Curated OER
Tree-Ring Dating
In this tree-ring dating worksheet, students use activity sheets to determine a tree's age and to observe changes in climate from the tree-rings. Students investigate how archaeologists use tree rings to date evidence and they answer 5...
Curated OER
Why is the Past Important?
Fourth graders discuss the importance of North Carolina's archaeological heritage. They share with the class an object, photograph, or drawing of an object that represents their own or their family's past.
Curated OER
Gridding a Site
Students make observations of effigy mounds and record them in a notebook. In groups, they must determine the scale of measurement and create their own grid to scale part of the Effigy Mounds National Monument. They also practice using...
Curated OER
Take Action, Save the Past
Eighth graders use their creative and critical thinking skills to find useful solutions to current and future problems concerning the destruction of archaeological sites and artifacts.
Curated OER
Classification and Attributes
Students classify objects based on their attributes. They explain how archaeologists use classification to help answer research questions.
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Kincaid Creatures
Students brainstorm a list of nocturnal and diurnal wild animals they see in their community and discuss how the animals would be different if they were living during the Ice Age. Using a handout, they discover how archeologists record...
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It's in the Garbage
Students analyze how studying garbage relates to methods of archaeology. They examine garbage to determine things about their culture and relate that to prehistoric peoples.
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A Museum as Time Capsule
Students focus on museum artwork and artifacts as resources to study history and geography.
Smithsonian Institution
Watching Crystals Grow
Amazing science can sometimes happen right before your eyes! The class gets cozy as they watch crystals grow. They use Epsom salts, rocks, and food coloring to create crystals. They'll observe the entire process, documenting every step...
Curated OER
Animal Poetry
Fourth graders write poems that use local wildlife as their inspiration. After a class discussion which produces a list of wildlife that pupils have seen in their town, a review of three types of poetry ensues. They look at how haiku,...
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Hatching Chickens
Students observe chicks hatching from eggs. In this science lesson, students view a video to develop an understanding of the proper care and needs of eggs and live animals. This is a great precursor activity for hatching eggs in class.
Curated OER
Pieces of the Past
Students study the importance of preserving the archaeological record. They write a paragraph describing an object and why it is important to them. They cut their paper into a puzzle and compare their own to the student they trade with.
Curated OER
Plants and Animals: Partners in Pollination
Students describe the complementary relationships between pollinators and the plants they pollinate, identify adaptations that flowers have developed to "encourage" pollination, and create and draw their own "designer" flowers.
Curated OER
Mineral Scavenger Hunt
Students complete a scavenger hunt worksheet as they find examples in their classroom, at home, etc., of minerals. Excellent worksheet!
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Create a Classroom Exhibit: Rocks and Minerals
Young scholars bring in rocks and minerals from home. They observe them and describe them carefully, completing a worksheet. Finally, a classroom exhibit is created.
Curated OER
Plants and Animals, Partners in Pollination
Students participate in multiple hands-on activities to explore reproduction and pollination. In groups, using a cotton swab and powder, students simulate being pollinators and plants. They name the parts of the flowers and the function...
Curated OER
Rocks and Minerals
Students bring rocks and minerals from home to investigate in the classroom. For this rocks and minerals lesson plan, students observe all the rocks and minerals brought into the class and answer 7 questions about the features of the...
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Under the Spell of Spiders
Learners examine spiders. In these spider lessons, students will view spider images and live spiders to determine physical characteristics, habits, and habitats. Learners will examine fantasy and folklore about spiders to create and...
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How Size Shapes Animals
Students investigate how size affects large and small animals differently. In this animal lesson plan, students determine how size affects different animals by constructing their own animal out of marshmallows. Once students create...
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Fossils Footprints Across Time
Students examine fossils to understand how they are formed and how they give information about geological history. In this fossil lesson plan, students research and write about fossils and make models of different fossil types.The PDF...
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Going...going...gone? Tropical Rainforests-How They Work, What They Do for Us, What's Being Done to Them...
Sixth graders explore the Tropical Rainforest and come to understand what it is and how it affects the ecosystem. In this rainforests lesson plan, 6th graders write about the Tropical Rainforest, imagine they are in the Tropical...
Curated OER
Ping!
Seventh graders study side-scan sonar and discover how it can be used to locate objects underwater. They complete a sonar simulation activity in which they create and map mystery landscapes inside shoeboxes.
Curated OER
To Protect and Preserve
Students discuss the impact of war on the Iraqi National Museum and the importance of protecting artifacts of cultural heritage. They write letters to the Milwaukee Public Museum to show support for funding for the protection of the...
Curated OER
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
Students explore the concept of waste management. In this environmental stewardship instructional activity, students study the nuances of the terms reduce, reuse, and recycle. Students investigate ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle many...