Lesson Plan
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The Cricket and The Plant

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students examine determine the symbiotic relationship between plants and animals as the find ways to naturally reduce carbon dioxide emissions. They study the carbon cycle. They work with probe and graphing calculator to examine the...
Lesson Plan
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Great Lakes Ecology

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders identify the Great Lakes, and describe the habitat of life of a loon. They are able to point to and explain one of the major river systems that enters the Great Lakes with a focus on the Clinton River and the food webs...
Worksheet
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Photosynthesis: An Overview

For Students 9th - 12th
This photosynthesis quiz containing multiple-choice and short-answer questions challenges young biologists to extend their thinking beyond knowledge recall. There is one question referring to a certain page in the unidentified textbook,...
Lesson Plan
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Why Are Plants Green?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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.
Lesson Plan
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Super Gelatin

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers investigate the refraction properties of gelatin to calculate its index of refraction. They discover that as the light travels through the gelatin, its speed and wavelength also change. Students find th indes of refraction...
Lesson Plan
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Radiation Budget Lesson: Exploring Albedo

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students experiment with sunlight and temperature. They study the definition of albedo, or the percentage of incoming sunlight that is reflected, rather than absorbed.
Lesson Plan
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The Abiotic Limits to Purple Loosestrife Growth

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners investigate the effects of soil temperature, water availability, photo period and other variables of the growth of purple loosestrife. They observe the growing conditions of plants and alter them by adding water, isolating the...
Lesson Plan
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Soil Nutrients - Phosphorus Lab Lesson Plan

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students list sources of phosphorus in soil. They explain how phosphorus is removed from the soil and used by plants. Students list the symptoms of insufficient or excess phosphorus. Students perform experiments to examine the effect of...
Lesson Plan
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Einstein's Big Idea

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students create a time line of scientists involved with E = mc2. They describe experiments that led to an understanding of energy, mass, the speed of light squared, and the equivalence of mass and energy. Students relate challenges...
Lesson Plan
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Canned Heat

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Pupils demonstrate that light and dark colored objects absorb the sun's radiation at different rates. They experiment with the temperature change of water in two locations and discuss the results.
Lesson Plan
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What Makes a Healthy Plant?

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students predict the effects of water, light, and soil on the development of a plant and then design an experiment to test their predictions.
Lesson Plan
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Luminous Efficacy (Efficiency)

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars examine the basics of luminous efficacy and why it is used.  In this light source lesson students test energy efficiency and the luminous efficiency for babies.
Lesson Plan
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With Liberty & Top Soil for All

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers compare the basic needs of plants to the basic needs of democracy. In this democracy comparison lesson, students complete a worksheet on what happens to a plant that's not nourished. Middle schoolers draw a correlation...
Lesson Plan
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Chemical Sleuthing

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers engage in a lesson which includes flame tests and the construction of a simple diffraction spectrograph with which to measure sodium ion emissions. They use the Bragg equation to compute the wavelength of the line spectra...
Worksheet
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Photosynthesis

For Students 9th - 10th
In this biology worksheet, students explain where the energy of food originally came from. Then the explain one of the principal chemical compounds that living things use to store energy. Students also describe how ATP and ADP differ and...
Lesson Plan
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Bioluminescence

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students discover the concept of bioluminescence. They identify marine animals who have use this and why. They work together to test the function of bioluminescence as camouflage.
Lesson Plan
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Infrared-Hot

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students describe how the sun heats the Earth, explain the nature of infrared light, explain how thunderstorms are formed and use infrared maps to predict severe weather.
Lesson Plan
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Seeds & Germination

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Students study the types and parts of seeds and how they have evolved.  In this germination lesson students complete experiments that show the effects of variables role in seed germination. 
Lesson Plan
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The Sun in Our Lives

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders identify the different parts of the sun. In this astronomy lesson plan, 3rd graders examine how the sun's energy drive life processes on Earth. They construct a model of a solar system using large rolls of toilet paper.
Lesson Plan
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Exploring Forest Objects

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Young scholars explore the forest. In this ecosystems lesson, students rotate through sensory activity centers, brainstorm, and read about temperate forests.
Lesson Plan
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The Dirt on Plants

For Teachers K
Students draw and label the four parts of a plant. They describe changes that are part of the common life cycle. Students follow various one and two step directions. They are asked to discuss that they can recall about plants.
Lesson Plan
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Stellar Spectral Fingerprints

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Pupils listen as the teacher introduces Newton's early discovery of the diffraction of light. They use multiple sources of light (fluorescent, incandescent, sunlight, etc) to bend the light. They first use a prism then a diffraction...
Lesson Plan
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Convection Currents

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students explain and understand the circulation of air in the atmosphere. They identify that energy can be carried from one place to another by heat flow or by waves, including water, light and sound waves, or by moving objects. ...
Lesson Plan
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A Water Cycle Chamber

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders are shown the water cycle by watching a demonstration by their teacher. In groups, they are given one two-liter bottle with a starter hole and follow instructions to complete the set up. They place ice cubes into the...