Curated OER
No Impact Project: Water
Students use the "No Impact Project" to analyze the consumption of water. In this water consumption activity, students discuss the pros and cons of tap water or bottled water. Students read about chemicals in water and watch a video clip...
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Internet Quest-Drops to Oceans
Learners examine facts about water. In this water lesson, students complete a WebQuest to study the properties of water. There is an WebQuest activity page included in this lesson plan.
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Cat Study Article
Learners write a letter to the editor of USA Today. In this letter writing lesson plan, students read a newspaper article about cats and consider a dog or cat's view on current events. Learners reflect this perspective in their letters.
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Jefferson's Blood
Students view the video "Jefferson's Blood" and complete a series of activities, dealing with both Thomas Jefferson's public and private life, in order to better explain Jefferson as a man and politician.
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The Respiratory System
Students explore the parts of the respiratory system in this six lessons unit. The lessons presnt the concepts of the breathing, the function of oxygen in the system, how sounds are made, and the effects of pollution, smoking and disease...
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Exploration and Settlement of the American Southwest
Students scrutinize the Zuni Pueblo Revolt in this seven lessons unit on early Spanish explorers in the American southwest. The discovery of the Spanish missions, the search for the seven cities of gold, and particular geological...
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Water Use and Conservation
Students discuss the different types of water found on Earth. They discover why not all water is used for drinking and calculate how much water they use. They create their own water conservation plan.
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Exploring the History of Canyon De Chelly: The Navajos
Students are introduced to the novel Sing Down The Moon written by Scott O'Dell. Throughout the book, after each chapter is read, class discussions and journal writing is incorporated into the unit.
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Science: Down Home Dinosaurs
young scholars participate in hands-on activities to discover the different types of fossils. Using teacher-provided materials, they make models of cast and trace fossils. After writing essays describing how traces are formed, students...
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Science: Trouble in the Troposphere
Students research a NASA Website and record information about an assigned city's tropospheric ozone residual monthly climate. In groups, they graph the information for the past year. They form new groups and compare their city's...
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Earthquakes And Fault Lines
Students discuss major causes of earthquakes and identify famous fault lines, access and map information about ten largest earthquakes in world from 1989 to 1998, and theorize about location of these earthquakes as they relate to Earth's...
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Seven Natural Wonders of Africa
Students draw a picture and write a few sentences telling about their favorite natural wonder of Africa. They discuss the importance of the Nile River, Mount Kilimanjaro, the Great Rift Valley, the Serengeti Plains, and the Sahara Desert.
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Our Ever Changing Earth
First graders study ways in which the earth changes due to erosion and weathering in this series of lessons.
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Earth's Changing Atmosphere
Students examine the constant changing of the Earth's atmosphere. After labeling the layers of the Earth, they identify various processes inside the Earth that can cause gases to be emitted. Using the internet, they research how the...
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Rocks and Minerals: Sedimentary Rocks
Students explore the concept of rock formation. In this sedimentary rocks activity, students observe and record their findings about sedimentary rocks. Students then create limestone, coal, and sandstone models and write reports...
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The Earth Moves Under My Feet
Middle schoolers study earthquakes, monitor seismic activity using the Web, and plot real-time activity. They examine movement of the Earth's tectonic plates. They create an earthquake preparedness project.
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Acid Neutralization Lab
Learners discuss and design a lab to measure pH of limestone, pyrite, limestone-pyrite mixtures and their control. They have their labs approved by the instructor before they begin. Students preform the lab and explore the acid-base...
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Soil Type and Management
Students study the basics of soil science. They research and gather data through readings, videos, and performance of laboratory investigations. As a team they generate oral and written recommendations for the amendment of soil.
Teach Engineering
Straw Bridges
Pairs work as engineering teams to design and build model bridges from drinking straws and tape. In this third segment in a series of 10, teams compete in an attempt to build the strongest bridge. To help with the design, the groups...
Science Matters
Seismic Activity and California Landforms
By the 19th instructional activity in the 20-part series, scholars realize volcanoes and earthquakes are related to plate boundaries. The instructional activity extends and applies the knowledge by having individuals create a bumper...
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Collecting Rocks
Students examine how rocks are formed, used, and how to collect them. They listen to and discuss the book, Let's Go Rock Collecting, sort rock samples, and collect rocks from home.
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The Five Life Zone Research Project
Students study five of the seven life zones in North America. In this journalism lesson students use the Scientific Method working in teams. They use lab equipment and technology to create a presentation on five of the seven life zones...
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The Other Water Cycle
Middle schoolers examine human impacts on the water cycle. They compare/contrast the permeability of various materials for the purpose of engineering landscape drainage systems, and answer discussion questions.
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Biological Relationships - Coral Reef Memory Game and Chain Game
Students familiarize themselves with the interconnectedness of species within an ecosystem, and to use this knowledge to evaluate how the removal or decimation of one species can have far reaching effects.