Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduce Vocabulary: It's Pumpkin Time (Hall)

For Teachers K - 3rd
Looking for a Halloween-themed vocabulary instructional activity? Study words in context using Zoe Hall's story It's Pumpkin Time, an excellent informational text for budding readers. The spooky suggested words are: buds, gather,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Meter in Poetry

For Teachers 6th - 8th
A good poem has form and structure built into it. Middle schoolers see that the structure of a poem consists of stanza, form, rhyme, and meter. The structure also contributes to a poem's meaning. After listening to, and discussing, a few...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Short Poems Are Scary!

For Teachers K - 5th
What do all those chairs and pencils do in the classroom once everyone leaves? Allow imaginations to run wild with frighteningly short poems!
Lesson Plan
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Rainforest Complexity and Diversity

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders investigate the diversity of plants and animals in a rainforest. They watch an online story developed by the Rainforest Alliance, observe and record animals in their local area, explore various websites, and compare and...
Lesson Plan
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Insects and Bugs

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students recognize the difference between insects and bugs while making connections to personal experiences. In this insect and bug lesson, students complete a pre-assessment to demonstrate prior knowledge, then gather information...
Lesson Plan
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network

Making a Liquid Crystal Thermometer

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Introduce your classes to a fourth state of matter! Liquid crystals have a colorful sheen that changes based on different physical factors. Learners use this information to create a liquid crystal thermometer where the color of the...
Lesson Plan
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Bug Work

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students explore the life cycles of insects and how they interact with each other in the prairie to create a healthy ecosystem and viable food chain. They list animals or insects in their own community that are similar to the prairie...
Lesson Plan
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Logic and Problem Solving: Math Hunt

For Teachers 5th - 8th
In these math lesson plans, pupils discuss how math problems are written to reflect real-world situations. They complete an online Math Hunt using specific web tools, and work individually to create their own Math Hunts....
Lesson Plan
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The Abiotic Limits to Purple Loosestrife Growth

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars investigate the effects of soil temperature, water availability, photo period and other variables of the growth of purple loosestrife. They observe the growing conditions of plants and alter them by adding water, isolating...
Lesson Plan
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Bugs, Bugs, Everywhere!

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Pupils collect and compare bugs using magnifying lenses and graph data based on their comparisons. In this bugs lesson plan, students also make an aspirator by using a jar, tubing, and screen.
Lesson Plan
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The Scientific Method

For Teachers 2nd - 9th
Young scholars examine the Scientific Method. They will discover the value in being observant, organized, and thorough with regard to science. They will also explore how these traits can serve them well in other areas of life.
Lesson Plan
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Micro-Climate

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Atmosphere aces investigate the microclimates that exist within a larger area. They use a thermometer to record the varying temperatures and identify the microclimates on a map that they have drawn. This exercise helps them to understand...
Lesson Plan
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Stator limbatus Study

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders create a KWHL chart to begin to formulate questions about the Stator limbatus. A data sheet and a list of possible questions and hypotheses by Dr. Tim Craig are included.
Lesson Plan
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Wetland Pictionary

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students create a game for reviewing vocabulary. They make cards with definitions of the words. Then the cards are used to play the game of Pictionary or a modified game. The teacher could have the students generate their own game in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Revising Writing: Plain English

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Eschew obfuscation! Using dictionaries, writers revise a complicated text so that it reads more simply and improves the clarity of the passage. Focusing on word meanings, they revise the sample worksheets and then present their...
Lesson Plan
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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...
Lesson Plan
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Super Summarizer!!!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Emerging readers summarize a nonfiction text using a five step process. After a brief demonstration of the five-step method for summarizing text, they read a nonfiction article and write their own summary. A checklist of each summary is...
Lesson Plan
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Creating a Pollinator Garden

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students build a pollination garden. In this pollination lesson, students read directions and build a pollinator garden that will produce flowering plants for pollinator organisms to use in pollination of other plants.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cool Tools to Solve Challenging Word Problems

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore math functions by completing worksheets in class. For this word problem lesson, students read the story A Remainder of One and practice solving division problems from the story. Students complete a worksheet which...
Lesson Plan
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The Three Sisters

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students read about the Three Sisters of the crops that helped the Native Americans and plant a garden based on companion planting. In this crops lesson plan, students complete garden designs and then create their garden.
Lesson Plan
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Preying on Beans

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students act as predators searching for prey (beans) in two different settings to demonstrate the processes of adaptation and selection.
Lesson Plan
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Creepy, Crawly Critters

For Teachers K - 4th
Students study characteristics of insects by creating models from an assortment of materials. They create rubrics showing what an insect must have and create an insect, using a bag of materials. They cut out the puzzle insects included...
Lesson Plan
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Bugs

For Teachers K - 6th
Students explore the wonders of bugs. In this bug lesson, students examine various types of bugs. Students make crafts, sing songs, discuss nutrition, and investigate different types of insects.
Lesson Plan
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Chain Reaction

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Learners read a magazine on chain reaction and complete an included crossword puzzle. They select one interesting fact they learned and share it with the class, playing a game of truths and lie. Next, the students create 3 statements,...

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