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Scavenging the Sandy Shore
Students explore oceanography by examining a beach. For this living things lesson, students define the terms abiotic and biotic and practice identifying living and non-living things that have been previously found on a beach. Students...
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The Great Pond Safari
Students study pond life by visiting a pond and completing an associated worksheet. They play an online game based on the pond learning experience.
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Classifying Rocks
Students classify rocks into groups after they observe the rocks and identify properties that can be used to divide them into groups. They then identify other properties that could be used to classify other objects into groups.
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Biology: Variation and Classification
Students investigate classification of different animal groups. In this biology instructional activity students list characteristics of themselves and others they know to show differences and how they are classified. Students...
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Arsenic and Human Health
Ninth graders concentrate on arsenic poisoning as an example of the connections among health, geography, and geology as they develop a persuasive presentation about the dangers of arsenic in the drinking water, targeting a specific...
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Classy
Students explore the classification system in this seven lessons unit. The diversity of life forms and their characteristics are examined using a microscope. Kingdoms, classes, and families are investigated.
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Pond-life Safari
Students determine the living and non-living parts of pond life. In this pond life lesson, students examine the plants, animals, and insects that live in ponds. They look through a variety of print media, cut out pictures, and arrange...
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The Key To Classifying Animals
Explorers of the environment construct a dichotomous key for a variety of organisms and design a key to classify Galapagos animals based on descriptions and images. The lesson includes a link to an animal gallery and the worksheet for...
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Marshland Ecosystems
Students identify animals in ecosystem depicted on 16th Century ceramic basin and classify them as herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores based on physical characteristics and prior knowledge, determine which life forms in ecosystem are...
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Create a Critter Collage
Learners create a collage. In this animal classification lesson, students discuss why and how scientists classify animals. Learners view pictures of different animals and decide which class each animal belongs to. Students compare...
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Biodiversity
Students investigate the diversity of temperate forests and tropical rainforests. They catch and observe local insects, sort leaves and insects on a chart, listen to the book "A Walk in the Rainforest," and create a class bar graph that...
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Human Impacts to the Sandy Shore
Students investigate human impact on coastal environments. In this coastal environment lesson, students observe human impact on coastal environments. Students sort, classify, and chart marine debris collected on a local beach.
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Food Chains
Fourth graders study food chains, producers, consumers, and decomposers. They play a food chain game and create food chain mobiles or posters. They take a nature hike around the school and observe various parts of a food chain.
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Introduction to Classification
Fourth graders design a classification system to categorize animate and inanimate objects. They discuss the advantages of grouping things as they classify buttons, leaves, shells.
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Create a New Animal
Students understand what physical adaptations are and how they help an animal to survive. In this adaptations lesson, students research four animals and then make an original animal that has adaptations to make them survive.
Michigan Sea Grant
Wetlands
Wetlands may not sound particularly ornate, but they are as important as any habitat! With a hands-on activity, young scientists build a wetland model and observe its many functions in action. They discover the importance of wetlands to...
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What is a bird?
Students sort birds by their physical characteristics. In this bird characteristics lesson plan, students review bird characteristics and create beaks. Students discuss birds as pets.
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Sedimentary Rocks
In this sedimentary rock worksheet, students answer 9 fill-in-the-blank questions and 8 matching questions regarding sedimentary rocks and their formation.
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Early Humans
Sixth graders read about the different types of Humanoid. They examine the different cultural beliefs and their own personal beliefs about evolution. They research the species using the scientific theory about evolution.
American Museum of Natural History
Start a Rock Collection
Rocks hold evidence of Earth's past. A three-step guide describes the process of creating a rock collection. It provides a data collection sheet to make notes about each sample.
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Who's There
Fifth graders, in groups, make a list of at least three animals that would survive well in a particular environment. After an allotted time, they pass their list to another group, where they will add to it. They discuss adaptations each...
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What's Hatching in Kindergarten?
Students identify oviparous animals. They brainstorm a list of animals that lay eggs, read "Chickens Aren't The Only Ones" by Ruth Heller and then add to the list. Students complete a booklet that shows an egg and an oviparous animal.
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Plot Studies
Third graders are introduced to how to properly read a plot map. As a class, they take a field trip to an area surrounding the school and work together in groups to examine small sections of the different environments. To end the...
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Who Eats Who?
Students recognize that some animals eat plants, some eat meat and some both. In this who eats who lesson, students chart animals in a food chain. Students research information from reading articles. Students chart what...