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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Color is Your Air Today?

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students investigate air quality. They analyze Air Quality Index data tables, interpret the graphs, complete a worksheet, and discuss trends in air quality.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fuel Mystery Dis-Solved

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners describe how temperature and surface area exposure affect the rate at which fuel is consumed. They explain why engineers want to know about the properties of a fuel when designing rockets. They create a bar graph of result data.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's Bag It

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students observe and discuss a vacuum cleaner model of a baghouse to better understand how this pollutant recovery method functions in cleaning industrial air pollution. They give examples of when the use of a baghouse is appropriate,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Waterwheel Work

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners investigate the history of the waterwheel and common uses for water turbines today. They construct an experimental waterwheel using a two-liter plastic bottle, measure the rate of revolution of a waterwheel, and complete a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jack and the Beanstalk

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine a reading selection. In this fairy tale lesson, 3rd graders read Jack and the Beanstalk. Students are divided into groups and each group lists the elements of a fairy tale and writes a script for a puppet play of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aerospace

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Students experiment with weight and balance of a glider.  In this flight instructional activity students construct their own flying glider and record their experiment with it. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cut Ice Cubes in Half Like Magic

For Teachers K - 1st
Students explore the process of melting or cutting ice. In this scientific observation lesson, students discover that the pressure from two weights will pull a string through an ice cube by melting the ice directly under the line of...
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Activity
Curated OER

Make A Crystal Snowflake!

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Students make a crystal snowflake decoration out of string, pipe cleaners, food coloring, boiling water, and more. In this snowflake lesson plan, students let it dry over night and see crystals in the morning.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Five Themes of Geography and Current Events

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Basically, pupils look for a current world event from a reputable source and identify the five themes of geography within it. Throughout the school year, they keep a notebook of these current events. A grading guideline is outlined, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Air -- Is It Really There?

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students work together to perform simple experiments discovering the properties of air. They share their results with their classmates. They examine how engineers use the properties of air to clean the air of pollutants.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bouncing Balls

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students work together to examine how different types of balls react to colliding with different surfaces. They discover the difference between elastic and inelastic collisions. They practice calculating momentum as well.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Drifting Continents

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students, through teacher-led demonstration, explore the idea of continental drift. They complete a worksheet involving the calculation of continental drift over time.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

TE Activity: Does Weight Matter?

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students design and conduct experiment to determine if weight added incrementally to an object affects amount of friction encountered when it slides across a flat surface. They graph data from their experiments, and calculate...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Seismology in the Classroom

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students work together to use a sample seismograph. They role play the position of an engineering firm that is to analyze the machine. They discover how engineers develop new machines to take measurements.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Just Passing Through

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Pupils examine the functions of the kidney and its place in the urinary system. They discuss how astronauts go the bathroom in space, examine labeled diagrams of the urinary system, and draw a large scale drawing of the excretory system...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who's Down the Well?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners identify several sources of contaminants to groundwater. They discuss the movement of possible contaminants through that groundwater from outside sources. They describe how environmental engineers analyze contaminants to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Eek, It leaks!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars construct model landfill liners out of two-inch strips of garbage bags within resource constraints. The challenge is to construct a bag that will hold one cup of water without leaking. This represents similar challenges...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Trickles Down?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers explore different levels of permeability and compare the permeabilities of several different materials. They are introduced to the basic concepts of building design, landscape architecture, and environmental pollutant...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biodiversity in Illinois-Pond Habitats

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders construct a pond habitat in the classroom using a small swimming pool partially filled with water, real cattails, a tree log adjoining, and plastic animal life appropriate to a pond setting. They examine the frog in detail...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Growing a Nation

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine the major events and inventions that changed American families and communities.  In this US History lesson, 11th graders analyze various documents dealing with the changes.  Students create a project on an event...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Alice World:Tornado

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders use the Alice program and complete a world that is damaged after a tornado.  In this atmospheric conditions lesson students complete an activity using the Alice program. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sense Of Place

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students study ecology, listen to speakers and research conservation topics.  In this investigative lesson students discuss wilderness resources, learn about Native Americans and participate in activities that help them to better...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

My Five Senses 2

For Teachers K
Students investigate the five senses. In this five senses activity, students answer essential questions about the use of the five senses as they interact with their environment. They use a computer software program to make a concept web...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Classifying "Pastanimals"

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore biology by creating a poster presentation. In this animal classification lesson, students utilize a SMART board and practice organizing a group of animal shapes by placing them with similar animal families. Students...