaurs. Students may then complete a dinosaur diorama or a...
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Viruses/Infectious Diseases: What's Really Bugging You?
Middle school life science or health classes listen to an audio, visit websites, read different articles, and participate in a class-wide simulation about the spread of viruses. The lesson doesn't get into the mechanics of how viruses...
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Nervous System
Get to know the body's central nervous system through an engaging game of nervous system telephone. But this isn't your average game of telephone. Here, pupils must find a way to communicate a message to the brain without speaking....
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Walking Magic
Students conduct experiment with water striders by placing the insect in two different solutions and discuss their observations. They discover that weight and surface area are important factors in their experiment.
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It's Going to Blow Up!
Get your ocean explorers online, reading articles about submarine volcanoes. They answer a series of questions and take a geometery challenge in which they calculate how much of a volcano has been blown away. Make sure to explore several...
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HIV Prevention
Seventh graders engage in critical thinking skills about personal health and safety to prevent the acquiring of the HIV disease. The project is an extension of this thinking designed for students to think about all the different ways...
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Invertebrate Phyla
Students explore the invertebrate phyla. They discuss the characteristics of the invertebrate Phyla in the Kingdom Animal. Students classify organisms into Phyla based on their characteristics. They distinguish radial symmetry, bilateral...
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Gallery Walk Questions on Rivers
A Gallery Walk is a technique that allows small groups to visit different stations, where they examine and discuss materials about an overarching topic. Questions about rivers and fluvial processes are available in this resource;...
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Gallery Walk Questions on Earth's Radiation Balance
Questions that can be used in a instructional activity on Earth's radiation balance are suggested in this resource. It is not a lesson plan, per se, but it is a list of questions for stations within a "Gallery Walk" instructional...
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How Diverse is That?
After reviewing biodiversity, learners work in small groups to analyze actual species distribution data. They learn to calculate the Shannon-Weaver diversity index for different communities. Though not particularly engaging, the content...
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Antibiotic Resistance
Students using the scientific method, study bacteria as a covering surface of the earth in many forms. They discover that not all bacteria is bad and introduce the topic of antibiotic resistance. Science Fair expectations are addressed.
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What Makes Airplanes Fly?
Students examine force and conduct activities that model parachutes and helicopters. In this airplanes instructional activity students identify the forces that make airplanes fly higher and land.
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Build an Oxygen Plant
Students create models of an oxygen-delivery system and relate it to the function of the human circulatory system.
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Creating Impact Craters
Sixth graders simulate the creation of impact craters on Mars.Through the creation of model surfaces, the effects of an impacting object's mass, velocity and size are determined, and the features of the resulting crater are identified.
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Introduction to the Mole
Learners are introduced to the mole concept using a discovery-based method. Lesson includes activities with candy that allow students to discover the rules for mole-item, item-mole, mole-mass, and mass-mole conversions.
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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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Matter, Matter, Everywhere!
Eighth graders make inquiry about the existence of matter. A definition of the word is needed before students can engage in various activities. The application of knowing about matter is done in the working of experiments.
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Earthquakes and Seismic Waves
Learners explore earthquakes and seismic waves. They investigate how energy is released in the subsurface to create seismic waves. Students explore the inner workings of a seismograph and how they are used to determine the location of an...
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Processing Satellite Images
Learners comprehend the meaning of "pixel." They recognize patterns using pixels. Students observe how land use can be determined from a pixel. They measure off a 30 x 30-meter area to show the size of the surface area of one pixel....
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Environmental Changes from Space
Students discuss Landsat Satellites and the use of the images they provide as well as the purpose of keeping records of the information from the satellites. The class works in groups to complete a worksheet on short term and long term...
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All Ears for Adaptation
Young scholars discuss different characteristics that enable animals to adapt to their environments. They work in pairs with one partner standing about one foot behind the other partner and cup their hands around their ears with palms...
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Dissolved Oxygen and Photosynthesis: 1
Students are taught that plants produce oxygen underwater, and they design an experiment that test this question. They discuss whether plants give off oxygen, and how to measure this. Students measure the increase in dissolved oxygen...