Core Knowledge Foundation
A Time for All Seasons - Winter
As the days get shorter and a chill enters the air, it's time to start teaching your little ones about the wondrous winter season. Through a series of teacher demonstrations, whole-class read alouds and discussions, and hands-on...
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"Five Little Seeds"
Fourth graders complete various activities related to the plant life cycle. They read the book "The Tiny Seed," read and discuss the poem "Five Little Seeds," complete a "Plantenstein Mystery" and other online activities, write and...
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Hypothermia: Temperature Changes Under Varying Conditions
Students conduct an experiment to determine what type of clothing would be most suitable for outdoor activities. They determine the temperature changes of the skin under various wet clothing materials and graph the temperature changes. ...
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Cell Division: Frog Egg Division Observation and Modeling
Students create and test a hypothesis about cell division. After observation of Frog Egg cell division, students write obervations and refine process and hypothesis. The use of scientific method, group work and inquiry are fostered by...
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Water: Liquid or Solid?
First graders investigate how water can be both a liquid and a solid. They weigh popsicles and observe them as they write in their science journals. They measure the liquid as the popsicle melts and refreeze them to change them back...
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Science: Suddenly Snow
Students engage in snow-related activities during the first winter snowfall. After explaining the elements needed for it to snow, they preserve snowflakes on frozen slides and observe them under a microscope. Then, they write diamante...
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The Story that Tracks Tell
Eighth graders observe and investigate animal tracks. They draw prints for local animals and switch with another student to guess the animal, identify animal tracks in a nearby wood lot, create plaster casts of the tracks, and write a...
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Vivaldi's Storms
Students listen to two selections of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" symphony. In groups, they identify and describe the mood and musical elements used to represent each season using correct vocabulary. They write their observations in a paper...
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Illustrate the Constellations
Students explore space science by participating in a star identification activity. In this astronomy lesson, students identify different star patterns and discuss the movement of stars across the sky as the seasons change. Students...
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What Happens to a Seed?
In this creative lesson on seeds, 1st graders listen as the book The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle is read to them about the life of a seed. Students then draw a picture to show the life cycle of a seed in each season.
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Identifying Seasonal Animal Behaviors
Students discuss seasonal behavior of different animals. They participate in group activities and identify animals. They also examine the changes in seasons and how animals act differently in different seasons.
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Comparing Cultures Through Symbols
Middle schoolers examine symbols used by the Plains Indians. Using examples of African art, they discuss what symbols they use that relate to the Native American symbols. They compare and contrast the two cultures and discuss as a class...
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Heating the Earth
Students explore how the angle of sunlight affects the Earth's temperature and seasons and then apply this understanding to their local situation.
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Temperature Changes: Atmosphere & Ocean
Students observe temperature differences of water and air in sunlight and darkness. They determine that the sun warms the Earth's surface, which controls global currents and climate, keeping the earth habitable. They discover water and...
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Investigation - I've Got It
Students explore patterns by participating in a sorting activity. In this pattern identification lesson, students collaborate in a group and share their footwear in order to categorize each other's shoes based on similar characteristics....
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Seasons of Trees
Learners examine how trees change over time. In this forestry lesson, students read the book The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree and choose three trees to observe over a period of time. Learners record observations and seasonal changes in...
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Farming: Seasons on a Wheat Farm (Lesson 4)
Students explain the seasons on a wheat farm. They identify the uses of a grain elevator as well. They use a dry erase board to illustrate the seasons and the grain elevator in operation.
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The Mystery Constellation
Students decipher two teacher chosen mystery constellations a month. They listen to stories, explain what they know about constellations and name the mystery constellation.
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Orientation of the Earth in Space
Students hypothesize the location of the sun in the sky at diferent times of day and at different latitudes. They perform several experiments to provide evidence for their hypothesis. Experiments including observing the sun's position at...
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Mystery Constellations
Fourth graders predict constellations each month. In this astronomy lesson, 4th graders are presented with two constellations every month, and guess what they are as clues are given.