Curated OER
Geology of Connecticut
Learners examine the geology of Connecticut, including plate tectonics, glaciation, and fossil formation.
After reviewing past lessons, they write essays about what life may have been like in the Mesozoic Period. Following a field...
Curated OER
From Caterpillar to Butterfly
Young scholars read and discuss the book about the butterfly and create their own butterflies using liquid watercolors and pipe cleaners. They then create a butterfly development book, included in the lesson, and color the pictures...
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What Big Teeth You Have:
Students make their own tooth impressions of a sharp and a flat tooth and compare the differences. They make impression of fossil teeth from dinosaurs comparing the sharp and flat teeth and learning about their uses.
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Archaeology and Prehistoric Native Americans
Young scholars study the terms paleontology and archaeology and examine how they can help us learn about prehistoric Native Iowans. In this archaeology lesson plan students discuss these terms and view a video on Native...
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Energy Is Everywhere
Students determine the difference between renewable and non-renewable resources and identify the different forms of energy. They discuss life without energy and where energy comes from before reading an article about the different...
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Climate Change
Learners explore environmental care by researching the impact of human beings on our planet. In this climate change lesson plan, students utilize the Internet to read informational text about climate change and the effect it will have on...
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Waves : An Alternative Energy Source
Students evaluate the feasibility of wave energy as an alternative source of energy. In this alternative energy source lesson students are introduced to renewable and nonrenewable energy and study energy production.
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The History of Rock and Roll
Seventh graders examine how the different layers of rock show the history of the Earths surface. In this rock lesson plan students divide into groups and complete an activity using clay.
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Is Climate Change Good for Frogs?
Students fill out a chart on how climate change would affect them and things around them. In this climate change lesson plan, students discuss how global warming affects them and amphibians and then fill out the chart that goes with it.
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Build-A-Horseshoe Crab
Students discover many facts about horseshoe crabs. Students identify the main body parts of horseshoe crab. They explore the habits of the horseshoe crab and their importances to the ecosystem. Adaptations for younger students are...
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Do It Yourself: Matter & Energy Interaction Lesson Plan
Students complete a KWL chart describing their knowledge or renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. They examine the Stirling Engine which is an external combustion engine and compare it to a Hero's Engine. They participate in a...
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Diversity/Natural Selection
High schoolers examine mechanisms behind biological evolution and the theories that feed it, and are able to demonstrate their knowledge of these theories in a story.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Personal Choices and the Planet
How big is your footprint? Activity three culminates the series by having groups complete carbon footprint audits with people in their schools and/or around the districts. Groups then gather their data, create a presentation including...
California Academy of Science
The Heat is On: Cause and Effect and Climate
The higher the number of letters in the final word for the National Spelling Bee, the higher the number of people killed by venomous spiders. Obviously, those two facts correlate, but no causation exists. Scholars view data based on...
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Career & Technical Education: Grade 7
Educate your learners on the importance of using bio-diesel as an alternative transportation fuel. Provided here are several links to books (with reviews), a 24-page informational text in three reading levels, a corn activity, and...
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Alternative Fuels: Debate Game
Seventh graders play a debate game as they explore the concept of alternative transportation fuel. They evaluate the advantages or disadvantages of using biofuels. Multiple resources, such as videos, PowerPoints, and websites are...
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Human Evolution
Students make and use observations of Laetoli footprints to provide clues to life in the past. They collect and analyze data to study the relationship between foot length and body height.
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Three Dimensional Geology
Learners use rocks and fossils to interpret the geology of an area. They use prior knowledge and make recommendations about where to build a subdivision based on the rocks.
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Frosty the Snowman Meets His Demise: An Analogy to Carbon Dating
Students read and discuss an article about carbon dating, then participate in a hands-on lab to discover how carbon dating works. Students also write a letter to a friend explaining the process, and how archeologists use the process to...
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THE CHERNOBYL DISASTER
Students explore how a nuclear accident can affect biological systems. They examine the case of the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown in 1986.
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Who Was Charles Darwin?
Students complete two activities to study Charles Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection. They read Darwin's journal from the voyage of the Beagle and look at the scientific ideas that influenced the development of his theory.
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Weather
Students recognize that carbon dioxide's role in the greenhouse effect. They research the greenhouse effect to design and create a greenhouse structure to measure the changing temperatures over a 24-hour period. In addition, they write a...
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Polishing the Petoskey
Students polish a Petoskey stone to show how to make an attractive rock display. In this polishing rocks lesson plan, students use sand paper and polishing materials to polish a rock and remove the rock dust. This is to display a nice...
Curated OER
Polishing the Petoskey
Students select a stone and polish it. Throughout the process they demonstrate an understanding of rocks and fossil formation.