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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

WET Science Lesson #5: Pass the Salt Please! (How Road Salt Affects Wetlands)

For Teachers 7th - 12th
As an anticipatory set, biologists listen to the story of Ruth Patrick, a scientist who used algae to detect water quality. They observe a demonstration of osmosis and diffusion. In their lab groups, they place Elodea stalks in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Importance of Detailed Procedures in Science

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the importance of clear communication in scientific exploration. In pairs, they write clear directions for an everyday activity for their partner to read and follow.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Crash Course in Flight

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High school physicists demonstrate Bernoulli's Principle by blowing on different items and finding that they do not move in the expected direction! They apply Bernoulli's equation to the flight of an airplane. This well-organized lesson...
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Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Build a Big Wheel

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
What does it take to prepare for a construction project? In an engineering lesson, youngsters examine how a Ferris wheel can turn and carry a load without falling apart. After reading up on big wheel designs, they create a model using...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Changing Planet: Rising Ocean Temperatures - Rising Sea Levels

For Teachers 5th - 9th
As an anticipatory set, young environmental technicians watch a video about how ocean temperatures seem to be changing along with the global climate. They perform a laboratory demonstration with the purpose of observing what happens to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mouse...Mouse...Snake!

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Use this activity as an anticipatory set to warm up for a lesson on predator/prey relationships. Pupils will play a round of "Duck, Duck, Goose," substituting the ducks and geese for two animals that have a predator/prey relationship....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sun and Shadows

For Teachers 4th - 5th Standards
Why do shadows look different in the summer than in the winter? What causes day and night? How can a sundial be used to tell time? Answer these questions and more through two engaging lessons about light and shadows. Fourth and fifth...
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Activity
US Department of Agriculture

Sink or Float?

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd Standards
Will it sink or will it float? Learners predict the outcome as they drop random objects into a container of water. Then, they keep track of the results and record the data in a t-chart to draw a final conclusion.
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Lesson Plan
National Geographic

Investigating Pressure

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Play "Would You Rather" with your physical science class as an anticipatory set. Each game question is related to the pressure put on an area of the body. Let this activate a discussion on forces, pressure, and area. Give your class...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Long-Term Goals

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Pupils set long-term and short-term goals. For this character education lesson, students determine whether goals that they write for themselves are long-term or short-term.
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Lesson Plan
National Geographic

Ocean Exploration

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Dora, Dora, Dora, Dora, Dora! This may be your little ones' best guess as to what it's like to be an explorer! Give them a deeper understanding with this compact examination. A four-minute video introduces them to Robert Ballard, the...
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PPT
3
3
Curated OER

Body Systems

For Teachers 5th - 8th
It's time to play Jeopardy! Learners review body systems as they play a fun game, choosing one of 30 questions ranging from 100 to 500 points, including a hidden Daily Double.  A 100 point question: How many bones are found in an adult...
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Lesson Plan
University of Alaska

Clay Model Earth

For Teachers 4th - 7th
What a great way to incorporate hands-on learning while teaching about the earth's layers. The class observes an overhead transparency (linked in Included Materials) as they create their own model Earth using different colors of clay....
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Curated OER

Changing Planet: Sea Levels Rising

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Begin by showing a six-minute video, Changing Planet: Rising Sea Level as an anticipatory set. Pupils draw a topographic map of a potato continent. Finally, they will visit NOAA's sea levels online map and NASA's carbon dioxide...
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Lesson Plan
WK Kellogg Biological Station

Sounds of Selection

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Do you want a creative and fun way to teach about natural selection? Hop to it by turning your middle school princes and princesses into frogs trying to catch as many bugs as possible in a Hungry Hungry Hippos style game. For high...
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PPT
Curated OER

How I Use Water

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Beginning with a brief anticipatory set on how water is commonly used, this presentation evolves into a well planned lesson on the water cycle. Students will discuss vocabulary, label the parts of the water cycle, locate where water is...
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Activity
National Geographic

The Right Balance: Mixing Energy Resources

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
A class discussion of the various combinations of energy resources used in our country opens this lesson. In cooperative groups, learners analyze data on conversion efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions for different combinations....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Clark Family Story: Tracing the Cause of Hemophilia

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Ms. Strohfeldt did not omit anything when she designed this comprehensive lesson plan on DNA mutation and sex-linked traits. Begin with a pretest as an anticipatory set. Read a case history of the Clark family and the occurrence of...
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Lesson Plan
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1
Curated OER

Acid Rain

For Teachers 4th - 5th Standards
Create a simulation of acid rain in your classroom with lemon juice and bean plants to help kids study the effects of pollution on plants. In addition, learners will listen to a story and write responses based on guiding questions.
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Lesson Plan
Aquarium of the Pacific

Lego Molecules

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Young scientists construct an understanding of molecular compounds in this hands-on science lesson. Using LEGO® to model the atoms of different elements, students build molecules based on the chemical formulas of common compounds.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Water Cycle - Main Components

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Present the water cycle to your middle schoolers with this lesson. After an anticipatory set, they participate in a Q & A session about the terms associated with the water cycle: evaporation, transpiration, condensation, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Find the Factors and Prime Factors

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Show the class how to find the factors of numbers. They use a variety of strategies, including unifix cubes, to find the factors of a whole number. This resource includes clear procedure to follow. Included are an anticipatory set,...
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Lesson Plan
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Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Shake it up with Seismographs!

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Shake things up in your STEM or earth science classroom when you have small groups construct their own seismographs. A reading assignment on the history of seismographs, the Richter scale, and current technology sets the stage for the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Get the Drift?

For Teachers 6th - 9th
The anticipatory set is clever: give groups five minutes to work on the puzzle and then discuss what strategies they used to match the few that connected. This introduces middle schoolers to the concept of continental drift. A portion of...