Lesson Plan
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Snack Attack: Food Packaging Activity

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students design and create packaging material for food. For this snack attack lesson, students design a package to protect a food item from heat and water. Students consider costs of materials, design, and test the package to see if it...
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Compost Cake

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students examine the decomposition process. They create their own class compost pile and record their observations. They discover which materials decompose at a different rate.
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Flambe Elements

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders discuss atoms and electrons as well as atoic structure. They view atomic structure via the computer. Students watch a demonstration in which the teacher demonstrates glass tubing turning yellow in a Bunsen Burner flame....
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Diffusion Through Balloons

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students observe the diffusion of air molecules through a balloon. In this chemistry and molecules lesson, students fill balloons with air and a scented substance and observe whether the scented air is able to permeate the balloon.
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Characteristics of Energy

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders view a video and create a KWL to identify energy sources. In this energy sources lesson, 4th graders explore the meaning of energy, kinetic energy, potential energy, thermal energy, radiant energy, and electrical energy....
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Buoyant Boats

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students design and construct a boat out of aluminum foil and a few other simple materials. The boats then be tested by floating them in water, then adding mass until they sink. They explore the various shapes of boat construction.
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The Blue Bottle: An Example of Teacher-Guided Inquiry

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students observe a demonstration in which a bottle containing a colorless solution is mixed, turns blue, then becomes colorless again. They record observations, form and discuss hypotheses, and draw a conclusion based on the evidence.
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Under the Sea - Ocean Mammals/Fish

For Teachers K - 2nd
Learners explore the similarities and differences between ocean mammals and fish. The characteristics of the life forms observed are placed onto a graph. The classroom becomes the botom of the sea and is explored to gain the required data.
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Let's Make a Meal: A Study of Oats

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students investigate the history and health benefits of oats. In this food history and nutrition lesson, students describe the origin of oats in America, define nutrition related vocabulary, and read and follow recipes for making...
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Wonder Underground

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students classify and record objects they find "underground." In this observation instructional activity, students dig into bins filled with soil and encounter various objects such as bark, twigs, etc. Students classify their findings.
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Stonehenge: Solving Ancient Mysteries

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students explore archeologists and anthropologists and the tools and methods they use to gather and interpret scientific evidence. They research current archaeological excavations and contact the scientists working at these digs.
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Salt: Up Close and Personal

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners predict, observe, and explain the details of salt as they view it under a variety of magnifications. They observe salt with the naked eye, and then under a hand lens, microscope, and the electron microscope.
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I've Got That Sinking Feeling

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students design a simple boat and predict how much weight it can carry. They should also discover why objects float or sink and how this can be determined experimentally. A great lesson on buoyancy!
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The Sense of Hearing

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the cycle of how we listen and hear our own speech. They examine sound waves, and the role of the nervous system in hearing. They investigate the cues besides lipreading that deaf people rely on for comprehension.
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Electron Transport System Made Fun and Easy:

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers identity the components of electron transport system through role play. They explain the role of intermediate energy carriers to the production of ATP molecules. They describe the relationship of electron transport system...
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Habitat Art: Florida Panthers

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
Students discover the lifestyles of a Florida Panther by investigating its habitat.  In this wild animal lesson, students utilize the Internet to research the habits of a Panther and what their habitat is.  Students create an...
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Pump Up the Curriculum With Pumpkins!

For Teachers K - 2nd
Young scholars complete a variety of activities as they examine "pumpkins."
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Introduction to Friction

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students study the properties of the frictional force between two surfaces in contact. They inspect various phenomena in nature where friction plays an important role and demonstrate
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Will the Lights Go Out?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students diagram nuclear power plant, describe process for generating electrical power, discuss nuclear disasters in the 20th century, and draw conclusion about value of nuclear power for the future.
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The Cell

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars visualize plant and animal cells, explain the parts of a cell and their functions and distinguish plant cells from animal cells. Working Students, in groups, must present a particular portion of a cell to the entire class.
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Race Toward a Cure

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students come to explain how the presence of a mutation in the BRCA-1 or BRCA-2 gene, along with another acquired sometime after birth, affect the chances developing breast cancer.
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Recent Volcanoes And Earthquakes:

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students investigate the current model for the structure of the Earth. On a world map, they mark areas where they think earthquakes and volcanoes occur and compare those areas with earthquake and volcano location patterns.
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Condensation

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students participate in the scientific process to investigate what happens to water when it evaporates by observing condensation. In small groups they observe what happens to ice in a cup, and what occurs when they hold a bowl of ice...
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Industrialization of the American Landscape

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the Chernobyl incident and the resulting environmental health impacts. They explore three different isotopes that were released into the atmosphere. Through inquiry, students determine the difference between types of...