Curated OER
Living in Water
Fourth graders perform a lab activity in which they examine the external structure of a preserved fish and find out why fish can survive and live in water. They perform a lab which is guided by a worksheet imbedded in this plan.
Curated OER
Barnacles: Harder than Cement
Fourth graders watch the movements of the complex animal hidden inside the tiny barnacle shells. This instructional activity allows students to study the behavior, adaptation, and larval stage of the barnacle.
Curated OER
Creatures That Glow In The Night
High schoolers investigate the different bioluminescent organisms. They use microscopes in order to make observations and draw what is seen. Students demonstrate they have studies the differences between the process of photosynthesis and...
Curated OER
Water: The Liquid of Life
Sixth graders complete a lesson plan on the properties, types and amounts of water on Earth. In groups, they travel between stations to identify water resources in Illinois and pollution sources. They complete the lesson plan with a...
Curated OER
The Human Organism
Eighth graders investigate animal behavior by studying the lives of three female behavior scientists. In this human organism lesson students do different activities that inquire and approach each females work.
Curated OER
Whales
Students compare and contrast the two types of whales. In this biology lesson, students research the characteristics of their assigned whale. They compile their findings in a folder.
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Learning About Animals' Bodies
Students research different animals (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, birds, fish) and create books, murals, dioramas, puppets, and sculptures to illustrate the necessity of various body parts for overall survival. In this animal...
Curated OER
What If the Reef Dies?
Students complete four activities to investigate how reef ecology can change. They perform experiments to show how sewage discharge can affect a marine ecosystem, look at substances that don't dissolve in water, examine wave action...
Curated OER
The Biggest Dam in the World
Students recognize that the Three Gorges Dam is now being constructed in China on the upper Yangtze River. They build a dam in an empty fish tankusing common materials they have at home or can easily find, such as twigs and leaves, food...
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Cows, Worms, and Compost
Students study decomposition. In this decomposition lesson, students discuss the background information about decomposition. Students then complete the 'Chew It Twice' worksheet.
Curated OER
The Good, the Bad and the Nasty Tasting
Pupils examine the effect of chemicals from marine plants or animals on predator's preferences. In this ecology lesson, students conduct taste tests and collect necessary data. They write their conclusion after analyzing...
Michigan Sea Grant
Sea Lamprey
Learners discuss the types of technology that are used to control the population of sea lamprey in the Great Lakes. They explain the parasite/host relationship and understand the devastating impact invasive species have on ecosystems....
Curated OER
Acceleration 2
In this acceleration worksheet, students experiment with varying amounts of mass to observe the effects on the force needed to move an object. Students apply Newton's Second Law of Motion to describe the relationship between mass and...
Curated OER
Patterns in Nature
Students examine places in nature where patterns can be observed by looking through a number of books after watching a teacher PowerPoint presentation. They illustrate a pattern in nature.
Curated OER
Designing Musical Instruments
Students examine musical instruments as main part of the study of sound energy. In this designing instruments lesson plan, students focus on the elements of an instrument that cause sound to be created and design a unique musical...
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Bottle Habitat
In groups of four, students construct aquatic habitats in pop bottles. They create charts and record data from observations over a four week period. Then they graph their data and write explanations for what they observed.
Curated OER
Bermuda Reef Diorama
Students build a Bermuda coral reef to gain a better understanding of this ecosystem.
Curated OER
Ocean World
For this components of the ocean worksheet, students answer 20 questions about various species in the ocean such as plankton, different types of whales, sharks, and herring. Students also answer questions about the volume of water in the...
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Powerful Pulleys
Students explore the building of a pyramid and how pulleys were used to change the direction of applied force. They demonstrate the mechanical advantage of using a pulley and apply it to modern engineering.
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How Strong is Your Magnet?
Young scholars measure the strength of a magnet and graph how the strength changes as the distance from the magnet increases.
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Ring Around the Rosie
Learners examine the concept of angular momentum and its correlation to mass, velocity, and radius. They listen to a teacher-led lecture, conduct an experiment with rotational inertia, angular momentum, and rotation speed by making...
Michigan Sea Grant
Food Web II
A food web consists of complex food chains and the more complex the web, the better likelihood of survival. Learners compare and contrast food webs and food chains and discuss concepts like the predator-prey and consumer-producer...
Curated OER
Valued Animals - Colored Pencil and Crayon
Second graders see that pressure of crayon create range of values. They show value range with crayons in an art work. They see how value is used in works of art and explain the importance of animals and their environment.
Curated OER
Land Use Decision
Students identify social and ecological considerations where human uses of land and trees conflict with each other and ecosystem needs, and describe importance of land-use management and planning through role play.