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River Research
Students use the internet to research the streams and rivers found in Illinois. Using the information, they identify and describe the rivers and streams along with the physical characteristics of a river ecosystem. They share what they...
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Food Chains: Simple or Complex?
Students explore the relationships within the food chain between plants and animals. They construct modules of food chains, keeping them simple and not complex. They focus on what the animals eat and not on what eats it.
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Classification: Dichotomous Key
Students investigate the classification process and nomenclatures used for classifying organisms. They study dichotomous keys to identify organisms with 90% accuracy. Students organize information regarding the relatedness of species.
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Day And Night: Interdisciplinary Study of Cyclic Change
Eighth graders conduct a "Length of Day Symposium." They complete a variety of activities and explorations regarding the earth's rotation, its revolution around the sun and the cyclic changes in climate and energy distribution on the...
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Survivor!
Students play a game in physical education class to examine how a deer survives. Using nature as a guide, they discover how it is constantly changing due to weather, food, water, pollution and predators. They discuss the characteristics...
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The Recycle Alphabet
First graders recognize words associated with recycling. In this environmental instructional activity, 1st graders go through the alphabet and think of words associated with recycling that start with a letter. Students create a recycling...
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Week 3: Pollution Source and Effects
Lab groups set up an experiment to observe what happens over time in collected pond water when fertilizer, representing pollution, is added. This website does not include student lab sheets, but background information, materials, and...
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Recycling: The Way to Save...Fad or Fact
Students write stories about recycling and illustrate them. They examine various containers and determine whether or not they are recyclable. They make a chart about the containers and visit a recycling center.
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Pete And Repeat
Students draw a picture of a person from popular culture, then "clone" it using printing techniques in this Art lesson that tackles the questions surrounding cloning, DNA, and current scientific techniques. An emphasis is placed on the...
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Easy Street
Pupils work together to complete a simulation on drought days. As a class, they discuss their results and compare water usage of the past to current numbers. After reading short excerpts, they answer discussion questions and review as a...
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Go To The Head of the Cloud
Students pretend they are water droplets traveling through the water cycle. Using their text, they discover the steps in the cycle and the different paths water can take. They write a report about their journey through the water cycle...
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Careers With an Aquatic Emphasis
Students are introduced to careers with an aquatic emphasis. They take a self-evaluation test on what they enjoy in school to determine which career is right for them. They listen to people in the field discuss what their job is like.
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Animals Around the World
Students study different kinds of animals and what group they belong to. In this animal classification lesson students view different animals and sort them by what group they belong to, for example a snake is in the reptile...
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Splish-Splash: Daily Use of Water
Learners explore the daily use of water in Kenya and Ghana. In this Peace Corps activity, students compare similarities and differences between water use by people in Kenya and Ghana and their own communities as...
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Animals Word Search Puzzle
To make the classic word search more challenging and academic, this animal-terms puzzle has scholars solving clues to determine the words they find. Fifteen clues give detailed definitions of biology terms such as carnivore, reptile,...
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Why Are Plants Green?
Students smash plant parts and wait for visibility of chlorophyl to show why plants turn green. In this green plants lesson plan, students use acetone and filter paper for this experiment.
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Reading Follow-up Activity
Students color a worksheet while discussing characteristics and composition of caves.
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Photosynthesis
Students are introduced to the process of photosynthesis. In groups, they test the effects of the lack of sunlight on plant leaves and compare the results with their hypothesis. They note the characteristics that plants and animals share...
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Buoyancy: Who Sank the Boat?
Students examine whether objects will sink or float. In this buoyancy lesson students bring in objects and experiment to see if they sink or float.
California Academy of Science
Sustainable Fishing in the Philippines
Understanding the importance of sustainable fishing practices is fostered through a classroom game. In small groups, the class plays a fishing game where they can see first-hand, the effects of thoughtless fishing practices. After the...
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Friction In Our Lives
Fourth graders explore friction. They examine the effects of friction in the movement of objects. Students discover how friction helps and hinders us in our daily lives. They answer questions and participate in activities to demonstrate...
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Exploring Hybrid Cars
Students explore GreenHybird.com and develop a list of questions car buyers might have. Students also attempt to answer the questions on GreenHybrid.com and then explore the answers with car dealers in the area before writing a clear and...
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Fossil Fuels: Facing the Issues
Students explore energy by researching fuel usage on Earth. In this fossil fuel lesson, students define fossil fuels, the energy created by burning them, and the impact on the environment when using them. Students conduct pollution...
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Raw Seafood ~ On the Half Shell
The topic is fascinating, but there is not much for learners to do here. Food borne illness has always been a problem for humans to face, and here, data from the Center for Disease Control is analyzed. Learners look at the number of...