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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Engaging Young Scientists with Inquiry: Part One

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Building inquiry into your science lessons will make science concepts more concrete for your class.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Designing Experiments - Overview

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the concepts that enable them to design and conduct sound scientific experiments. They critique a faulty experiment and become familiar with some of the criteria of a good experiment. They conduct their own experiment.
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PPT
Curated OER

Planning a Scientific Investigation

For Teachers 1st - 6th
This slide show provides an opportunity of you and your class to plan your own scientific investigation. Each slide contains one part of the scientific hypothesis-building process and a space to type in what the class chooses to focus...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dental Chemistry Analogy

For Teachers 9th - 12th
After taking in background information on teeth, marble, eggshell, and fluoride, chemistry aces design an experiment. Their goal is to demonstrate whether or not fluoride has a similar effect on marble or eggshell as it does on tooth...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Riding on a Pendulum

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
A comprehensive resource gets fourth grade physical scientists making observations about the period of a pendulum and then applying knowledge to a playground swing. Through seven different stations, they will record observations and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pond Ecology

For Teachers 4th - 6th
A lab activity is a great way to incite thoughtful questioning and scientific processes. Pupils will collect organisms with a Petri dish, make observations, sketch the organism, ask questions, then attempt to identify the specimen...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Insect Investigation

For Teachers 1st
Investigation is a brilliant way to spark scientific inquiry. First graders will identify, research, and report what they have learned about a mysterious bug found on the playground. They will use multimedia resources for research and...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Scientific Inquiry: Measurement/Data

For Teachers 9th - 12th
While pupils design their own lab experiments, they will not form a new species. Scholars take their materials and design an experiment regarding reaction rates. 
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Lesson Plan
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Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary

Ingenious: Franklin Assembles a Scientific Community

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Few Americans have heard of the burgeoning scientific community known as the America Philosophical society, started by none other than Benjamin Franklin. With inquiry, research, and discussion, high schoolers come to understand their...
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Lesson Plan
University of Minnesota

Inquiry Cubes

For Teachers 5th - 12th
How do you teach kids to "science" effectively? Inquiry cubes are a "sort of" puzzle with no answer—promoting even more questions! Group members work together to use the evidence on the visible sides of each cube to infer what lies on...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Paper Airplanes and Scientific Methods

For Students 7th - 9th
In this scientific method and paper airplanes worksheet, students go through the steps of the scientific method to determine which paper airplane design is best. They complete 8 steps of the scientific method including stating the...
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Interactive
Scholastic

Study Jams! Investigations to Collect Data

For Students 5th - 9th Standards
Print out the lyrics or show the karaoke video to get your scientists singing about the scientific process! Participants will warble about observations and measurements, data and physical properties. Consider sharing this resource after...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bird Ecology Unit

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Birds, plants, and vegetation, is there anything more lovely? There is! Engage your class in the scientific process, data collection, and data analysis. They stroll their campus observing and identifying various birds and plants,...
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Unit Plan
Intel

Forensics: Get a Clue

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Although the methods are all scientific, forensic science was started by police officers rather than scientists, who relied on observation and common sense. Young detectives use many tools to solve crimes around the school in a...
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Lesson Plan
1
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Baylor College

Heart Rate and Exercise

For Teachers 3rd - 10th Standards
What is the relationship among the heart, circulation, and exercise? Your class members will explore first-hand how different physical exercises affect an individual's heart rate. They will begin by learning how to measure their own...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

How hard is it?

For Students 2nd - 4th
Inquiry is probably one of the most fun ways kids learn. They will test the hardness of 10 different minerals in order to classify them. They rate each of the minerals from most to least hard. Note: Having real minerals for this...
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Printables
The Science Spot

Independent Investigation Guidelines

For Teachers 4th - 8th
A neatly formatted outline of the steps of the scientific method can be used as a reference sheet for your future science fair participants. For each step, you will find a few guiding questions or points to remember when working on them. 
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Generating Hypotheses & Experimental Design 2

For Students 7th - 12th
An outline walks your scientists through the steps of the scientific process. It begins by taking a general idea and developing a hypothesis based on related factors. Each investigator then plans a method for testing the hypothesis,...
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Unit Plan
ReadWriteThink

Let It Grow: An Inquiry-Based Organic Gardening Research Project

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
How does your garden grow? An inquiry-based, organic gardening unit asks young scientists to research a vegetable or flower, create an environment for it, and then plant and tend to the seedling. Gardeners develop their own research...
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PPT
Curated OER

Absorbancy: What does it mean?

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Define the scientific concept of absorbency as it relates to the properties of matter, then conduct an investigation. Learners answer several questions, then investigate the absorbency of several different types of towels. Tip: This...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Does Soap Float?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students form hypotheses and carry out an investigation in order to answer a central question: Does soap float? The focus of this lesson is on scientific inquiry, but it incorporates scientific topics such as sinking and floating.
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Engaging Young Scientists with Inquiry: Part Two

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Evaluating data and learning to communicate the results is a big piece of the inquiry puzzle.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Staying Grounded with Gravity: A Science Exploration Trail

For Students 5th - 6th
What a great idea for scientific inquiry. This lab was intended for use as children explored a college campus, but it could be used anywhere. They go to three different places on campus and conduct a simple experiment that shows an...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Life Cycle of the Mealworm

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders provide a habitat for live mealworms and observe their life cycle. In this animal life cycle and scientific inquiry lesson plan, 4th graders create a habitat for a live mealworm and observe and record related data as it...

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