Lesson Plan
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Water Filtration Competition

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students design water filtration systems. They draw sketches and write paragraphs about their systems. After presenting their systems to the class, each group then builds their system and determines its effectiveness for purifying...
Lesson Plan
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Let the Sun Shine!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners investigate how the sun can be used for energy. They read a handout, discuss the pros and cons of passive solar building design, develop flashcard questions, and identify jobs that can be helped by solar energy.
Lesson Plan
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Castle/Fort Unit

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students compare and contrast castles and forts. They observe buildings in their community and consider how castles and forts are similar. They design their own castle or fort and brainstorm materials to build with, discuss how the...
Lesson Plan
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Suspension Bridge

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars view a video clip about suspension bridges. They discover what forces support this type of bridge. They build their own suspension bridge using classroom materials.
Lesson Plan
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Meeting in the Middle

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students view a video clip about the building of tunnels. They discover the importance of measurement and communication between groups when building a tunnel. They participate in an activity in which they must communicate with others.
Lesson Plan
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Bees and Honey

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Learners are challenged to build a bee home out of provided materials and discover a way to produce a new flavor of honey. Students research beekeeping and honey production and brainstorm possible ideas for bee homes and honey production...
Lesson Plan
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Memorable Cell Membrane

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Learners investigate the components of a cell membrane. In this cell membrane lesson plan, students build a cell membrane model using toothpicks and candy to represent the parts of the membrane including the phospholipid bilayer and the...
Lesson Plan
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Making Bouncing Balls

For Teachers K - 2nd
Young scholars investigate the movement of balls and use different materials to make balls. In this bouncing balls lesson, students explore the movement of balls, they investigate the inside of balls and they design and make their own...
Lesson Plan
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The Slope of Land in Your Community

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students participate in finding the slope of a sand pile and then other materials. In this geology lesson, students describe what happens to the piles of materials when they are poured through a funnel. Students measure the slope using a...
Lesson Plan
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Mixing It Up!

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders identify the different states of matter. In this science lesson, 3rd graders describe the different components of solutions and mixtures. They create emulsions, foams and suspensions in the lab.
Lesson Plan
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Submersible Designer

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners work in groups to design, build, and test a submersible prototype. In this engineering instructional activity, students learn about the importance and design of submersible vessels and apply their knowledge by building one of...
Lesson Plan
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Indoor Environment: A Magazine Publication Project

For Teachers 1st - 8th
Students demonstrate knowledge of Indoor Air Quality by creating a class magazine. A link to order a free Action Kit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is provided so teachers can build background knowledge. Performance...
Lesson Plan
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Coral Reefs, Polyps and Heads

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore coral communities. They explore a coral polyp and build a coral head.
Lesson Plan
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What is Microbiology?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners research microbiologists.  In this research instructional activity, students will research a microbiologist, create timeline sections, and build a timeline.  Learners will also use a website to research a particular...
Lesson Plan
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Cell Discoveries

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students observe, compare and describe cell organelles in terms of their function, structure and operation. They enter and edit information in a database, build and sort a student-designed database and find records in a database.
Lesson Plan
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Engineering: Simple Machines

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders participate in activities to examine how simple machines help build things. They identify the six types of simple machines. They discover how simple machines where use historically to build pyramids and how they are still...
Lesson Plan
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Water Cycle Terrariums

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Students explore the water cycle. They build a model of the water cycle in the form of a terrarium and explain how it demonstrates the water cycle. In addition, they draw a representation of the water cycle demonstrated in the terrarium.
Worksheet
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Mail An Egg Rules

For Students 5th - 7th
In this mail an egg worksheet, students are given directions to construct a container that will protect an egg using the least possible materials. Students build their structures and mail their egg to another classroom.
Lesson Plan
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Simply Circuitry and Series Circuit

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students investigate a series circuit. In this physical science lesson, students use a battery, switch, and light bulbs to build an electrical circuit. Students identify the standard symbols being used in electric circuitry.
Lesson Plan
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To Protect Your Streams, Protect Your Mountains

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students build and experiment with a watershed to understand the effects of pollution. In this movement of water lesson, students work in groups creating rock formations and change the viscosity of the liquids falling down the mountain....
Lesson Plan
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Staghorn Coral

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Young scholars recognize that staghorn coral helps reef growth in the Caribbean.  In this Coral Reef lesson, students design a habitat model using various art materials to explain how staghorn coral helps the reef grow. Young...
Lesson Plan
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Lesson 12: Ho'olaulima: Let's Make a Hawaiian Garden

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders grow a classroom garden that acts as a living laboratory for cross-curricular activities. In this classroom garden lesson, 2nd graders follow directions to build and plant a garden that is used to teach math, science, and...
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MAKE A MODEL CELL

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students review and compare plant and animal cells, and then build a model of an animal cell.
Lesson Plan
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Redefining an Earthquake

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders build an "Earthquake Machine" (a manipulative model of a fault line) and use it to explore stick-slip behavior of some faults and to develop a more accurate definition of an earthquake and its causes.