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As the World Spins

For Teachers K - 5th
Students research forms of and uses for pottery. They examine the people who created the pottery and create a presentation to exhibit their findings.
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Settling in the Midwest

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders search a database for pictures of home that early Midwestern settlers lived in. They create a class presentation using the pictures.
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Famous Black Americans

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students recognize famous Black Americans and their roles in America's society. They create a database and slideshow presenting famous Black Americans and relevant facts of their lives.
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Space Presents Problems

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students use the internet to research problems related to space. They complete a questionaire to direct their research before beginning. They create a database of moon and planet characteristics.
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Western Hemisphere

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders use a database to compare countries in the western hemisphere. They describe a variety of regions in Texas and the Western Hemisphere such as political, population, and economic regions that result from patterns of human...
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Architecture the Wright Way

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders search a database for famous buildings in Illinois, and compare these structures to the designs of Frank Lloyd Wright.
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Animal Playing Cards

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Young scholars research animal characteristics including information about mammals, reptiles, birds, and fish. They place the information into a database and then, create playing cards using the information.
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Presidents of the United States

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students gather data using the Internet to create products related to technology.
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Understanding Civilizations through Art

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students research artwork, and create their own using their research as a model. They write a report on the importance of artwork in civilizations.
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Whaling Slide Show

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders research a database on whaling. They search for photos that represent the whaling industry. In the classroom they use a projector and give a five-minute presentation.
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Weather Wise

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate weather and how to forecast it. They discuss the three types of clouds and the kind of weather they bring. After setting up a database, they reearch weather-related websites to check cloud conditions and weather...
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Urban Treasure Hunt

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders use clues, and a photo, to find the location of a building in Illinois. They then take a present picture and create a powerpoint presentation to compare past and present features
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Thin-layer chromatography

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students produce chromatograms of various vegetable extracts and standards. Using a flat bed scanner, they create a database of the results.
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Our Animal Friends

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students use the internet to find information pertaining to the benefits of pets. They list their results on a database. They find and record data on the percent of households that own pets as well as the top six species of pets. Once...
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Why do we call him Uncle Sam

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders create an image of a common patriotic symbol. They then complete a research project on the symbol they chose. The teacher creates a rubric which is used as the grading process.
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Toy Planet

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Young scholars design a toy store, supply it with merchandise (on paper) and create advertisements. They also manage the store's debits and credits by using a spreadsheet. They consider how to promote the sale of their merchandise.
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How Many M&M's

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners explore sets and collections. Students find the colors of M&M's and the amount of M&M's each student has. They organize this information into an Excel spreadsheet. Learners use the chart wizard to create a graph.
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Understanding Cloud Formation

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students read and relate the poem, "Clouds" by Aileen Fisher to a demonstration on cloud formation. They create clouds in jars using ice water and matches then discuss the ways clouds can be used to predict weather.
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Tracing the Impact of Historical Figures

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use the Internet to research one historical figure. Using the information they collect, they create a display and present it to the class. They complete flowchart notes and discuss how one figure can alter the course of history.
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The "Coal LIfecycle" Scrapbook

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students discover how coal is formed. In this science lesson, students create a scrapbook on the life cycle of coal and show how coal is formed by showing pictures of each stage.
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Exploring and Comparing Other Communities

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders search TDC database for images of physical geography maps, weather maps, natural resources maps, and old travel brochures. They create a new travel brochure of an area of their choice using the information they gathered.
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How Did the Immigrants Get to the United States?

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders search TDC database for images of immigration from other countries, maps, and diaries. They identify the challenges that immigrants had to endure to reach the United States.
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Constitution Day

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine and discuss recent court cases involving young people and the Bill of Rights.They use a focus question to create the context for class discussion: How does the Bill of Rights apply to young people and students?
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Mussel Identification Activity

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students identify given species of animals, such as various mussels, by sets of physical characteristics as they use a key. They also read about mussels on the Illinois River and look at mussel species in the online database. Finally,...