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Miners of the Prairie: The Days of Shaft Mining in Northern Illinois
Students explore the life and times of a coal miner in Illinois through the analysis of primary source documents and images.
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Lost Illinois History
Students discuss "The Trail of Tears," why it happened, what it is, and where it began and ended. They work in groups to complete a reading section and answer a series of questions then share the answers with the class. Students take a...
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Exploring the Illinois and Michigan Canal
Seventh graders locate the Illinois & Michigan Canal and related landmarks on various maps. They explain the challenges associated with building a canal. They access websites imbedded in this plan and watch a video to aid their...
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Ecotourism in National Parks and Wilderness
Young scholars develop a plan for ecotourism after researching a nearby national park or wild area.
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Tree Identification/Tree Art
Seventh graders identify and examine a deciduous and coniferous tree. Using the descriptions, they discover the types of tress in their local area. As a class, they practice identifying trees on a walk in a park collecting leaves. They...
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Ecotourism in National Parks and Wilderness
Students research a wilderness or natural area and develop a plan for ecotourism.
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Water: The Liquid of Life
Sixth graders complete a lesson 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 with a field trip...
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From Hypothesis to Conclusion...Reading Maps to Understand Proofs
Tenth graders explore the concept of proof. In this proof lesson, 10th graders work in groups to collectively write proofs for directions to places on a map. Students give directions to specific places in big cities such as from the New...
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Lincoln Home National Historic Site: A Place of Growth and Memory
Eighth graders study the history of Lincoln's home. In this American History lesson, 8th graders examine artifacts from his home to learn about his beliefs. Students participate in a webquest on Lincoln's home.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Section Two: Why is Biodiversity Important?
Explore soil, genetic traits, natural resources, and pollution in a series of lessons that focus on biodiversity. Kids complete experiments to learn more about the importance of varied genes and organisms in an ecosystem.
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Kentucky Coal, Reclamation and Subsidence
Students read and discuss the information that they read on the "Kentucky Coal, Reclamation and Subsidence." They then answer questions in reference to the reading. Some questions that students answer are: What is reclamation?, Name...
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Bye-Bye Bison
Fourth graders investigate the bison's struggle for survival. They discuss the importance of bison while participating in an role playing activity showing how important the food supply and surroundings are to their survival.
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Mapping the Prairie
Fifth graders study maps of the Chicago area looking at defining characteristics and place names. They investigate settlement patterns by looking at the maps.
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Parallel Timelines
Twelfth graders research the history of how a particular environmental issue moves through the Conservation Movement. They create timelines that show the progression of public sentiment and the legislation about the issue.
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Sharing the Joy of a Garden
Students see that a garden is a place where an individual can go for inner peace and solitude. They discover that a garden is to be shared. Students describe the importance that a garden has to the environment and lives of individuals...
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How Far Did They Go?
Students create a map. In this direction and distance instructional activity, students come up with familiar places in the community and calculate the distances from these places to the school. Students create a map that displays these...
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Animals in Myths and Real Life
Students research the role of lions, elephants, and bears in ancient Roman life and mythology. They develop a strong understanding of the role animals played in important ancient Roman historical events and myths.
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A Matter of Proportion
Middle schoolers measure the relative heights of the mosaic giraffe and its trainer and compare their proportions to an actual giraffe and zoo trainer.
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The Battle of Lexington
Students discover the Missouri River and its importance during the Civil War. In this U.S. history lesson, students examine a map of the great Battle of Lexington, and discuss why the Missouri River was a key element to the conflict....
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Wild Habitats
Students research and Illustrate the natural habitats of giraffes and other animals imported into ancient Rome. They draw a map of Europe, North Africa, and West Asia and draw the animals that come from each region in their proper places.
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The Formation and Value of Temperate Grasslands
Students study the Temperate Grasslands biome of North America. They explain that it is an endangered ecosystem because the rich soils have been converted to farming in most areas. They view videos imbedded in this plan, then complete...
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Salmon Vs. Dams: the Dam Removal Debate on the Elwha River
Young scholars role-play a meeting of the Elwha River council in which they present opposing views to council members on hydroelectric power and salmon fisheries resources. They brainstorm possible conflicts between various people in...
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Ring Around the Rosie
Students 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...
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Preparing and Planting the Garden
Students prepare to build and plant a garden. In this service learning lesson, students take all the necessary steps to prepare a community garden for planting and reflect on the experience.