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Celebrate Endangered Species Day at Your School
Learn how your school can join numerous conservation organizations in celebrating Endangered Species Day on May 17th.
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Real Ice Ages Longer Than Movie Ice Ages
If your class's knowledge of the Ice Age is limited to animated movies, use this lesson plan to strengthen their knowledge. After sharing what they know about the Ice Age, young readers explore a news article seeking to dispel...
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Exploring How Rocks Are Formed
These lessons produced by the Illinois State Museum are quite good. In this one, third and fourth graders are introduced to the three basic types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. They perform activities which help them...
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Build an Indoor Compost Bin
Students write an essay to describe the contents of a compost bin. In this composting lesson, students create a compost bin. Students examine soil for its contents and explains in an essay the impact of the soil on the environment.
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Adapting the Game Concentration
I love classroom games, and this plan deftly describes how you can use the game Concentration across the curriculum to reinforce skills. I wish I would have thought of this when I was teaching this age level. These kinds of games are...
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Weathering Rocks
Here is a geology lesson that is sure to get your charges excited. It's all about the process of weathering of rocks. Learners study natural events that can cause rocks to break apart. Some of these events are: ice wedging, plant...
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Observing the Changes: The Warming of the North
After reviewing the causes and effects of climate change, students become observers for "Plant Watch," a program to monitor the effects of climate change on plants. Students record blooming and leafing dates for selected local species...
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Water - Our Future
How is it that water that falls as rain ends up coming out of the tap on our sinks? Learners trace water's journey and examine how along the way pollutants make their way into the water supply. They conduct experiments, use the Internet...
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Sampling the Ocean Floor
Students sample goodies from an unseen ocean floor and try to accurately describe their composition. This simulation helps students explain the limitations of sampling and the problem of obtaining representative samples of sea floor...
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Pesticide Watch Card
Young scholars examine human health by identifying dangerous pesticides. In this agriculture lesson, students research the food production system in the United States and discuss dangers such as pesticides, chemicals and insecticides...
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Green Classroom Audit
Students audit their classroom for environmentally friendly practices. In this "green" lesson, students take an inventory of the classroom and identify ways to improve practices. Students complete a worksheet, brainstorm new ideas for...
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You Ain't Nothin' But a Rock Hound
Here is an excellent activity on rocks! In it, learners explore the world of rocks through the use of video, hands-on activities, and cooperative projects. This outstanding plan is chock full of terrific activities, websites, streamed...
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Dig This: A Relief Sculpture of Dinosaur Bones
This is a truly amazing project. Perfect to use during your next dinosaur unit. Second and fifth graders work together to draw and make a relief sculpture of a nine foot-long stegosaurus. They discuss what paleontologists do and then...
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Plant Part Exploration: Stems
Explore water transport in plant stems using this fun experiment! Your scientists will start by reading Stems by Vijaya Bodach. Then, activate prior knowledge about plant stem functions and water transportation. Demonstrate this concept...
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The Sun, Moon, and Our Solar System: Teacher/Student Notes
Introduce basic Earth and space science to your budding astronauts. This handout works in two ways, the first part provides information about the sun, moon, eclipses, and Earth to be read to or by the class. The second part is composed...
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Splish! Splash! From the Bath to my Glass
An excellent lesson on the water cycle! In it, learners should gain a general understanding of the water cycle, along with how water first falls as precipitation, then ends up coming out of our faucets. This lesson nicely integrates...
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The Movement of Water
Here is an excellent lesson plan on the water cycle and the states in which water exists. Learners identify the features of the water cycle, describe how water changes form, and look at ways that people affect the natural movement of...
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Seein' Double, Seein' Double
By using the Internet, hands-on activities, video, and cooperative learning, pupils look into the conditions in which light casts shadows on objects. The instructional activity includes fabulous hands-on activities, art projects,...
NOAA
Turning the Tide on Trash: A Learning Guide on Marine Debris
The lessons in this learning guide are designed to increase youngsters' awareness of the impacts of marine debris and to teach them about pollution prevention techniques. This fabulous, 30-page packet is chock full of important...
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Deep Subjects - Wells and Ground Water
Here is a phenomenal lesson plan on ground water, wells, and aquifers. Young geologists study how water exists underground, how water moves through the soil, and how water is extracted to be used as drinking water. Some excellent...
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Mountains
An informative and well-designed presentation on mountains awaits your geographers. Excellent photographs from mountain ranges around the world are includedin this terrific PowerPoint. The last slide effectively sums up what pupils have...
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Weather or Not!
Young pupils will be sure to love this series of four lessons which deal with the winter season. These cross-curricular lessons cover visual art, science, math, writing, literature, and movement. Absolutely fantastic! The images of...
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Games on Echolocation
Get a little batty with life science! This fun simulation game replicates how bats use echolocation to hunt moths in their native Hawaiian habitat. After creating blind folds and discussing some basic principles of echolocation, students...
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Earth Rocks!
Students study the basic elements of the Earth's crust: rocks, soils and minerals. They categorize rocks, soils and minerals and how they are literally the foundation for our civilization. They also explore how engineers use rock soils...