Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Microarrays: Chipping Away at the Mysteries of Science and Medicine

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research microarrays on the internet in cooperative groups. Students write an essay describing the use of microarrays in environmental research and in medicine.
Lesson Plan
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Discovery Science Center Activities

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders complete a variety of experiments to meet science goals.  In this life sciences instructional activity, 4th graders make yogurt, discover the attraction of opposite charges in electricity, learn the effects of...
Lesson Plan
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Three Main Rock Groups

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students are introduced to igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. They use foods to demonstrate the basic formation of each type of rock, read books about rock formation and view related videos.
Lesson Plan
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Owl Pellets

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders investigate the role of owls in their ecosystem. In this food chain lesson plan, 6th graders illustrate an owl food chain, dissect an owl pellet, and analyze data. Students discuss what would happen to owls if there were an...
Lesson Plan
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Nutrition

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders investigate nutrition and nutrients. In this nutrition or diet lesson, groups of students create a poster, commercial, or skit about a nutriet which will be presented or performed to the rest of the class after...
Lesson Plan
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Who Eats Who?

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
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...
Lesson Plan
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Pond Water Web

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students identify the different organisms in the food web. In this biology lesson, students create food chains using the information on cards. They explain what happens if an organism is removed or added in the web.
Lesson Plan
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Sugar-Coating the Facts

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners explore the food industry's influence on American Student nutritional habits and analyze the nutrition charts found on food packaging. They design their own warning labels for foods targeted at Students.
Lesson Plan
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Science Videos

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Young scholars plan, practice, and act in a 2-3 minute videotaped production about a specific topic. Students from a local high school give presentations pertaining to seasons, earth rotation, and moon phases. Young scholars analyze the...
Lesson Plan
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Field Trip to the Watsonville Wetlands

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars explore the differences between food webs and food chains.  In this wetland lesson students play a food web game and go on a scavenger hunt. 
Lesson Plan
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Food Journal Exercise

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers are required not to change their usual eating pattern while recording everything they eat and drink for 1 day. They evaluate the nutrient composition of their diet, as well as their dietary intake and behavior within the...
Worksheet
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A Bug's Life

For Students 6th - 8th
In this biology worksheet, learners create a presentation for a museum about the children they encounter during their journey as an insect. They identify the types of food the insect eats and its habitat. Students also describe their...
Lesson Plan
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Ecosystem Game

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students examine the ecosystem by playing a game. In this ecosystem lesson, students are put into groups of decomposers, consumers, and producers. Students create a list of animals that fit into each group and items that represent...
Lesson Plan
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Habitats

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students complete food chains for organisms in three environments. They use copies of the Habitat worksheet. Students review the food chain terms with the teacher. They research related food chains, and interlink these to form a food...
Lesson Plan
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A Wild Chain Reaction

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore habitats. In this habitat  lesson, students break into groups and are labeled as a part of a habitat. Students then do an activity with yarn that shows how all of the parts are connected and depend on each...
Lesson Plan
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My Personal Pyramid

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students complete a WebQuest that explores three different food pyramids. In small groups, they explore the websites, complete a Venn diagram, and design a mini-poster of a food pyramid that meets nutritional standards and includes their...
Lesson Plan
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Sustainable Island Development

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars explain how the basic human needs of a large group of people can be met. They describe and evaluate alternative methods for providing water and food, producing electricity, handling wastes, and transporting goods and...
Lesson Plan
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Carrot Sticks or French Fries?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate the influence of fast food brand names on food choices and analyze the factors that contribute to branding preferences. They write an opinion essay on the corporate responsibility to influence food choices.
Lesson Plan
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Quality of Life Investigations: Risk Reductions

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners participate in a discussion of recent environmental issues affecting their own community or ones nearby. In groups, they research the role of food additives and the purpose of adding them to foods. They also determine their...
Lesson Plan
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Design a Plankton

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars explore animal and plant adaptation.  In this ecosystems science lesson, students view websites to gain information about plankton and its  interdependence within ecosystems. Young scholars identify ways in which...
Lesson Plan
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Interdependence and Adaptation

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders construct a food web to illustrate how animals and plants are interdependent. In this interdependence lesson plan, 5th graders identify how consumers, producers, herbivores, carnivores and predators are related in a...
Worksheet
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Controls and Variables

For Students 8th - 12th
In this scientific methods worksheet, students identify the control group, independent variables, and dependent variables in 4 different experiment descriptions.
Lesson Plan
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Let's Make a Compost Cake

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students create a compost cake. For this gardening and decomposition science lesson, students review and describe the "nutrient cycle." Students create a compost pile, measure and record the dimensions and temperature of the pile, and...
Lesson Plan
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What is DNA? DNA Extraction from Kiwifruit

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners isolate DNA from kiwi cells, spool DNA from a kiwi, describe role of the DNA and genes, and explain how knowledge of DNA and genes can be used in genetically modifying foods.