Lesson Plan
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Breezy, Chilly, or Freezing?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students assess the factors which influence the sensation of being "cold" in a particular situation. They study the complexities in measuring temperature by reading and discussing the article "Beyond Brrr: The Elusive Science of...
Lesson Plan
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Vikings in Vinland

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the role of archaeology in gaining information about past civilizations. After reading an article, they discover evidence of the Viking settlement of North America. They summarize the information in the article by...
Lesson Plan
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Shedding New Light

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider why photographs in space might not show stars and research the importance of light in this phenomenon. They research other scientific processes related to light or its absence and create "How It Works" posters about them.
Lesson Plan
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Cooking Up an Explanation

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students pose scientific questions about food items and research their explanations. They then create recipe cards with the answers and present their findings in a cooking show format.
Lesson Plan
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Constellation Prizes

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students study meteors, meteorites, and comets by reading and discussing a related New York Times article about the Leonid meteor showers and the methods that scientists are using to study from these meteors. They create a comet in the...
Lesson Plan
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Interview With A Psychoanalyst

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students discuss health topics they would like to know more about. They read an article interviewing a psychoanalyst. They resarch any questions they have about a specific scienctist. They write their own newspaper article using...
Lesson Plan
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Who Gives a Hoot?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students look at owl migration and its impact on the environment and the food chain after reading an article from The New York Times. Students then apply this information to and research different food chain situations for other species...
Lesson Plan
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The Book of Life

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students discuss the factors that make a good children's book. After reading an article, they explore the prevalence of science in children's literature. In groups, they research a topic and translate it into easy language for a child...
Lesson Plan
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The Halls are Alive with the Sound of Music

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students discuss physical places in which had good or bad acoustics. After reading an article, they discover the relationship between the physics of sound and concert hall acoustics. They calculate the speed of sound and compare their...
Lesson Plan
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Arthur's Halloween

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students read a story and respond.  In this caring and helping others lesson, students read Arthur's Halloween making predictions as they go.  Students write a report on caring, create a caring journal where they record how...
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We, the First People

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students explore new support regarding the earliest peopling of America by examining multiple theories on the migration of the first people to America, investigating related archaeological finds, and creating research-based scientific...
Lesson Plan
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The Big "Why"

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the Q.& A. article found each week in the Science Times, focusing on how the answers present scientific data in a clear and logical manner. They write their own questions and answer other classmates' questions in the...
Lesson Plan
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Making Prehistory

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students create mock fossil records based on current scientific theories about prehistory. By learning about what fossil records teach us about different prehistoric time periods, students gain a greater understanding of theories of...
Lesson Plan
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Charles Darwin

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers research Charles Darwin and the process he used to develop his theory of evolution. They keep a journal about the skill of observation and make a newspaper of their learning.
Lesson Plan
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Cloudy With a Chance of...

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders will write a story. In this writing and meteorology lesson, 2nd graders read the story Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, then use KidPix to create a weather picture. The picture is imported into a word processor and the...
Lesson Plan
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Teen Angst

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students gain a broader understanding of new scientific research about the life cycle of the Tyrannosaur, and translate their knowledge into the creation of an illustrated studenT book produced and created by the entire class.
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Trade Secrets

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify research methods in health-related issues. They read and analyze studies. They identify problems associated with the studies.
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A Whole New World

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars work in small groups to investigate statistics regarding the solar system and participate in a 'scientific conference'. They explore available information about the extrasolar planet and assess the importance of this...
Lesson Plan
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Get a Life!

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students read a New York Times article associated with the issue of the decoding for genomes, the creation of life in scientific laboratories and various genetic engineering topics. They present speeches of the pro's and con's of these...
Lesson Plan
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The Science of Aging

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars reflect on the lives of older people they know, then research and debate the key issues surrounding scientific experimentation in anti-aging. They write a short story that reflects their own philosophical beliefs on aging...
Lesson Plan
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Whose "Truth" Is Out There?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students read article It's a Fact: Faith and Theory Collide Over Evolution, and examine different ways people arrive at what 'the truth' is, focusing on the evolution vs creationism debate that has been a hot topic throughout the 20th...
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The Parts of a Tree

For Teachers K
Students create a tree model. In this parts of a tree instructional activity, students read A Tree is a Plant, then discuss what trees are used for. Students use various materials to build and label their own tree.
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Variable Skies

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine factors which affect a vortex and create model tornadoes. They identify variables, pose a testable question, and perform an experiment using the scientific method. After they collect their data, students write a complete...
Lesson Plan
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Rock Sorting

For Teachers 1st
First graders observe rocks, record their observations about the rocks and classify them according to their observations. As a class, 1st graders create a list of observable characteristics of rocks. They sort a group of rocks...