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Life Cycle of Trees
For this Life Cycle of Trees instructional activity, students read one page about the life cycle of a trees. Students define 12 terms from the reading.
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We are where and what we eat
Young scholars explore concepts of plants they eat, where and how they grow and are introduced to genetic diversity. They examine seed characteristics, look at their different sizes, shapes and germination time. They also set up seeds...
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Land Use Issues
Students discover seeds are a source of life. They also label the parts of a seed and examine the conditions which are needed for the seed to start growing. They follow the life cycle of seeds.
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Natural Selection
Young scholars observe, measure and record variations that may be due to genetic inheritance. They look at the length of seeds for germinating pinto and lima beans and measure the distance between eyes in humans. They graph and discuss...
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Living Corn Necklace
Sixth graders complete an experiment to learn about hereditary traits. In this hereditary traits lesson, 6th graders discuss similarities and differences in corn and complete charts for their discussion. Students then use a dent corn and...
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How Does it Affect Plants?
Middle schoolers examine the effects of acid rain on plants. They observe the growth of seeds and the health of different plants for a month. They share their findings with the community.
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Cotton and Cabbage
Learners note how given traits could be achieved by selective breeding and by transgenesis. They identify different uses of GEO. Students recognize that the use of letters (Bt) before an organism's name means that the organism has had a...
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Creating the Water Cycle
Students create a terrarium to examine the stages of the water cycle. In small groups, they plant and water a seed in an enclosed plastic container. Each day they diagram and write observations of the terrarium using water cycle vocabulary.
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Let it Grow, Let it Grow, Let it Grow
Students investigate, through a hands-on activity, in which type of soil a bean seed grows best. They create a bar graph representing each plant's growth in different soils.
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Living Corn Necklace
Fifth graders explore heredity and observable traits through experimentation. They view several different types of corn and record their observation of physical traits on a class chart. They create a corn necklace by sprouting dried...
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Effect of Acid Rain on Plants
Learners observe the effects of acid rain on plants through experimentation and research. Students research types of crops in their area. Learners work in small groups to complete the experiments given, as well as write a report and...
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Life cycles
Students identify and explain the parts of a flower and their role in the life cycle of flowering plants, including pollination, seed dispersal, and germination. Students recap the following information: that plants need light, warmth,...
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Plant Diversity and Distribution
Students construct a defined plot on school grounds and observed patterns in plant life. They count trees, shrubs, cacti and record on a data sheet. They compare data and generate a plant diversity overlook for their school.
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Fertilizers, Pesticides and Human Health
Young scholars define several vocabulary terms related to chemicals and toxicology. Students calculate chemical concentrations in water and explain the toxicological principles that govern safety of substances. Young scholars conduct an...
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Forces in Action
Second graders experiment to understand how force is effected by friction. In this forces in action lesson, 2nd graders view a website to simulate what happens when the height of a ramp is changed. Students participate in an experiment...
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Plant Lifecycles
Students examine the life cycle of plants. In this plants lesson plan, students identify the various stages of plants and their parts. Students compare the life cycle of a plant with that of an animal. Activities suggested can be...
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The Copper Basin Problem
Students view a video about how human actions impact the environment. They design a set of experiments to address some of the problems and issues raised by the video.
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Name That Leaf
Take a walk through nature with a science experiment about leaves. Third graders use a branching diagram to group attributes of certain kinds of leaves, such as oak, pine, and chestnut. For extra practice, they can collect leaves and...
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Investigating the Effect of Minerals on Plant Growth
How do different minerals affect the growth of plants? Budding botanists find out in a multi-week experiment that has them using solutions with specific mineral deficiencies. While there is a lot of preparation for the investigation,...
Garden Earth Naturalist Club
Parts of a Flower! Flower Dissection
Sometimes the best way to learn about plants is to see the different parts of a plant yourself. Groups of learners dissect flowers to answer questions about what they observe and what they wonder about their flower.
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Know your roots!
Looking at an image of plant systems with their roots in the ground, learners determine which would be the most or least difficult to pull. They write short sentences describing which plant they chose and why. Intended for 3rd or 4th...
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Observing Root Response After Rotating Plant Ninety Degrees
Students conduct an experiment to observe the response of maize roots when rotated 90 degrees.
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Native Beauty
Students plant wild flowers and maintain their garden. In this wild flowers lesson plan, students pick and prepare a gardening site, plant wild flowers, and maintain it everyday.
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Do Plants Need Water?
First graders observe the effects of varying amounts of water, sun, and air on lima bean plants. They also predict and describe their outcomes in a written report.