Lesson Plan
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What Makes a Cat a Cat?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars investigate the lives of pets by videotaping them.  In this animal life activity, students videotape a cat and other pets using school cameras in a computer lab.  Young scholars review the footage from the cat...
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Matter: Solids Liquids and Gases

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students participate in a science experiment to understand that matter takes up space.  In this matter lesson, students experiment with solids, liquids and gases to recognize that matter is everywhere. Students make observations and...
Lesson Plan
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Introductory Module

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine the non-standard method of measurement and compare it to the metric system of measurement. In this introductory module lesson, 3rd graders discover the scientific observation. Students also develop communication...
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Falling Into Leaves

For Teachers K
Students investigate why leaves change color. In this chlorophyll lesson, students examine how chlorophyll effects the color changes in leaves. Students take pictures of changing leaves, and create a class quilt showing the changes of...
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Making a Mini Worm Habitat

For Teachers 3rd
Students explore the process of converting organic waste into usable fertilizer. They observe how living and nonliving things interact with one another by making a mini-worm habitat.
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How Does Your Garden Grow?

For Teachers K - 6th
Students construct and maintain a school garden. In this gardening lesson, students plan the construction of the garden by writing letters to local businesses asking for supplies and materials; students build the garden using their math...
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The Magic School Bus For Lunch

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students learn along with Ms. Frizzle's class. In this Magic School Bus lesson plan, students explore the mouth, where digestion begins.
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The Magic School Bus Gains Weight

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students learn along with Ms. Frizzle's class. In this Magic School Bus lesson plan, students test whether gravity makes heavier things fall faster than lighter ones.
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Making Sounds

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students perform three experiments to gain understanding of how pitch changes. In this sound lesson, students create a variety of sounds with different pitches. Students will record their data as the observe the differences in the sounds...
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Student Designed Investigations: Observations

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners choose an organism and create an experiment with that organism. In this observation lesson, students expose a living thing to something from its environment and record their observations. Learners must have some prior knowledge...
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Slingshot Characterization Experiment

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Students set up and conduct a scientific experiment to demonstrate data collection. In this scientific process lesson, students complete an activity with the specific objective of using a slingshot to fire a t-shirt into the crowd at a...
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A Matter of Pattern

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students explore how shapes can make patterns then make connections as to how elements in a pattern relate to one another. For this matter of pattern lesson, students create a multi-folded paper snowflake. Students engage in a...
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Growing a Lawn

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Young scholars research plant growth. In this plant growth instructional activity, students explore the needs of plants. Young scholars compare and contrast grass and broadleaf plants and grow a miniature lawn in a cup of soil. Resources...
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Applied Science - Built Environment (6) Lab

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders look at toys in space. In this gravity lesson, 6th graders make predictions about what different toys will do with zero gravity. They watch a space video and see what happens to these toys in space.
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Melting and Freezing

For Teachers K - 2nd
Learners explore how various substances change from a solid to a liquid or from a liquid to a solid and how temperature, pressure and nature play an important role in this process. In this melting and freezing lesson,...
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Observing Weather

For Teachers All
Students investigate the weather by reading children stories.  In this weather observation lesson, students read Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and several other stories about weather before they create a KWL chart....
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Science: Solids

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders investigate the properties of solids and discover how to classify them. Using rulers, they measure various solids on display. In groups, they play an identification game where one students names a location, such as the...
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Photo Scavenger Hunt

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Students celebrate Earth Day by applying what they've learned about studying the natural world. In this Photo Scavenger Hunt lesson plan, students use a digital camera to capture outdoor imagery and to help them understand the...
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Making Mayonnaise - An Edible Emulsion

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Students find a way to mix oil and water. In this emulsion lesson, students attempt to mix oil and water, then add egg yolk to the mixture to serve as an emulsifier and observe the results.
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Biology In Elementary Schools

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students classify animals into six major animal groups and describe the characteristics of the animals found within each group.  In this living and non-living animals lesson, students observe a variety of animals, both living and...
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What's the Reaction?

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners combine baking soda and vinegar and observe the chemical and physical changes that this mixture can produce.
Lesson Plan
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Elementary Concepts in Heat

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders read a thermometer with accuracy, record observations and data, and infer conceptual meaning. They integrate mathematical charting and graphing skills to organize their data. They explore what happens when they touch or use...
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Cell Observation Exercise

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students take measurements of the distance between the objective and the slide when in focus with each objective. They determine the diameter of the field of view at each power in order to determine the size of the cells being observed.
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Water Cycle in a Box

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders investigate how the water cycle is vital for all living things to survive on Earth. They observe the teacher set up a simulation of the water cycle using a Plastic Earth Simulator, desk lamp, and water, and make...