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Waste Audit

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students engage in a lesson that is concerned with the concept of mental math. They perform calculations as following: recognizing a half, three quarters, and tenths. Students are also challenged to extend skills to making calculation...
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POPCORN SCIENCE!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students work in groups to define what popcorn is, what kinds of popcorn they eat, and hypothesize what happens when popcorn pops. They also weigh, pop and weigh their popcorn again, measuring how many popcorn kernels they started with...
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Anza and Font in Search of Latitude

For Teachers 7th
This is an integrated lesson plan that incorporates Social Studies, Science, and Mathematics. In Social Studies, 7th graders complete an online interview and complete an online worksheet about latitude of sites on the Anza trail. In...
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Sled Kite

For Teachers K - 8th
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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Kites: Patang - The Indian Fighter Kite

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students investigate the history of fighter kites and build their own.  In this aeronautics lesson, students discover how other countries utilize fighter kites and where they originated.  Students create their own fighter kites...
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Does Shape Affect Drag?

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students study drag and how it affects a parachute in the sky.  For this parachutes lesson students build models and compare their drag. 
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Helium Balloon Race

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students determine the force of a helium balloon that allows it to rise a specific distance.  In this helium lesson students calculate the amount of paper needed to construct a weight and determine the density of a piece of...
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How to weigh a tree

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners pick a tree they see everyday. They measure the tree's circumference and estimate its height using similar triangles. Students are introduced to Computational Science. They use computers and calculators to compute values...
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Does Weight Affect Drag?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate how weight affects a parachute's rate of fall.  In this investigative lesson students test parachutes, average results and conclude what makes a faster descent.
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Understanding the Indoor Environment:Preventing and Fixing Indoor Air Pollution

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore air pollution.  For this environmental studies lesson, students work with a partner to create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting possible solutions to prevalent indoor air pollution problems.  Students...
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Waterworks

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students investigate the water quality of a river. In this water quality lesson plan, students use microscopes, probing devices, and global positioning systems to determine water quality and create presentations on it.
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Transforming Food Energy: A Balancing Act

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explain their role as consumers. They use a purchased calorimeter or make their own simple calorimeter to measure the energy content in selected foods. This interesting lesson really gets students thinking about what they eat.
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Can You Walk a Mile With My Foot?

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Young scholars engage in a lesson that is concerned with the measurement of a foot as a customary unit. They take part in a series of activities to help them acquire skills of using a foot to compare other units of measurement. The...
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Design Team Challenge

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Pupils work in groups to build a robot. For this robotics lesson, students create an electronic robot and program it to follow directions. They create an obstacle course for the robot to follow and test its performance. 
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Celebrate Black History

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students research African-American mathematicians.  In this middle school mathematics instructional activity, students celebrate Black History by conducting Internet research on an African-American, mathematicians or...
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Tropical Atlantic Aerosols

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students analyze NASA data from the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer. In this NASA data lesson, students access an assigned website to examine information from the MISR on the Terra Satellite. They determine how desert dust travels...
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Aerospace

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Learners experiment with weight and balance of a glider.  In this flight activity students construct their own flying glider and record their experiment with it. 
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Balsa Towers

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers build their own tower using concepts from previous lessons. They are given a set of materials to use and general guidelines. They share what they have created with their classmates.
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From Lake to Tap

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners use the Internet to study how water is treated to make it safe to drink. They use a tutorial on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's website to gain this information. They complete a worksheet for the assessment portion...
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Lift and Drag: Principles of Flight and the Soaring Imagination

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
Learners construct models of early gas balloons and gliders. In this balloon and glider instructional activity, students create models of early gas balloons and gliders, discover how the forces of lift and drag effect aircraft in...
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Radial Design Mandala

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students design original radial art designs.In this radial design lesson, students use compasses and a nature inspired idea to create radial art. Students understand the use of symmetry, balance and design shapes in continual patterns....
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You Can Do It: Creating How-To Videos

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students create instructional videos. in this video lesson, students choose a subject area and topic to make their own how-to video. They research this topic and film their video using a flip-camera. 
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Probability and Spinning the Dreidel

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders study the term probability.  In this Math lesson, 7th graders practice their probability skills by spinning a dreidel.  Students complete a worksheet on probability.  
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Spreadsheet Function Machine

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students create a spreadsheet to analyze functions. In this algebra lesson plan, students use spreadsheets to find the intersection of systems of equations. They identify the dependent and independent function as it relates to a line.