Curated OER
Classifying Living Things
Young scholars identify how to classify living things. They classify various concepts including family members, kinds of clothing, numbers, shapes, and vocabulary words. They discuss how to classify various concepts and classify...
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The Miracle Fish: Learning to Design an Experiment
Students develop procedures to explore the behavior of fish. For this scientific experiment lesson students from a hypothesis, write a question, identify different variables and controls in their experiment.
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Super Glue Fuming of Latent Fingerprints
Students explore latent fingerprinting. They observe a supervised demonstration of the process that real-life crime scene investigators sometimes use to identify latent fingerprints. In addition, they brainstorm ways to improve the...
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Can You Detect Bias?
Eleventh graders recognize some, but not all ethical processes (e.g., independent verification, clarifying assumptions, disclosing conflicts of interest) that shape scientific endeavors. Students build awareness of how various sources...
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What is Photosynthesis?
Students investigate the similarities and differences of living things. Specifically, students will be able to identify the life processes of photosynthesis and describe the basic needs of plants.
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Using Newsprint as a UV Detector
Students investigate the effects of UV radiation. In this earth science lesson, students explain how the time of day relate to UV abundance on Earth. They determine if weather affects the amount of UV that Earth receives.
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Determining the Geologic History of Rocks from a Gravel Deposit
Students apply the scientific method to identify rocks from glacial deposits, hypothesize how they got there and then test their hypothesis. They are given the experience of active, hands-on inquiry.
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Using Spectrophotometers to Examine Photosynthetic Rates
Students examine how photosynthetic rates can change by using different qualities of light. They practice using spectrophotometer and the scientific method to detect the absorbance values in light treatments.
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Paper Chromatography
Small groups of learners perform paper chromatography to separate food dyes into their component colors. Students perform the experiment and collect, organize, and represent their data to form an explanation of their outcomes. Learners...
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Movement of Air Diorama Activity
Students make a diorama to illustrate the process of mechanical airflow. In this movement of air lesson, students discuss ventilation and air movement indoors. Students discuss ventilation systems and study pictures of the systems....
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Separation of a Complex Mixture
Students develop a method to separate different types of mixtures. In this chemistry activity, students model the steps in the scientific method. They perform the experiment and analyze data.
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Crustal Sinking
Students measure the rate of sinking of a test tube into a beaker of "glop", representing a model of the interaction between the Earth's crust and upper mantle. This task assesses students' abilities to make simple observations,...
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Cell Swelling and Shrinking
Students examine the concept of osmosis in relation to dehydration. They identify the function and structure of semi-permable membranes. They predict how certain processes can affect the characteristics of an organism.
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Writing About the Indian Monsoon (Calibrated Peer Review):
Students develop an understanding of the atmospheric processes underlying the Indian Monsoon. They explore the use data to make a scientific argument. They listen to lecture on atmospheric circulation processes.
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Temperature and Enzymes
Students compare the times it takes the milk in each of two cups to curdle. They are told that an enzyme that is added to the milk, rennin, is involved in the natural curdling process of milk. Students are asked to consider what...
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What Is an Egg Without its Shell?
Learners observe osmosis, a cellular process that normally can't be observed without a microscope, and use scientific method to observe osmosis in a chicken egg.
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Classification
Students investigate how to classify items based on similar characteristics. They study the scientific system of classification.
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Applied Evolution: How Will We Get There from Here?
Students explore the basic process of natural selection and how people can manipulate that process today. The consequences of natural selection on daily life and the implications of evolutionary biology in basic and applied science is...
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Utilizing Community Resources
Learners gain an understanding of scientific methods and use process skills (such as observing, classifying, and predicting) to solve a problem. They develop an understanding of the need for natural preservation.
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Scientists
Students explore the role scientists play in research. They research current important areas of scientific interest. They write about how this issue could affect them. They create posters about their chosen scientific issues.
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Mock Environmental Summit
Students increase understanding of human impact on Earth's sytems and the climate. They develop persuasive and critical skills as writers and presenters. They become familiar with political decision making processes.
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Physicists or Philosophers?
Trace the sequential process of the developing theories of atomic structure in the early 20th century, show, in historical development, how scientists "know" things, how experiments are set up and how interpretations are drawn from them,...
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Ice Ice Baby! The Design and Preparation of A Reusable Ice Pack
Students explore polymers by designing and preparing an inexpensive and effective reusable ice pack. They develop and test a design for a reusable ice pack in the science lab. Students apply chemical and physical properties of polymers...
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Polymerization Experiments
Students explain the process of polymerization. In this chemistry instructional activity, students produce carboxylesterase in the lab. They test its effectiveness in removing the by-product odor.