Curated OER
Animals: Mice
Students use the Internet to examine the different species of mice, their habitat, and their physcial characteristics.
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Environment
Students examine the energy saving benefits of trees. They identify ways in which trees reduce air pollution. They also work together to solve problems related to pollution.
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Making a Food Web and Learning About Ecosystems
Third graders examine the difference between a food web and food chain. They also examine the importance of the sun in a food web and food chain. Students understand what happens when you remove parts of the chain.
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Construct with Solids
Students discover which properties of solids lend themselves to building a tower through hands on trial and error and observation of others as they are building. They write down the steps it took them to build the tower and label an...
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Solids in Bottles
Learners use funnels to put the five solid materials into clear bottles with caps. They observe how the particulate materials look, sound, and move when they shake and roll the bottle. Finally, students write "sound and touch" poetry.
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Traveling Sound
Learners explore how sound waves move through liquids, solids and gases in a series of simple sound energy experiments. They describe how sound needs molecules to move and that changing the medium that it travels through changes the...
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Iron For Breakfast
Third graders are challenged to use scientific thinking, they experiment and observe which objects are attracted to a magnet. Pupils use the evidence to construct an explanation as to what common property the objects attracted to a...
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Rubber Band Banza
Third graders review ideas about sound and vibration to make their own stringed instrument. They review what a pictograph and bar graph are. Pupils conduct a survey within the classroom to choose the four favorite string instruments and...
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Reflection of Light
Students experiment with reflections of two plane mirrors placed at a 90 degree angle to see what will be reflected.
NASA
Launch Altitude Tracker
Using PVC pipe and aquarium tubing, build an altitude tracker. Pupils then use the altitude tracker, along with a tangent table, to calculate the altitude of a launched rocket using the included data collection sheet.
NASA
Rocket Wind Tunnel
Using a teacher-built wind tunnel constructed from a paper concrete tube form, a fan, and a balance, individuals determine the amount of drag their rocket design will experience in flight. Pupils make modifications to increase the...
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Parachute Drop
Learners will have fun creating a parachute to collect data with. They will construct the parachute in small groups, measure the materials, and create an observation sheet. Then they drop the parachute and make predictions about how long...
NASA
Pop! Rockets
Off they go — launching rockets is fun. The lesson plan contains templates to build paper rockets that can be launched from a PVC pipe launcher. Individuals or groups build the rockets and determine the shapes for their fins. Included...
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Watch It Slide!
Students work together to examine inclined planes. They create a plan to raise rocks to build pyramids. They discover the changes that occur when the angle is increased or decreased.
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Paper Dart Airplane
Students create a paper dart airplane and measure its flight pattern. In this flight lesson, students follow the included directions to build their own paper airplane. The students change the aileron configurations to see how it affects...
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Tracking Fall's Falling Temperatures
Young meteorologists track weather from day to day and record results on graphs, maps, or other places. They see firsthand how weather temperatures trend cooler as fall progresses and practice grade-appropriate skills in geography (map...
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Sled Kite
Students make and fly a sled kite out of plastic garbage bags, dowel rods, and more. In this kite lesson plan, students plan the kite to have symmetry and make adjustments as they test it.
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Air and Water Pressure
Students examine buoyancy and fluid pressure. They conduct a series of fun experiments to discover the effects of pressure and explore how pressure differences can be used to float, lift, transport, or hold a material in place.
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My Favorite Animal and Me
Students research their favorite animal. They create their own fact book to share about their animal and their habitat.
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Leaping Lemurs! How far can you jump?
Learners watch a segment of the PBS video which show the lemurs' ability to jump. In pairs, students collect measurement data involving each other's length of a standard step, a standing broad jump, and a long jump. They record their...
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Walk a Mile in Albatross Shoes
Students recognize the correlation between the trash they dispose of around their school and the environmental hazards that face wildlife, specifically the Laysan albatross. They determine three ways that they can help the albatross chicks.
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Here Comes the Sun
Third graders watch a video on the solar system and examine the role of the sun. As a class, they complete a KWL chart and make different color temperature pockets to use during their experiment. In groups, they make predictions about...
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Addendum to the Written Curriculum: Measuring Solids
Students use standard rulers to measure the length of common classroom items - such as pencils, books, desk tops - in inches and centimeters, and measure weight in pounds. They also answer math questions, such as "How long is the front...