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Esters: The Secret of Natural and Synthetic Fragrances
Middle schoolers investigate esters, make an ester and detect esters in natural foods and plants. In this esters lesson plan, students detect smells of hidden objects, produce an ester using peas, brown sugar and apple and demonstrate...
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Land Use Change Over Time
Learners use historical aerial photographs and current aerial photographs to compare the change over time to the land. For this land changing lesson plan, students analyze, compare, contrast, and list the land change in their own community.
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TE Activity: Hot Cans and Cold Cans
Students work on problems in which they investigate conduction, convection, and radiation. They attempt to maintain the warmth in one can of soda while cooling the other as much as possible in a thirty minute period. They examine how...
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Wood You Believe: Wood Products
For this wood products lesson, students walk to a forest near their school where they sit by themselves for a few minutes and quietly observe their surroundings. Students brainstorm wood or wood by products, discuss everything we get...
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Natural Disasters: An Adventure in Non-Fiction
Learners study different natural disasters. In this natural disaster lesson students read a nonfiction book followed by a discussion, an experiment, then collect illustrations from their experience.
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Medicine, Technology and Society
Students compare and contrast traditional Chinese and contemporary Western approaches to medicine. They bring a rational and scientific approach to the evaluation of alternative medicines. They study acupuncture from a Chinese and...
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Mind Games
Students design a prototype game as they simulate being game designers for a major corporation. They base the game on the major body systems.
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Paper Rockets
Students design, construct, and fly paper rockets that travel the greatest distance possible across a floor model of the solar system. They construct small flying rockets out of paper and propel them by blowing air through a straw.
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Bottle Rocket
Learners construct and launch a simple bottle rocket. Working in teams, they construct a simple bottle rocket from 2-liter soft drink bottles and other materials.
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Making Observations and Generating Hypotheses
Students practice how to approach a problem scientifically. They use their senses to make a detailed description of a natural object and to generate hypotheses about the identity and features of the object hidden within a box.
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Chemical Fun
Fifth graders observe and conduct a variety of experiments to differentiate between physical and chemical changes. They mix cabbage juice with different liquids and record their observations on a chart. Students write down their...
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Making Hail
Fourth graders investigate the different types of precipitation and conduct a hail experiment. They identify the types of precipitation during a slideshow, and define key vocabulary terms. Next, in small groups they follow the...
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Cleaning Water: How Filters Work
Students construct their own water filter to obtain clean water. In this filtration lesson, students produce tainted water in order to properly filter it with filtration devices made in class.
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Potato chip Classification
Students create a dichotomous key using potato chips. In this classification lesson, students sort potato chips into groups based on observable characteristics. They record their results to create a dichotomous key in preparation for...
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The Tree Detective - Basic Dendrology
Students identify tree species by their leaf characteristics. In this dendrology lesson plan, students learn leaf vocabulary and collect leaves. They identify the leaves using the leaf characteristics and the vocabulary that they learned.
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Water, Water Everywhere
Learners explore water. In this water absorbency instructional activity, students experiment with different items to see if they absorb water. Learners record their findings on a data sheet. Students then try making music with drinking...
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Graphing Your Motion with Vernier LabQuests
Seventh graders create motion graphs using a motion sensor. In this physics lesson, 7th graders match the graph shown by moving their body. They relate the slope to the way they moved.
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Does One Tree a Forest Make?
Students take a walk around the schoolyard looking at and identifying the trees. One leaf for each tree is collected. A chart is developed that represents the population of trees on the school ground. They keep journals and write an essay.
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Monumental Disappearance
Fourth graders compare the emissions listed on the EPA isopleths over the past five-year period for ten key states. They use this information to rank each region according to the degree of acid rain problem in those parts of the United...
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Metals or Nonmetals? The Families of Elements
Fourth graders, in groups, compile information on groups of elements. They study Alkali Metals, Alkaline Earth Metals, Halogens, and Noble Gases.
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A Classical & Relativistic Trip to a Black Hole
Students calculate distance, velocity, acceleration and time on their fantasy trip to the black hold. They apply Newton's Laws of Motion and calculate circular motion. They discuss any questions that may arise.
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Water Will, Water Way
Students complete a unit on biodiversity and their significance to pharmaceuticals. They
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Molecular Movement in Water Part 1- Diffusion
Young scholars obseve and compare molecular movement within water at various temperatures and of varying salinity. They discuss the movement of water on a larger scale which can affect the movement and concentrations of microbial...
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Control Mechanisms
High schoolers explain how a feedback control system works. They model a feedback control mechanism for controlling water level by observing the flow rate of water in a cylinder. In addition, they graph their data. Script for lesson...