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Sextant Solutions

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Pupils explore ways a sextant can be a reliable tool that is still being used by today's navigators and how computers can help assure accuracy when measuring angles. This activity will show how computers can be used to understand...
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Discovering the Element of Color in Gaetano Donizetti's Don Pasquale: A Comparison of Tone Color and Art Color

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students experience several different tone colors in the song and also add layers of color to their copy of "The Owl" to compare and contrast how an artist would create the element of color.
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Gravity Versus the Mighty Egg

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students design, revise and construct a method for protecting an egg from cracking when it is dropped from a height. They work in small groups to develop their protection method and then collect and analyze data as a class when each...
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Easy Street

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Pupils work together to complete a simulation on drought days. As a class, they discuss their results and compare water usage of the past to current numbers. After reading short excerpts, they answer discussion questions and review as a...
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Creative Classroom Creatures

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students are introduced to the five kingdoms and discover why there is a need for a classification system. Using the internet, they examine how scientific names are created and practice putting animals into their correct classification....
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Habitat Happenings

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students examine the characteristics of the Prairie Creek Habitat in Illinois. In groups, they travel between various stations writing haikus and reading brochures. They identify what occurs in each habitat and identify the animals...
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Prairie Find Outdoors

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students take a field trip to a local prairie. Using identification books, they identify various forbs and grasses in the prairie. As a class, they discuss the importance of forbs and grasses to the ecosystem and review the various types...
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Prairie Math

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students work together to build models of prairie plants. Using the model, they estimate the height and then measure them using metric and standard units. They write a fraction to represent their part of the whole set and compare and...
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A Tree-mendous Project

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders use their observation and measurement skills to identify trees. Using a tree diagram, they label the parts and discuss the functions of the tree. They practice using a dichotomous key to identify trees as well.
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Space Travel

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students study the International Space Station and space exploration.  In this space travel lesson students describe the different types of engineers that contribute to space travel.
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Digestion Simulation

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students study the human digestion system and the functions of the stomach and small intestines.  In this digestion lesson students view a demonstration on the process. 
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Seasons and Cloud Cover, Are They Related?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students use NASA satellite data to see cloud cover over Africa.  In this seasons lesson students access data and import it into Excel. 
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Beyond the Playing Field -Jackie Robinson, Civil Rights Advocate

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine and discuss documents pertaining to issues of the civil rights movement.
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Political Cartoons Illustrating Progressivism and the Election of 1912

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers study a current political cartoon to introduce the ideas of symbolism, humor, exaggeration, and caricature in editorial cartoons. They study cartoons from the past to gain an understanding of the culture of 1912.
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Tally of the 1824 Electoral College Vote

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders study the parts of the Constitution that address presidential election. They complete a variety of activities designed to spark debate about the flaws in the Electoral College system.
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Black Soldiers in the Civil War

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers explain how a history of slavery distinguishes American society from other societies. They study posters and documents from different eras in our history which document the practice of slavery, and civil rights violations.
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FDR's First Inaugural Address

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners, in groups, describe a photo to the class. They determine which New Deal program is depicted in each of the images based on the research they conducted.
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DISCOUNT LENSES ( GELATIN WAVE GUIDES)

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study attributes associated with concept of fiber optics is done using a labmade fiber optic from clear molded gelatin. A variety of shapes can be cut and pieced together to form a conduit to transmit the laser beam by internal...
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Cave Activity: Mapping Fractures

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars tour a cave and observe fractures in the cave's ceiling. They record characteristics of the fracture. They locate three major passages in the cave and ten major fractures.
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Why Would I Owe My Soul to the Company Store?

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders listen to "Sixteen Tons" by Tennessee Ernie Ford and discuss what it means to owe one's soul to a store. In this mathematics activity, 6th graders determine what a miner's income was minus his expenses graphing findings in...
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The Many Faces of Paul Robeson

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars discuss and construct timelines based on the life of author/performer/Civil Right's activist, Paul Robeson. They view photographs of him at various times in his life and discuss the roles he may have been playing at those...
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The Decision to Americanize the War in Vietnam

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Students research the major events of the Vietnam War and construct a timeline. They do the same with the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson or the 1960's. They act as an advisor to President Johnson to recommend a course of action...
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African-Americans in California's Heartland

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students read and view video about the pioneers moving west.  In this African American pioneer lesson, students become familiar with the problems faced by the pioneers and African-American pioneers. Students complete...
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EARLY CIVILIZATIONS

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers compare and contrast the monuments of four ancient cultures and draw conclusions about the origins, construction, and purposes of these structures.