National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
A Deadly Passion
Depending on the level of maturity of your class, the case study presented here could be fascinating. It focuses on the mating behavior and post-mating rituals of the Australian redback spider, which involves the female eating the male...
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
A Case Study of Memory Loss in Mice
Using a short news article, high school or college biologists examine the scientific method in practice. The article, which focuses on an Alzheimer's experiment performed on rats, has very limited information, so learners must be...
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Seed Dispersal
Students explore seed dispersal by designing their own wind dispersed seed structure. Using one piece of paper and a box fan, they construct a seed dispersal structure, record the distance their seed travels, and answer discussion...
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Spuds in Space
Students explore the effects of velocity on an object when it collides with another object. They design and outfit a potato astronaut in a spacesuit to withstand the hazards of high velocity impacts from space debris and meteoroids.
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
Bad Fish, Bad Bird
In an advanced biology lesson, learners see a PowerPoint about biologist Dr. Westwood, a two-time victim of poisoning. Designed to be used with clickers in the classroom, you could modify the lesson by creating a worksheet from the...
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Walking Magic
Students conduct experiment with water striders by placing the insect in two different solutions and discuss their observations. They discover that weight and surface area are important factors in their experiment.
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Investigating Properties of Water: Temperature
Investigate how temperature affects the density of water and stratification that occurs in bodies of water when temperatures vary. Water of differing temperatures is given different colors to see the layers that form. The lesson is meant...
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Bacteria in Drinking Water And Water Purification
Students explore how sewer systems can contribute to water pollution and perform an experiment to see how well a water purification technique can protect against water-born microbial illnesses. They compare the bacterial growth from...
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Mitosis And the Cell Cycle
Students determine the approximate time a cell spends in each phase of mitosis by counting cells in each phase from a prepared slide. They use a few simple calculations to estimate how long cells spend in each cycle in the body.
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Language Arts: Plot Summary
Eighth graders implement plot summary organizers to identify essential elements such as conflict and resolution in literature. In pairs, they retell fairy tales to each other and complete plot summaries about them. As students read new...
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Atomic Mass, Moles, and the Periodic Table
In this periodic table activity, students review atomic mass, molar mass, and percent composition of compounds. Then students complete 4 problems.
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Energy Saving activities Lighting
Eighth graders study how light emits energy. In this energy savings lesson plan, 8th graders conduct two experiments to find ways to save energy. In one experiment students measure the light in each classroom and make recommendations for...
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Fabric Beads
Practice using a different art medium by making fabric beads. These colorful beads can be used for necklaces, earrings, and other jewelry. They can also be used as decorative touches on photo frames, candles, and more! A long list of...
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TE Activity: Yeast Cells Respire, Too (But Not Like Me and You)
Student observe and quantify the respiration that occurs in yeast-molasses cultures. They complete an effective experiment in order to examine how to think critically about the results.
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Me And My Shadow
Students investigate the concept of a shadow. They design a tool to create shadows for an experiment. They make observations and record the size and shape of shadows. The lesson contains background information for the teacher to deliver...
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Square Foot Garden
Students plant a garden and keep track of it. In this geometrical garden instructional activity, students collect data from their garden twice a week. They graph their finding and figure out how many square feet of growing space...
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Data and Scientific Graphs
Students conduct experiments and graph their data. In this statistics lesson, students collect data and graph it on a coordinate plane. They analyze the data looking for patterns and they discuss their findings with the class.
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How To Make Yeast Cells Thrive
Students set up and run the experiments they designed in the lesson, 'Population Growth in Yeasts,' using simple yeast-molasses cultures in test tubes. They demonstrate understanding that several environmental factors can contribute to...
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Research Ethics
Students develop an ability to distinguish between simple error, misconduct and fraud. Students are lead to consider a widening circle of the consequences of misconduct and fraud. They expand their knowledge on the self-regulating...
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Seaside Science
Learners research sea life using laptop computers. In this sea life lesson, students participate in a field trip to the beach and enter observations into their laptop computers. Learners classify shells and sea life.
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The Spectrum of a Star
Tenth graders identify stars based on their line spectra. In this astronomy lesson, 10th graders analyze spectrograph and determine the elements present in the star. They explain the relationship between temperature and star classes.
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Slow Rot or Not?
Fifth graders examine how environmental factors affect decomposition. In this decomposition activity, 5th graders experiment with the decomposition of grapes in five different environmental settings. They look at images of items that...
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Archaeology
High schoolers examine how observations lead to investigations, and how archaeologists conduct their investigation.
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Pendulum Lab in 9th Grade Physical Science
Ninth graders conduct experiments to determine what affects the rate of a pendulum's swing. Working in small groups, they identify an independent variable to study and create an experiment to test their hypothesis. When tests are...