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Archaeological Inquiry
Young scholars describe what they see as they observe an "artifact". They draw conclusions based on the information gathered to identify what the artifact might be used for and determine how old it might be.
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How Old Is Mike?
Students examine the absolute dating of fossils, they use a list of names and ages to determine the difference between relative age and absolute age. They explore the relative age and absolute age of people and of fossils.
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It's All in the Rocks
Students think critically to determine fact or inference when examining sedimentary layers with embedded fossils. They are being introduced to geology as well as evolutionary biology.
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Rocks and Soil
Students explore the physical properties of rocks. They explore the three different types of rocks and are able to compare and contrast their different properties. Students simulate the creation of sedimentary rock, they also...
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Layers Of The Earth
Students examine the layers of the earth and the basic composition and thickness of each. Using construction paper, each student models the layers of the earth.
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Cookie Paleontologists
Students become cookie paleontologists. In this paleontology lesson, students try to excavate whole chocolate chips from a chocolate chip cookie without breaking the cookie. They use toothpicks and paintbrushes to do it.
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Sunken Slave Ship
Learners imagine they are archaeologists who are looking for treasure under the sand or sea. They work in teams to create the story and site of a shipwreck in a tub or aquarium filled with sand and water.
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Minerals, Crystals, and Gems
Young scholars discover the relationships between minerals, crystals and gems. They bring in rocks that they find at home, in the schoolyard, etc. and examine them and attempt to identify them. They set up a classroom exhibit that...
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Lift and Drag: Principles of Flight and the Soaring Imagination
Students construct models of early gas balloons and gliders. In this balloon and glider lesson plan, students create models of early gas balloons and gliders, discover how the forces of lift and drag effect aircraft in flight, and put...
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Topographic Map Unit Plan
Students examine topographic maps and discover how to decipher contour intervals, use contour lines and apply information to complete a topographic map lab. Working in groups, they identify the scale of the map, latitude and longitude,...
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A "Real" Picuture of a Scientist
Middle schoolers share their own stereotypes when they talk about scientists. In groups, they draw a picture of a scientist where they are working and the tools they most commonly used. Using the internet, they discover how archeolgists...
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Project 1
Students are given a coin to observe and make inferences about. Using a worksheet, they make two columns to list their observations and inferences in an organized manner. They develop a hypothesis based on one of the inferences and...
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Mystery Cemetary: Teachers
Students examine and analyze the skeletons of various bodies that could represent a cemetary. In groups, they identify a set of common characteristics in which the skeletons are grouped. To end the activity, they answer questions...
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What is a Karst
Students investigate landforms by holding a class experiment. In this topography lesson, students define the word "karst" and discover why sinkholes are created on the surface of the Earth by completing worksheets. Students create a...
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Powerful Potato
Students are introduced to the growth process of a potato. As a class, they place a potato on a plate and observe how long it takes for the eyes to appear. In groups, they follow a recipe to make potato soup that is shared with the...
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Germination Observations
Students germinate seeds under a variety of conditions. First, students read and discuss the background of gardening. After reviewing germination and the steps to the scientific method, groups of students complete experiments.
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Buried Treasures
Young scholars, in teams, generate and research questions about Canada's receding glaciers. They then hold a 'press conference' in which each team provides answers for questions in their area of research. Finally, they pool their...
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The Puzzle of the Ice Age Americans
Students describe alternative theories for how the first humans cane to America. For this human origin lesson students study the origins of the first Americans.
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Spy on a Spider
Students view slides or live specimens to name and describe the distinguishing features of groups of arthropods, especially spiders and insects. They complete worksheets, observe webs and then search for and record where spiders can be...
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Scientific Inquiry
Middle schoolers make inferences about what activities occur at different places in school. They form a hypothesis as to how space is used. They simulate how archeaologists explore past people by designing and conducting a research project.
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Living in the Oak Woodlands: Early People of the Jewett Mine Area
Students are introduced to the early peoples living in the Jewett Mine area. After viewing transparencies, they view pictures of the mine today and its main area of production. For each picture, they develop symbols and captions about...
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Layers of Time in the Earth
Students are introduced to the concept of stratification as a historical and geological process. Students will read about the Richard Beene archaeological site, which lies near San Antonio, Texas on the Medina River, and watch a short...
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Artifacts 1: What Can We Learn From Artifacts?
students will learn about artifacts-what they are, how they are initially buried and then excavated. They participate in an online game and called "Stratigraphy" and participate in the "If Trash Could Talk" activity page.
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What Is It?
Learners view photographs of an area where artifacts where recently taken. Using the artifacts, they work together to try to determine the occupations, diet and other information about a specific group of people. They write an artifact...