Huntington Library
Everyday Life - Exploring the California Missions
Young scholars relive history as they examine primary sources that document everyday life in the California missions. During a class viewing of the included slideshow presentation, children analyze documents, paintings, and...
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California Missions
Fourth graders use what they already have gathered on California missions to create a database. Using the different missions, they brainstorm, organize and categorize what they have gathered. They present their material to the class and...
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Understanding Primary Sources: California Missions in Art
Students examine pieces of art from the 19th century. They discuss the role of Spanish missions in California as well. They write an essay describing the paintings.
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Life of a Mission - From Beginning to Now
Middle schoolers research the history of a Spanish mission. They create a timeline showing the major events of the mission. They complete a worksheet to end the lesson plan.
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How Do We Explore Strange Environments?
Students identify and label the different parts of a robot, rover, or a spacecraft. They discuss and record all of the features their robot will need to accomplish its mission and be able to explain why they chose these features to...
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Edible Numbers
Believe it or not, this is a 76-page series of lesson plans published by the California Commission on Agriculture which is designed to teach upper-elementary learners about agricultural practices and products in the state. There are two...
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Applying For The Mission
Students participate in a live simulation of traveling through space as part of a large science unit. They are encouraged to go into the community and ask for participation from parents and relatives. Students reflect upon their own...
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That Was Then, This Is Now
Students examine the price of food over time. They analyze charts, perform math operations and compare and contrast data about the price of food. They complete worksheets while interperting the charts.
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Strange New Planet
Students simulate different spacecraft missions using materials provided. In this space science lesson, students observe and record a planetary model's features from a distance. They relate this activity to scientists' space exploration...
Agriculture in the Classroom
"Steer" Toward STEM: Careers in Animal Agriculture
Think like an engineer and an agricultural scientist over the course of 12 lessons in a STEM based unit. Young scientists take on the roles of animal physiologists, animal geneticists, agricultural engineers, animal nutritionists,...
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Rincon History Museum
Students visit the Rincon History Museum in California. They discover different periods in the state's history and discuss. They view the art and explain what can be learned from it.
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Where'd You Get Those Genes?
Really a unit, this resource exposes middle schoolers to genetics at their level. They read interviews and biographies, trace a family tree, play games that simulate inheritance concepts, and more! Teacher's procedures, student...
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The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Wow! Here is a most-impressive series of lessons and activities that revolve around the classic story, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The purpose of the lessons are to provide an agricultural theme in the reading, writing, and science...
NASA
Soda Straw Rockets
Three, two, one, blast off to a better understanding of force and motion with this exciting science lesson! Beginning with a discussion about rockets and gravity, young scientists go on to complete a series of worksheets about net...
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Cosmic Wheels
Students build a scale model of the Solar System and determine the time other planets take to travel around the Sun in comparison to the time of the Earth's revolution. The velocity of the planets are also determined in this lesson.
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What's Bugging You?
Students examine the effects of pests on other organisms, crops, and the environment. they construct an insect observation chamber and discover how some insects can be pests in some situations and beneficial in others. They write "pest...
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The Chemistry of Fertilizers
Students use a series of hands-on labs and activities, practice problems, discussions and writing assignments, students investigate about fertilizer chemistry as they break compounds into ions, make a fertilizer and test various...
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When a Ruler is Too Short
Students measure distances using parallax. In this math activity, students explain how this method helped astronomers with their studies of the solar system. They determine the length of their arm using parallax and compare it with other...
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America's Underwater Treasures Viewing Guide
Students complete a worksheet while watching a video about how humans affect the ocean environment. They discover the need for a practice of balancing fisheries and their fishing practices. They examine how scientists use data to help...
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Simple and Complex Machines Used In Agriculture
Students explore agriculture and the current technologies and research that continue to make Earth a viable planet. This four lessons unit introduce students to simple machines and the concepts of force and friction through a variety of...
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El Nino and Its Effects
Students research El Nino and its effects all over North America using Web Resources. Working in teams, they present their findings. They look for connections and relationships between animal behavior and climate.
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Channel Islands and the Surrounding Sea
Students examine the Channel Islands and identify its characteristics. They participate in activities to help them discover the islands history, geography and conservation efforts. They complete a worksheet to end the lesson.
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Camping Near the Estuary
Learners examine the first meeting between the first Spanish settlers and the native groups of the Tijuana estuary. Using a map, they trace various expeditions throughout Goat Canyon and the Spanish migration. After reading text, they...