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Brine Shrimp Life Cycle
Third graders examine brine shrimp through "A Sea Monkey's Life" story. They study the living environments and life cycle of brine shrimp. They look at brine shrimp and cysts through a microscope, identifying new vocabulary that was...
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The Circle of Life: Food Chain
Students develop a flow chart using computer software to show a food chain combination. For this food chain lesson, students are first read The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry, then they create a story map of the story. Next, students...
Science Matters
Mighty Microorganisms
How can you tell if a microorganism is helpful or detrimental to an ecosystem? Learners inspect slides or pictures of microorganisms and record their observations to identify those that are beneficial or harmful. They then pretend to...
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Ocean Pollution & its Effect on Aquatic Animals
Students consider the concept of ocean pollution. In this ocean lesson, students participate in a hands-on demonstration in order to replicate an oil spill and its effects on marine life.
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Plant Systems
Students examine plant systems. In this life science lesson, students explore leaf and root systems on paper in a terrarium that they design and construct.
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The Journey of the Pacific Salmon
Students examine the journey of the Pacific salmon. In this salmon species lesson, students review the stages of the salmon life cycle and conduct an experiment to determine how the water and habitat changes during each stage.
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Eureka! I’ve Got an Idea!
Students explore many inventions and inventors. In this science lesson, students collaborate as they research inventors and their times in order to compile information to build an informative Web site.
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A Day in the life of...
Learners read about and study insects--their distinguishing characteristics, habitats, camouflage methods, defense mechanisms, etc. They draw pictures and write a story from the viewpoint of an insect and share their pictures and stories...
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Butterfly Round-Up
Learners classify the characteristics of butterflies and moths moths. In this life cycle instructional activity, students identify butterflies and moths common in the state of Iowa as well as their characteristics. Learners then learn...
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Forest Life- Wood Bug Study
Examine wood bugs and their habitat. Learners gather wood bugs and examine their bodies. Then discuss their body parts and how they help them survive. They also predict where they think wood bugs live to then graph the class results.
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Levers and Wedges in the Human Body
Students identify the various parts of the body that serve as wedges and levers, identifying the fulcrum for each body lever. They bite into carrots and apples to analyze how their jaws and teeth work, then complete three worksheets that...
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Images of Science
Students understand the diversity of science, both in terms of the work and the people engaged in the work. They learn that some scientists and engineers use huge instruments (e.g., particle accelerators or telescopes), and others use...
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The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
With The Great Kapok Tree, by Lynne Cherry as the hook learners discuss the rainforest, the animals that live there, and conservation efforts. Then, students write a letter to the man in the story asking him not to cut down the Kapok...
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Pocket Full of Posies: Ceramics
After studying the plant or flower life cycle, have the class create a basket of flowers out of clay. They hone their ceramics skills while they push, pull, then paint clay to look like flowers they've seen in nature. There are several...
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Water Pressure Blaster
Third graders complete an experiment to introduce them to the concept of water pressure. In this water pressure lesson plan, 3rd graders create pressure in a water bottle and observe the force of water that is created.
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Bursting Blooms- Create an Early Spring
Young scholars prune a tree. In this gardening instructional activity, students select a shrub or tree that has a lot of flower buds and use sharp pruners to cut sections of branches. Young scholars place the cuttings into cool water...
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Hatching Chickens
Young scholars observe chickens hatching in a classroom incubation environment In this egg-hatching lesson plan, students make observations of the hatching process and later care for the hatched chickens.
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Watershed Protection
Learners explore environmental care by participating in an Earth science activity. In this clean water lesson, students discuss what a watershed is, how they become polluted, and how it affects the overall quality of drinking water....
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Tree Cookies
Students identify heartwood, sapwood, and a tree's annual rings, infer from a tree's rings what damage or stress might have occurred in its life, and make a time-line of human history that coincides with a tree's rings.
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Volcanoes-Viscosity Demonstration
Students engage in a activity which demonstrates that volcanism is the process whereby materials formed inside the Earth come out onto the surface. They participate in a simple, yet effective, activity which demonstrates how volcanoes...
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Photosynthesis
Students are introduced to the process of photosynthesis. In groups, they test the effects of the lack of sunlight on plant leaves and compare the results with their hypothesis. They note the characteristics that plants and animals share...
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Which Way is Up? The Tree of Life in Africa
Students read a book titled This is the Tree about a baobab tree and draw a picture and label the tree. In this tree lesson plan, students also write a paragraph explaining why they drew that tree.
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The Energy of Life in Zebrafish
Pupils study the stages of development of an unknown organism. In this zebrafish lesson plan, students examine and collect data as they use microscopes to view a zebrafish embryo.
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The Human Body Lesson
Students identify features of the human body, explore needs of the human body by explaining the importance of good health in relationship to the body, and study functions and care of the human body and its organs.