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My Favorite Meal
Students investigate ecological systems and the multiple uses of the environment by studying the osprey population.
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Dishing the Dirt Part 3
High schoolers collect and examine different soil samples. They test for specific types of soil elements and the pH level. They answer questions about optimum growing conditions as well.
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Sunspots: Correlating Sunspots to Active Regions
Students investigate sunspots. They use solar imaging from satellite instruments which are currently circling the sun. Students compare images from the satellites and determine the existence of a correlation between the two types of...
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Selecting Soil Organisms in Compost
Students conduct an experiment to demonstrate that many of the enzyme systems needed to break down society's wastes exist in nature among the decomposers in a compost pile. They culture compost bacteria on starch agar to examine the...
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Selecting Soil Organisms in Compost
Students demonstrate that many of the enzyme systems needed to break down--and therefore clean up-society's wastes already exist in nature among the decomposers. They select the best starch-munching organisms by altering the environment...
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Project Design
Twelfth graders study Thoreau as "philosopher" and developing a personal philosophy of life (both metaphorically and literally). They come to an understanding of the interconnectedness of the natural world. Students come to a realization...
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Scientific Inquiry: Periodic Motion
Students construct their own pendulum. In this physics lesson, students design an experiment to find the factors affecting its period. They formulate a conclusion based on experimental data.
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Creating a Place of Contemplation Based on Hindu Temple Architecture
Students study the architecture and decoration of Hindu temples, compare them with, and apply them to, a place of contemplation they will design for themselves.
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The First Televised War
Learners view a film about the role of the media in the Vietnam War. They discuss the risks journalists face when covering a war and how the television changed how people at home saw the war. They answer questions to complete the...
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Return to Vietnam: Healing on the Hill
Pupils view a film about soldiers returning to Vietnam years after the war. They discover the need of closure by the soldiers because the war was not won. They examine the results of the war and answer questions to complete the lesson.
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The Hantavirus Haunting: Solving the Case
Young scholars engage in research about the hantavirus. They use a variety of resources to obtain information. Students distinguish the differences between hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, hantavirus transmission, and hantavirus prevention.
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Animals, Piece by Piece
Students receive teacher prepared puzzles of animals. They try to name the animal by looking at only one piece. Students work in groups to assemble the puzzle pieces and name the animal. They draw their own pictures of the animals in...
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Sticky Tongue
Third graders make inquiry about the adaptations that help a frog to survive in its environment. They identify the adaptations and define how they work. They also research the idea of how species have common characteristics.
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Cotton and Cabbage
Learners note how given traits could be achieved by selective breeding and by transgenesis. They identify different uses of GEO. Students recognize that the use of letters (Bt) before an organism's name means that the organism has had a...
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Biological Control of Purple Loosestrife
Students examine the role of Purple Loosestrife in Illinois and Indiana rivers. In groups, they collect a wide variety of plants in a wetland and raise beetles in a controlled environment. They introduce the loosestrife into the...
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Scientific Theories
Ninth graders compare and contrast how different models can be used to represent scientific understandings. They evaluate the use of data when considering scientific claims. Students debate a variety of socio-scientific issues and the...
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Oily Oceans
Students, after reading Jack, the Seal and the Sea, by Gerald Aschenbrenner, get a hands-on knowledge of the effects of oil on water, and those things that come in contact with it.
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The Nature of the Antagonist
Students explain the differences between protagonists and antagonists and recognize the fundamental purpose of an antagonist or villain in storytelling. They also explain conflict as used in literature.
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The Bill of Rights
Ninth graders research the Bill of Rights and consider which freedoms are the most important for them. They consider the Bill in detail and then write to their Congressperson about something they would like to see done or changed.
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Prime and Composite Numbers with use of manipulatives (Elementary, Mathematics)
Students learn what prime and composite numbers are. They learn how to identify them by working in a group and demonstrating an understanding of one work problem with 100% accuracy using the manipulatives provided.
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Seeing Sound and Sonar
Students grasp how underwater animals can "see" using sound waves. They practice making inferences, and build a conceptual understanding of sonar radar.
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School Food Waste
Young scholars see how much food is thrown away at their school each day. They utilize a survey form imbedded in this plan to organize their research. They use the information gathered to make some suggestions about how to decrease food...
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History of Philanthropy
Middle schoolers identify events and organizations that involve philanthropy. They research one event and share their information with the school. They write journal entries stating ideas from the presentations.
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Tree Rings As Records of the Past
Students discover how trees preserve a record of times in the past.