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Eye Spy
Fourth graders examine how the human eye receives and transmits light from the environment. Through an activity, the students will discuss the importance of sight in our everyday lives.
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Cicada Invasion
Students consider how some animals, periodical cicadas, survive well in a particular environment due to the species' life cycle.
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Make an Edible Coral Reef
Young scholars create an edible coral reef out of food and candy. In this Science lesson, students explore what a coral reef is and the coral reef's importance to the ecosystem. Additionally, young scholars discover the different...
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Insect Unit
Fourth graders study the lives, and features of insects in the series of lessons that make up this unit.
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All Caught Up!
Students discover the difficulty involved in trying to isolate a target species by fisherman. They discuss this issue and its problems as a class. They examine how bycatching affects their lives.
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Investigating Soil
Fourth graders swap local soil samples with another school and examine the differences. They research soil properties, identify organisms that live in soil, create and maintain a biome of soil decomposition and design a poster to present...
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Penguin Parents are Cool
Fourth graders explore the lives of penguins and the relationship between them and their parents. They compare and contrast penguin populations in various areas of the world as well as their nesting sites. After constructing a penguin...
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Adaptation Scavenger Hunt
Fourth graders recognize the specific adaptations of living things and relate them to survival within the animals environment. They study common plants and animals found in Utah environments and how they have adapted to the environment...
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Tree Cookie Combat
Fourth graders discover what trees need to live and grow in the environment. They realize that trees sometimes interact or compete with other organisms as well as each other. They identify the physical characteristics of Utah's...
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Rainforest Deforestation and the Water Cycle
Students create terrariums (mini rainforests). They observe and discuss the life processes that occur in their terrariums and how changes in these processes affect the plants and organisms inside. They collect and graph data and present...
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Egg Carton Coral
Students use egg cartons to construct models of coral colonies showing
many aspects of the coral's natural history - including the structure of
coral polyps and the coral colony's colonial life style.
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Lights Out!
Students examine static and current electricity, and discuss what their lives would be like without electricity. They listen to a teacher-led lecture about electrons and atoms, and explore static electricity using a comb or a balloon...
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Forests
Fourth graders examine the impact forests have on our lives. They listen to the book "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein, and brainstorm about how forests are important to us. In small groups they create a poster illustrating how the...
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Ladybugs
Students listen to the book, The Grouchy Ladybug, and discuss what they know about ladybugs. They observe live ladybugs, write down what they see, and write a short story about ladybugs.
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Bats Migrate South
Students examine the life of bats in Illinois. Using the internet, they research the history of the bat in Illinois and describe the way they find prey by using echolocation. They report their findings to the class and answer any...
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Planet X
Students select a wide variety of presentation methods to compare Planet X and Earth. Students share these with their classmates. Students select other methods to present their ideas about a livable planet for human life forms. ...
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Hunt for Habitats
Students review components of a habitat and go on a hike around a pond and woods exploring different habitats and the plants and animals that use them. They examine mammal pelts and discuss the life histories, adaptations, and positions...
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The City From the Ooze
Students investigate the life in the mud found around ponds. They create Ooze City using pond mud. Students investigate the various layers that form and what type of organisms are in the mud.
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From Caterpiller to Butterfly: Cycles, Circles, and Patterns
Students examine art of butterflies and discuss what they know about the insect. They create their own butterfly puppets and write a story to represent its life cycle.
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Outdoor Explorations: Mystery Plot Vacant Lot
Students utilize observations skills as they work together in groups to solve a mystery. They discuss and perform strategies to solve mysteries that occurred on a vacant lot. Students use a field guide to identify plants and animals...
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What If the Reef Dies?
Learners complete four activities to investigate how reef ecology can change. They perform experiments to show how sewage discharge can affect a marine ecosystem, look at substances that don't dissolve in water, examine wave action...
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Relating Number of Insect Species to Water Quality
Students are asked to respond to questions such as:" Have there been surveys of the area to inventory the species?" (For example, for a wetland area, do they know what amphibians live there and how abundant they are?) Are there any...
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Amazon Alphabet
Students create an alphabetic Amazon animal mural, illustrating the diversity of life in the tropical rain forest of the Amazon Basin.
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Can You Hear It?
Students work together to discover the concept of echolocation. They examine dolphins and their behaviors. They discuss how humans could use this information to help them in their everyday lives as well.