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Minimize the Effects of Fire
Students explore environmental safety by reading assigned text in class. In this fires activity, students discuss the benefits and negative aspects of lighting a fire near a campground. Students list other ways to avoid leaving an impact...
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The Improvement of the Electric Light Bulb
Students study how the first electric light was made and the history behind it. In this electricity lesson students create their own light bulb.
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Aerospace Engineering
Students explore oil field applications of Shape Memory Alloys. In this engineering lesson students divide into groups and research mini research applications then complete a project.
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Water Lesson Plan
Students discuss the importance of water in our daily lives. In this physics lesson, students calculate the pressure of water tower systems. They investigate the effect of certain variables using a computer simulation.
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Ancient Sun Models of the World
Middle schoolers explain that many different cultures across the world developed their own reasoning for the weather around them. They explore the different cultural beliefs of the sun's cycle and to create their own story of the sun's...
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Dinosaur Eggs
Students hunt for dinosaur eggs that the teacher has made and hidden on the playground. students open the eggs to find the dinosaur inside and experience archeology first hand.
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Animals: Gila Monsters
Students research sites about Gila monsters. They explore the physical characteristics and defense mechanisms that help Gila monsters survive in the desert. Includes photographs and a diagram.
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Invertebrate Research Project
Students keep a scientific research notebook on an invertebrate detailing its behavior and responses.
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The Last Great Canal
Students read about a cholera outbreak in the 1840's. They read maps, predict how cholera moved throughout the country and participate in a lab activity that demonstrates how disease is spread. They compare cholera through time.
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Teaching About the Properties of Water
Students use video, Internet research, graphs and tables, worksheets and hands-on experiments to investigate the properties of water in a lake environment. They work under direction or through an inquiry process.
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Magnificent Metamorphosis
Students discover stages in metamorphosis through up close and real encounters with video, hands-on investigative and interactive activities using mealworms.
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Dinosaur Prints
Learners examine dinosaur footprints and compare them to the shape of elephant footprints and to the size of their own footprints.
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Monitoring Aquatic Ecosystems Lesson Plan
Students perform an experiment to test the quality of the water in a marsh.
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Heat and Color
Sixth graders conduct a simple experiment to explore the ways that color can affect heat transfer. They review the three ways that heat can transfer: conduction, convection and radiation.
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A Whale Of A Study
Students get some training as a whale biologist, and study about the kinds of things these researchers do and see over the next four months in their study of humpback whales. Some excellent websites are imbedded in this plan.
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Five Senses and Four Seasons Quilt
Students explore the four seasons and the ways that their five senses give them information about each of the seasons. They work in groups to create a class quilt with one block for each season. Each block should include sensory details...
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Identifying Seasonal Animal Behaviors
Students discuss seasonal behavior of different animals. They participate in group activities and identify animals. They also examine the changes in seasons and how animals act differently in different seasons.
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Desert Tortoise Tale
Students listen to a reading of the "Desert Tortoise Tale" and complete a maze that highlights the different threats the baby tortoise faces along the way. They discuss the reasons the Desert Tortoise is becoming endangered.
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How Old Is This Tree?
Students work in pairs to determine the age of a tree using two different methods in this experiment. They collect data about how trees change over time.
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THE TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT
Students participate in an exercise which demonstrates how sediments are deposited.
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The Chemistry of Ice Cream
Learners investigate the effects of temperature change on phase changes. They explore the effects of changes in freezing point and incorporate the law of conservation of energy. They utilize these concepts to make ice cream.
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How Can we Measure the Rate of a Chemical Reaction?
Students examine different types of chemical reactions. They explore how alcohol molecules affect the reaction rates. They answer discussion questions to end the instructional activity.
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Corrosion/Plating/Electrolysis
Students familiarize themselves with half cell reactions, potential circuits, etc. They participate in a lab that includes a worksheet that guides them through an inquiry pertaining to the content. They complete a series of questions...
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A Tree Is More than a Street Name
Eighth graders discuss the role of trees as one of the most important natural resources. In groups, they examine how the forests nearby helped to shape their urban city. Using the internet, they research the use of the forest in early...