Smithsonian Institution
Watching Crystals Grow
Amazing science can sometimes happen right before your eyes! The class gets cozy as they watch crystals grow. They use Epsom salts, rocks, and food coloring to create crystals. They'll observe the entire process, documenting every step...
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Lewis and Clark: The Language of Discovery
Young scholars replicate some of the trailblazing methods of Lewis and Clark on a fifteen-minute "writing journey" through the school or neighborhood.
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Animaters and Lego Mania!
Learners use various technology elements to storyboard and create an animal animation story based on a nonfiction story they've read. In this animation story lesson, students work in groups and read nonfiction animal stories. Learners...
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Musical Plates
Sixth graders engage in a study of the plates and how they are part of the formation of the ever changing landscape of planet earth. They access web sites that have applications for observation and conducting different activities. The...
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Playing Historical Detective: Great Grandmother's Dress and Other Clues to the Life and Times of Annie Steel
Students draw conclusions about an mystery person based on documents and artifacts provided. In this drawing conclusions instructional activity, students become detectives by reading and analyzing evidence provided. This instructional...
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Under the Spell of Spiders
Students examine spiders. In these spider lessons, students will view spider images and live spiders to determine physical characteristics, habits, and habitats. Students will examine fantasy and folklore about spiders to create and...
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The Westward Movement
Students study the westward movement through examining stamps. In this westward movement lesson plan, students draw conclusions, determine cause and effect relationships and examine the westward movement of the United States by...
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Going...going...gone? Tropical Rainforests-How They Work, What They Do for Us, What's Being Done to Them...
Sixth graders explore the Tropical Rainforest and come to understand what it is and how it affects the ecosystem. In this rainforests lesson, 6th graders write about the Tropical Rainforest, imagine they are in the Tropical Rainforest,...
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Facts, Feats and Folklore: Spiders
Students review and discuss a variety of sayings, folklore and superstitions about spiders. They discuss this information and choose either an interesting fact or appealing foklore tradition to illustrate.
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Day and Night
Students discuss why day and night occur after visualizing a teacher-led demonstration.
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Extraterrestrials
Students discuss the possibility of intelligent life in space. In this space science lesson, students decipher a radio message electronically transmitted in space. They create their own extraterrestrial welcome greeting.
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NOT WASTING
Students brainstorm and analyze creative ways to not waste materials and recycle more as an individual. The theory and importance of conservation is also stressed within this lesson plan. In addition, silent sitting is exercised, story...
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Dinosaurs Here Yesterday Gone Today
Students take a pre-test to show their prior knowledge of dinosaurs. Using the internet, they reasearch the time period in which they roamed the Earth. Focusing on the area of Connecticut, they compare and contrast the large and small...
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Life In Space
Students figure out how to design their own space station. They take a tour on the International Space Station to see what living there is really like, and how lessons learned on the ISS help pave the way for future space tourists.
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Look for Patterns
In this earthquakes worksheet, students look at maps of earthquake patterns and answer short answer questions. Students answer 12 questions.
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Solar System
Students create and present PowerPoint presentations on certain aspects of our Solar System. The Nettrekker search engine is used for researching the information. Students can then add music and graphics to enhance their presentations.
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Mobile Phones
Investigate how mobile phones impact their lives through this technology lesson that has students discuss the history of the cell phone and research how cell phones are being used in third world countries. Students create a blog for new...
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My Place In Space
The purpose of this unit is for students to make the rich set of connections between astronomy and the rest of science and technology, language arts, cultural studies (social studies), math, art, and music.
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Green House Effect
Students read about the green house effect and how our environment is deteriorating and what we can do to help it. In this green house effect lesson plan, students conduct a home and school energy audit, and create a rap.
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Nature's Magic Elixir
Students do research to discover the importance of water in the world and its effect upon our daily lives. They will also appreciate the beauty of water and how it is so adaptable within nature.
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Reading + Keyboarding= Success
Students practice their keyboarding skills. In this typing instructional activity, students use interesting stories to practice their skills. They practice throughout the semester and then monitor their improvement.
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Ocean Careers Investigation
Young scholars gather information about different careers of the Ocean Adventures expedition team. In this career studies lesson students work in groups, read an interview with an Ocean Adventurer, and see the importance of working...
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Pictures from Hubble Space Telescope
Pupils observe pictures taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. From a given website, students observe images of the Einstein Cross, Black Eye Galaxy, Hoag's Object, merging and interacting galaxies and more. This lesson plan gives a...
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Revolutionary Money
Examine paper money from the American revolution! Historians study the paper bills and discuss the history of money. How has money changed over the times? Activities are included.