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Sunshine and Shadows
Students measure their shadows early in the morning, record direction of shadow, make marks in ground with chalk or tape, measure with ruler, and record results. Students repeat process at noon, and then later in afternoon. Students...
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Wow, Saturn Is Much Bigger Than Earth!
Students compare and contrast the sizes of Earth and Saturn. They create scale illustrations of each planet and label them. They share their models with the class.
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Persistence Forecasting
Students study weather forecasting. In this weather instructional activity, students explore forecasting weather methods and do a forecast. Students study weather reports and discuss the elements of a forecast. Students study the method...
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Cosmic Collisions and Risk Assessment
In groups, middle schoolers create their own scientific impact experiments using ordinary materials, and observe and measure results with a variety of impacting bodies and velocities.
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Gaia: The Wisdom of the Earth
Learners are introduced to Gaia theory of natural homeostasis. They graph Earth's temperatures over time, construct terrariums or monitor the outdoor environment. Related videos titles are suggested, but may be outdated. The objectives...
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Cloud Forecast
Students record weather observations and research online weather data. In this weather observations instructional activity, students study the cloud cover for several days and record their observations in a chart. Students identify the...
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Ocean Color
Students examine NASA's SeaWiFS Project Web site to explore how the SeaWiFS Project monitors environmental and climatic changes in the oceans and atmosphere. They answer questions and write a summary in support of continued funding for...
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A DISAPPEARING ACT Astronomy: Do Stars Always Shine?
Students observe why stars are not visible during the day with a classroom demonstration using an index card punched with holes.
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Mission Planning: Earth/Mars Comparisons
Students compare and contrast conditions on Mars to those on our own planet, specifically, their local or regional environments. The physical characteristics, the atmosphere, and other astronomical data is considered.
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Time-Lapsed Observations
Students explore timed observations for science investigations. They record ideas on a chart related to a classroom closed terrarium. They repeat their observations for several days and time observations for changing shadows during the...
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Make a Comet Model and Eat It!
Students create models of comets. They develop a comet model in a team and exchange samples with other teams. They use their senses to demonstrate the filters on a spectrometer and record their data. They discuss the contents of their...
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Natural Hazards
Students evaluate the hazards of naturally occurring events. After watching a video concerning safety hazards, students work in groups to discuss the safety issues involved in taking a trip to a mountainous region. Recommendations are...
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Soaring Through Space With a Kid Pix Slide Show
First graders create a slide show on Kid Pix about space. For this space lesson plan, 1st graders will explore the earth, sun, moon, and planets. After exploring their motions and locations around the sun, they create a 4 page slide show...
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Planetary Tourism
Students pretend they are the first student to be allowed in space. They examine all nine planets on their journey. They complete a KWL chart and worksheets before they do their research. They create an itinerary of their tour and...
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Last Year on Pluto
Students examine the astronomical concept of a year. They relate the passage of time on planets to historical events in the USA.
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Travelogue of a Planet
Learners randomly select a planet, including Earth. They research key features of the planet including mass, volume, density, gravity, temperature, weather, geology, atmosphere, surface features, location from sun, Earth and other...
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Feltboard Storytelling
Students read African folktales and retell the story using feltboard. In this folktale lesson, students read the story Why the Sky is Far Awayand use feltboard to retell the stories.
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Astronomical Scales
Students describe the different units of measurement. In this space science lesson, students calculate astronomical distances using a scale. They explain the significance of using scientific notation in expressing very small or very...
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Soil Comparison and Analysis
High schoolers perform tests on different soil samples. In this earth science lesson plan, students classify the soil into groups according to test results. They write a lab report following a certain criteria.
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Energy: The Big Picture
Students research about energy related topics. In this earth science lesson, students discuss ways to save energy. They create a presentation about their research and share it with the class.
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Bing! Bang! Boom!
Sixth graders investigate heat energy, conduction, convection, and radiation.
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Earth Science: The Sun-Earth Relationship
Learners examine the sun's impact on the Earth. They read online articles, explore various websites, and answer questions using information found on the Internet.
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Tree Friends
Young scholars are introduced to tree structure and use. They identify their special tree using all senses except sight. Students identify six different internal parts within a cross section of tree trunk (bark, phloem, xylem, cambium,...
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What Makes you Hot?
Students manipulate different variables in a model and make inferences about the temperature on Earth. In this heat lesson students calculate the blackbody radiation of an object at a certain temperature.