Curated OER
A Tree-mendous Project
Seventh graders use their observation and measurement skills to identify trees. Using a tree diagram, they label the parts and discuss the functions of the tree. They practice using a dichotomous key to identify trees as well.
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Poetry and Nature
Students observe an object in nature and record them. In groups, they create a group poem about the same object. They create their own poem based on another object using other their senses to help them. They share their poems with the...
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Up the Down Tree House
Students investigate the decomposition process. In this ecology lesson, students participate in a play, "Up the Treehouse" where the main idea focuses on a decomposing tree and how food chains are effected by decomposition. After the...
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Tree Cookies
Students identify heartwood, sapwood, and a tree's annual rings, infer from a tree's rings what damage or stress might have occurred in its life, and make a time-line of human history that coincides with a tree's rings.
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Illinois Biodiversity
Young scholars examine the amount of biodiversity in the state of Illinois. They practice using new vocabulary and listening to stories about animals. After given time to reflect, they write their own haiku. They work together to create...
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Photosynthesis
Young scholars 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...
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Tree Identification/Tree Art
Seventh graders identify and examine a deciduous and coniferous tree. Using the descriptions, they discover the types of tress in their local area. As a class, they practice identifying trees on a walk in a park collecting leaves. They...
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Composition and Line
Students examine the use of composition and line as they create original drawings. In this composition and line instructional activity, students recognize the art vocabulary associated with line and composition. Students...
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Field Trip Preparation
Students prepare for a field trip. They navigate through a Underground Network site. This "field trip" can be conducted in a patch of healthy grass or soil anywhere you can find it: right outside your building, in a backyard or at a...
Virginia Department of Education
Grade 8 Writing Prompts
Imagine four pages of writing prompts. Although designed specifically for eighth graders, the topics could be used for upper-elementary and high school writers as well.
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Views of the American West: True or False?
Students explain that a landscape painting may or may not accurately represent a specific place. They identify techniques that create the illusion of three-dimensional space on a flat surface.
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Marshland Wonders
Students review the characteristics of wetlands and list their benefits. After viewing short videos, they identify the organims that make their home in wetlands and how they have adapted. They compare and contrast the characteristics...
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Conservation in Action
Students research the life and works of Rachel Carson. In this conservation lesson, students discuss environmental protection and why protection of wildlife is important. Students read a Rachel Carson Fact Sheet and work in groups...
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Habitat Hunt
Students discover how hard it is for animals to find all the items needed in their habitat. In this habitat lesson, students play a game in which they pretend to be an animal, they discover that not all animals can find the food needed...
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Balance of Nature Pyramid
Students study the concept of food chains and create a physical forest food chain pyramid. In this balance of nature pyramid instructional activity, students identify the ingredients needed on each level of the pyramid then make...
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Build A Tree
Young scholars study the different parts of a tree and the significance of each part. In this build a tree lesson, students use role-playing theater to reinforce what they are learning. Young scholars use their imagination to...
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Out and About: Sculpture
Students take a closer look at sculpture. In this visual arts instructional activity, students may visit the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the New Art Center Sculpture Park, the Fruitmarket Gallery, or Tate Britain online or in-person to...
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Winter Survival
Learners examine what animals need in order to survive. In this investigative lesson students play a "role" of an animal in winter.
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Weather Art in Space Settlements
Students demonstrate a cloud formation and the relation between pressure and temperature in gases. They explain how clouds could be created in space settlements and see the relation between pressure and temperature in gases.
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Science: Where the Worms Live
Young scholars build mine-earthworm habitats to discover their niche in them. They make predictions about what the niche looks like in a week and draw a picture of it. Students notice the tunnels in the soil and how the sand and dirt...
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Where Does the Water Go?
Students examine how water travels in and out of houses through pipes. They discover how water is treated and discuss the importance of the treatment centers. They participate in an experiment with different size piping and water.
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Canoe and Kayak
Students explore canoes and kayaks. In this canoe and kayak lesson, students research the history, parts, and sport of the canoe and kayak. Students then practice how to use a paddle for each boat, and go on a field trip in order...
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Children's Health
Young scholars learn the basic parts of an insect, where they like to hide indoors, and how to safely get rid of them. They assemble the cockroach body and cut it out of a brown bag. They attach pipe cleaners as legs and attennae. They...
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Hopping Across the Solar System
Students role-play and communicate that objects in space have describable properties, locations, and movements. Students identify and communicate effectively that Earth is the third planet from the Sun in the solar system, eight other...