Curated OER
An Elephant Never Forgets
Students are introduced to the Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa. For this natural science lesson plan, students identify the elephants by name according to the diagrams. Students study the unique characteristics of the...
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The Invasion of the Medfly
Students examine the invasion of the fruit fly in California. In groups, they observe and record the fruit fly's lifecycle and how they affect humans in society. They also discuss the history and geography of the fly and the different...
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Dinosaurs
Students will develop goals for inquiry. They will also improve content area reading and research skills. The context of studying dinosaurs will help learners to distinguish from organisms that live presently and those from the past...
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Species Interactions
Eighth graders explore seven terrestrial biomes. They compare relationships between children, parents and friends to interactions among species. After observing pictures of types of interaction, 8th graders describe the predator-prey...
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Put on a Happy Face!
Students explore using recycled materials. For this ecology/art lesson, students use recycled materials to create a Halloween mask. Students view folk art made of natural and available resources, and discuss possible cultural uses for...
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The Shape of Things
Students explore dome shape construction. In this dome shape construction lesson, students explore the history, strength, and endurance of the dome shape design.
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Exploring Magnetism and Electricity
Students explore Faraday's Law. In this electromagnetism lesson, students investigate Michael Faraday. Students discover the history of the electromagnet. Students examine the parts of an electromagnet.
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Channel Islands and the Surrounding Sea
Middle schoolers examine the Channel Islands and identify its characteristics. They participate in activities to help them discover the islands history, geography and conservation efforts. They complete a worksheet to end the lesson plan.
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A Little Horse Sense
How have horses evolved over time? How do horse skulls reveal this evolution? How have the roles horses play changed over time? What kind of social structure do horse herds have? How should wild horse populations be managed? To find the...
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A Dinosaur Scavenger Hunt
Students explain what a fossil is, learn six dinosaurs and tell one characteristic about each, then describe verbally what a dinosaur might have looked like.
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A Tour Down the Hudson River
Students discuss how the Hudson River is an ecosystem made up of both biotic and abiotic factors. They view the PowerPoint the Journal Down the Hudson River. Students become aware of where the Hudson River begins and ends, the plant and...
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Air Pressure is Powerful
Students make a barometer and write a paragraph describing how they did it.
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Are You One of Us?
Students compare and contrast insects and arthropods, identifying characteristics of each. In groups, they sort pictures of arthropods into the five different classes of arthropods. They also sort pictures into insect and non-insect piles.
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Inherited Traits
Pupils work with a partner to complete an inventory of their traits and compare and discuss their unique qualities. In this biology instructional activity, students determine percentages for the frequency of observed traits of...
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Hudson Valley Rocks
Students identify each of the rocks provided and locate where in the valley they are found. They explain why the rocks came to be as they are in each location. In addition, they relate the exercise to how the Hudson Valley's geologic...
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Glacial Groundwater
Students study glacial deposition and groundwater in Dutchess County, new York. They identify the permeability rates in different glacial deposits and relate this information to ground water capacity of sediments found in Dutchess...
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How Much Water is in That River?
Students practice measurement using the Hudson River. They calculate the discharge measurement at a location on the Hudson River using ingenuity and a topographic map.
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What's a Capacitor?
Students explain concepts of charge storage, how a capacitor works and how DRAM uses capacitors to store memory. They construct a capacitor and use a multimeter with capacitance meter capability to measure the stored charge in the...
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Zeros and Ones: Understanding Computer Language
Students examine how computer processes language and symbols. They use binary code to encode and decode written language and decimal numbers.
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Electronic Components
Students describe how resistors affect the flow of electricity. In this electronics lesson students examine transistors and what they do and how they work.
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Where Do We Come From? An Introduction to Primate Biology
Seventh graders explore skeletal biology. Through a discussion and video observation, 7th graders investigate how the anatomy is adapted to the environment. Students study primates and explore their characteristics and behaviors.
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Curriculum Activities: Ecological Concepts
Students explore a variety of microclimates to develop an awareness of why organisms live where they do. Moisture, time of day, land cover, and temperature form the basic concepts of this investigation.
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Seeing Ancient Worlds
Students view the images from the Nature Images Photo Gallery and identify various elements of nature. They then group the elements into categories and discuss what these images tell about the worlds of ancient Native Americans.