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Intolerable Acts
Students examine the implications of North Korea's nuclear testing. They develop a K-W-L chart, read an article, write questions, conduct research on their self-generated questions, and create an exhibit of their findings.
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Protein Puzzles
Students examine the concept of protein structure. They read an article, construct a three-dimensional model of an insulin protein, take a quiz, conduct Internet research, and answer discussion questions.
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The Built Environment-An Integrating Theme
Learners observe, record, and present knowledge of their local built environment while conducting a walking tour of their community. They develop written and photo journals, drawings, time lines, graphs, and charts to engage in...
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WorldWatcher Project: Global Warming Project
Students conduct lab activities, computer visualizations, and other various forms of research in preparation for a role-play activity in which they assume the identities of advisors to various heads of state on the subject of global...
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The Sense of Hearing
Students study the cycle of how we listen and hear our own speech. They examine sound waves, and the role of the nervous system in hearing. They investigate the cues besides lipreading that deaf people rely on for comprehension.
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It's Not Conjecture, Look! It's Architecture!
Students examine how architecture reflects historical time periods. They conduct research on the History Detectives website, complete a fact sheet, sequence photographs of different architectural styles, and create an illustration of a...
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Trichinella Forensics
Students engage in DNA manipulation using forensics techniques. Students investigate topics involved in forensics studies such as cloning, electrophoresis, gene mapping, replication, and transcription.
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Michigan-Made Products
Students conduct research of three different products that are made in Michigan. They determine how the product is made, manufactured, gathered, or found. They work with a partner to produce a multimedia presentation using their combined...
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Married Math
Students participate in a two-week real-life math unit. In pairs, they calculate salaries, taxes, and a budget, plan a vacation, buy insurance, make a will, and design a room. They conduct Internet research to plan the vacation, and...
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Phase Change
Learners compare the freezing temperature of two substances by conducting an experiment to freeze liquid ice cream. They vary the amount of salt used in the ice cubes during the freezing procedure to determine the change in the...
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TE Lesson: Can You Taste It?
Students investigate how animals adapt to use its senses to identify foods that are nutritious or noxious. They determine how they associate foods with other things such as birthdays. They discuss the role of the nervous system in the...
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TE Lesson: Factors Affecting Friction
Middle schoolers investigate the effect of weight on normal friction or the friction due to surface roughness. They tell about the effects of contact area that occurs as a result of molecular attraction by looking at data on line graphs.
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Rock Solid
Students investigate the three types of material stress related to rocks. They watch a PowerPoint Presentation, view an online animation of the three types of rock stress, identify the various types of rocks, answer true or false...
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I Can't Take the Pressure!
Students explore the concept of air pressure. Using candy or cookie wafers to model how air pressure changes with altitude, they conduct an aluminum can crushing experiment, compare the magnitude to gravitational force per unit area,...
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TE Activity: Super Spinners!
Students make spinners to investigate rotational inertia, rotational speed, angular momentum, and velocity. They make two sets of spinners that have different mass distributions and shapes. They complete a worksheet while experimenting...
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TE Activity: Yogurt Cup Speakers
Sixth graders build a speaker as they investigate the roles of electricity and magnetism. They discover the properties of magnets, create an electromagnet, and determine the direction of a magnetic field. They show cause and effect...
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Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns
What does it mean to grow? To germinate? For the plan detailed here, class members investigate the growth process of an oak tree while focusing on the beginning stages of planting and germination. They plant seeds and record observations...
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Discovering Mexico through Murals
Students describe the Mexican culture and relate it to their own culture. They investigate the Mexican culture through internet research, textbooks, and class discussions. Students create a mural of their school culture. They interview...
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Propaganda & Persuasive Techniques: Do You Buy It?
Fifth graders investigate the basic persuasive techniques employed in advertising. They identify three examples of propaganda/persuasive techniques, complete an observation chart, take an advertising quiz, complete a spreadsheet that...
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The Colors of Chemistry
Students investigate the acidity and alkalinity of common household products in an experiment. They use red cabbage juice and litmus paper to show the difference between strong acids and bases as they work with vinegar, dish washing...
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Wolf Fact Cards
Students write a non-chronological report about wolves. They read and discuss wolf fact cards in small groups, complete a KWL chart, observe the teacher model the steps of writing a report, and conduct research and write an original...
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Steppin' Out
Students are presented with the question: "Do longer legged people run faster than shorter legged people?" Students conduct an experiment, collect their data, create box and whisker plots using a computer and graphing program, and...
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Chemical Fun
Fifth graders observe and conduct a variety of experiments to differentiate between physical and chemical changes. They mix cabbage juice with different liquids and record their observations on a chart. Students write down their...
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Rock Cycles, Crayon Cycles
Students examine the rock cycle and the path that rocks go through to rearranged in different ways. They define key vocabulary terms, then in small groups conduct a variety of experiments using crayon shavings as simulated rocks and...