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Lesson Plan
Carnegie Mellon University

How Power Plants Work 2

For Teachers 7th - 12th
In this second of three lessons on power plants, future engineers find out how we generate electricity and how coal-powered plants operate. They work in small groups to make electromagnet generators to light LED bulbs. A set of...
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Lesson Plan
McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center

Global Warming in a Jar

For Teachers 4th - 8th
This well-organized lab activity introduces earth science pupils to the greenhouse effect. They will set up two experiments to monitor temperatures in an open jar, a closed jar, and a closed jar containing water. Ideally, you would have...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Protists - The Protozoans

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Five pages provide thorough coverage of three protozoans: euglena, amoebae, and paramecia. For each, junior biologists read factual text, label the organism, and write answers to several questions. This neatly organized assignment is...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water, Water Everywhere!

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Learners brainstorm on ways they use water, and where water comes from. They view video, Down the Drain, to gain specific facts about water use, properties of water, problems of water and the water cycle. They perform a lab activity...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Threatened, Endangered & Extinct Lesson Plan

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Learners examine the basic needs of living organisms. In this science lesson, students study ecosystems and discover that organisms have basic needs that must be met.
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PPT
Curated OER

Photosynthesis: Life from Light and Air

For Teachers 9th
All aspects of the photosynthesis process, and the way that plants have adapted with specializations are detailed here.  The diagrams and info-graphics will be useful to your AP biology class. It could also be used as a review covering...
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Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Can Photosynthesis Occur at Saturn?

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
In the 19th activity of 22, learners determine if distance from a light source affects photosynthesis. Participants capture oxygen in straws and find that the amount of water the gas displaces is proportional to the rate of photosynthesis.
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Lesson Plan
Messenger Education

Dangers of Radiation Exposure

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Gamma radiation, which is harmful, is useful in treating cancers. In the second lesson plan in a series of four, young scientists take surveys and calculate their yearly exposure to ionizing radiation. Then they read about how harmful...
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Lesson Plan
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network

Can We Absorb Nanoparticle Pollutants?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Just because we can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there! A growing concern for environmental scientists is toxic nanoparticles in our air and water. Young scholars conduct an experiment to demonstrate how these particles can cross our...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Light Stick Chemistry

For Teachers 5th - 8th
In groups of three with the lights off and the shades drawn, investigators place inactivated light sticks, in three beakers: one filled with ice water, another with lukewarm water, and the other with room temperature water. They wait...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ecosystems-The Essential Connection

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students develop their abilities to solve problems both in school and in a variety of situations similar to that they have encountered in life. They define the term ecosystem in nature by comparing them to familiar organizational...
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PPT
Curated OER

Weather and Climate

For Teachers 6th - 10th Standards
It's hot today, but is that the weather or the climate? This colorful presentation isolates both concepts to allow for better understanding by covering the positioning of the planet, making comparisons of land versus water, and looking...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Light and Starch Production in Photosynthesis

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students are given the unique opportunity to see the contrast between parts of a leaf that have photosynthesized and parts of the leaf that have not. This visual image helps students see the results of this biological process. At the...
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Worksheet
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K12 Reader

Ecosystems

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
Examine how living and non-living things work together in a reading passage about ecosystems. Class members read the text and then respond to five response questions that relate specifically to the content of the passage.
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Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Are Global CO2 Levels Changing?

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
According to the Mauna Loa observatory, carbon dioxide levels increased by 3 ppm in our atmosphere between 2015–2016. Individuals analyze carbon dioxide data from around the world and then share this with a home group in instructional...
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Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Food for Thought: Climate Change and Trophic Cascades

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Learners examines the arctic food web with a short video about polar bears and an article about bears and warming temperatures. They design an arctic food web and discuss the trophic cascade that could come from climate change. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

My Angle on Cooling

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore how the angle and distance of an object can change it's temperature. After reviewing how the position of the Earth affects the temperature of the planet, student groups design and perform an experiment to test how...
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Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Carbon Cycle Role Play

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Anytime you make concepts clear with role playing or hands-on experience, it's a win for the whole class. Ping-Pong balls are used to represent carbon in a carbon cycle role-play activity. In small groups, children first discuss what...
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Lesson Plan
University of Connecticut

Building Your Own Biosphere

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
On September 26, 1991, four women and four men entered the scientific experiment, Biosphere 2; the doors were sealed for two years in order to study the interactions of a biosphere. In the activity, scholars explore biospheres by...
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Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Make a Terrarium

For Students 6th - 12th
Scholars read a brief overview of what a terrarium is and how it creates the greenhouse effect, then click on a link to discover the materials and 10 steps they need to build their own.
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Lesson Plan
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Hand Washing Experiment

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
An engaging experiment allows scholars to understand why the recommendation is to wash for 20 seconds with soap and water — while making them aware of their own habits! 
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Classification of Organisms

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Searching for the perfect indoor/outdoor activity that allows class members the opportunity to learn about organism classification? Here, pupils research organisms and categorize them according to domain and kingdom over the course of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Photosynethsis....How do we know it's really happening? - Biology Teaching Thesis

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students think of one way to detect photosynthesis in plants besides those ways shown in class. They identify the reaction that occurs during photosynthesis. Students define the difference between an acid and a base. They identify acidic...
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PPT
Curated OER

Glacier Bay - The Kelp Forest

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Few people get to visit Alaska's Glacier Bay, and fewer yet go underwater to explore its kelp forest. Through this presentation, viewers get to do just that! In the process, they learn about the simple structure of kelp and the diverse...