Lesson Plan
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Let the North Star Tell You Where You Are

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students participate in activities in which they find the Big Dipper and locate the North Star in the night sky, examine the relationship between the angle to Polaris and latitude, and determine latitude by using an astrolabe.
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Linking Algebra to Temperature

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students convert between two units as they calculate the temperature. In this algebra lesson, students collect data on seasonal climate and create a graph. They make conjectures based on their data collection.
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Exploring the Night Sky: Fall/Winter

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explain how moon phases occur. They explain three ways that the night sky has been used through history. Students locate some of the constellations in the night sky. They discuss stories and myths surrounding stars.
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Three Clouds Activity

For Teachers K - 8th
Students explore how clouds are produced through three different age-appropriate hands-on experiments.
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For Your Eyes Only

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students identify two major types of visible pollutants, smog, and particulate matter, They explain that air pollutants are generated during incomplete combustion. They measure and rank collectors from the most pollutants to the least...
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It's Just a Phase

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students describe the phases of the moon and play a game with moon phase cards.
Lesson Plan
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Geology with Peanut Butter and Jelly

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students will enjoy smashing the two tectonic sandwich plates together in faulting and compression fashions! They may even desire to capture their instructional destruction in a slideshow.
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Moon Phases

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students engage in a study looking for the differences found during the cycle of one lunar month. They conduct research using a variety of resources. Then the information is used to construct a lunar calendar to observe daily changes and...
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Making Connections, Linking Population and the Environment

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students find out that all habitats have a carrying capacity. They explore how the world's human population has grown markedly in the 20th century, and that humans impact environmental health. Students investigate that people can and...
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The Desert Biome

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students create a visual presentation of the characteristics of a biome. Working in small groups, students use traditional and online resources to gather data concerning biomes. Students use their information to create a bulletin board...
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The Oceans Below

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students investigate the geological characteristics of the ocean environment and create a labeled drawing of the ocean floor's geography. Students view videos and conduct Internet research about the ocean's floor and then create their...
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Power of Germs

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students view the film, Guns, Germs, and Warfare. They create projects based on the impact of germs on the development of societies and countries.
Lesson Plan
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Going in Cycles: The Life of an Aluminum Can

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students investigate the manufacture of aluminum cans and consider the energy and resources saved when the cans are made from recycled material. They explore the concept of closed-loop recycling using charts, worksheets and discussion.
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Watershed Management

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers investigate the concept of a watershed. They conduct research into the concept using a variety of resources. Students take a field trip to a local watershed to make observations. The outcome is a report concerning the...
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Scavenger Hunt

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students study a research telescope to obtain quantitative information about these objects. They use the SkyServer Navigation Tool to identify objects and record celestial coordinates. In addition, they associate star brightness and...
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The Space Shuttle

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners share what they comprehend about the space shuttle program. They are given information about the first space shuttle mission. Students work in groups to investigate the different shuttle missions from April 1981 through January...
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Bats Migrate South

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Pupils 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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Do Human Practices Affect Water Quality?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students determine if human practices have any noticeable effects on the quality of stream life as measured by the presence of certain macroinvertebrates. They collect, preserve and identify macroinvertibrate samples and quantify the data.
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NOAA Research Project

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students research any topic relating to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research cruise that Mrs. Richards be participating in.
Lesson Planet Article
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Engaging Young Scientists with Inquiry: Part Two

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Evaluating data and learning to communicate the results is a big piece of the inquiry puzzle.
Lesson Planet Article
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What's in a Brain?

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Bring the brain to life for your students with thought-provoking activities
Lesson Plan
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Scientific Advances Could Bring Back the Dodo & Mammoth

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students reflect on the possibility of bringing extinct species back to life.  For this ESL lesson, students debate the pros and cons of extinction reversal then complete several activities centered around the topic.
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Solid Waste/Recycling

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students see that when we throw away garbage, it usually ends up in a landfill. Landfill space is getting increasingly scarce, and every time we throw something away we throw with it the energy, the money, and the raw materials it took...
Lesson Planet Article
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The Joy of Natural Disasters

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Simulate a natural disaster to inspire problem-solving, collaboration, creativity, and teamwork.