Curated OER
Work and Power: Waterwheel
Students investigate a waterwheel and the physical properties of energy. For this waterwheel lesson students create a model waterwheel and calculate the amount of power produced.
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Engineering Bones
Students identify the features of a prosthetic limb and explain how engineers are involved in the prosthetic design. In this bone engineering lesson students describe the design criteria that goes into choosing the materials that go...
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Fantastic Fossils
Students learn about the kinds of fossils and what scientists can learn from them. In this earth science lesson, students are told how engineers and paleontologists work together. Then students create a "fossil fondue" and write a...
Teach Engineering
How a Hybrid Works
Work with your class to connect series and parallel circuits to hybrid cars. The lesson introduces basic circuit diagrams before having scholars apply the understanding of the difference between parallel and series circuits to hybrid cars.
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Dragonfly Sculptures
Art projects are great when they apply to other subjects. First study insects, their parts, and their habitats. Then have little ones create a dragonfly. They use clothes pins, raffia, pipe-cleaners, and paint to construct their...
Curated OER
Flower Painting/Printmaking
Using old or donated flowers, little learners create flower prints. They discuss the colors found in nature, paint a background, and then create flowers for their pictures by dipping and pressing real flowers onto their paper.
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Prairie Find Outdoors
Young scholars take a field trip to a local prairie. Using identification books, they identify various forbs and grasses in the prairie. As a class, they discuss the importance of forbs and grasses to the ecosystem and review the various...
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Everyone has a Culture-Everyone is Different
Students explore cultural features. In this multicultural acceptance activity, students define and discuss "culture," and distinguish the difference between individual characteristics and cultural characteristics. Students complete a...
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Tree of Life
Students study genetics and evolution. They evaluate a group of organisms and estimate their genetic relatedness. Then they use an online program to check the accuracy of their estimations and make a branching phylogenetic tree which...
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Evolutionary Relationships Based Upon Comparative Genetics
High schoolers investigate the protein cytochrome c in an attempt to use its genetic chemistry to study possible evolutionary relationships between organisms. The lesson integrates technology with the use computers to perform DNA analysis.
Curated OER
Catalase: A Bioinformatics Case Study
Students investigate the physical structure of a protein by using a computer simulation tool. They record its primary amino acid structure while viewing it in three dimensions for a better visual recognition. There is also a comparison...
Curated OER
Who is the Sea Otter Related to?
Students examine the genetic relationships of different organisms. In groups, they discover the importance of genes and how different amino acids show various evolutionary relationships. They use an online database to continue their...
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Digestion Simulation
Middle schoolers study the human digestion system and the functions of the stomach and small intestines. For this digestion lesson students view a demonstration on the process.
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Schoolyard Bird Project
Young scholars observe and count bird sightings around their schoolyard throughout the school year.
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Paper Plate Sunflowers
A great way to recall the parts of a flower is to make one. Little learners create sunflowers out of paint and paper plates. They also discuss and label the various parts of their flowers.
Curated OER
Problem Solving in Genetic Disorders
A class of older and academically mature students are divided into pairs, usually one male and one female and are told that they are expecting a child. Unfortunately, their child may or may not have inherited some form of genetic...
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Detecting Breast Cancer
Students develop a painless means for identifying cancerous tumors. In this imaging lesson students list the information that may be needed to answer the problem.
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Transpiration
Learners explain the function of the hydrologic cycle and demonstrate how transpiration rates can be experimentally changed.
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Oceans in Motion
This simple activity introduces children to basic marine life as well as to show them the necessity of protecting aquatic environments. Some famous marine life animals are introduced via vocabulary words, then children cut out pictures...
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Celebration of Trees
Second graders listen to various, grade appropriate stories about trees. They create their own construction paper trees and discuss the importance of trees to the ecosystem and the importance of taking care of them. Finally, 2nd graders...
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Toothpick Sculpture
You'll be surprized at how much engineering, design, and creativity can go into a toothpick and a marshmallow. Learners make toothpick sculptures where they construct three-dimentional models by sticking marshmallows and toothpicks...
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Fun with Math using Magnetic Force
Sixth graders explore and discuss the effectiveness of magnets in different situations. In this math lesson, 6th graders discuss rate and graphs after exploring with magnets using different restrictions on the magnets. They analyze their...
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Biodiversity in Sixth Grade
Sixth graders explore the nature of habitats on an ABC hike. In groups, they collect items that make up habitats including plants, feathers, and leaves among other materials. Students then classify and organize the collected materials...
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Soil Nutrients - Phosphorus Lab Lesson Plan
Young scholars list sources of phosphorus in soil. They explain how phosphorus is removed from the soil and used by plants. Students list the symptoms of insufficient or excess phosphorus. Young scholars perform experiments to examine...